Framework and case study for the assembly accuracy prediction of prefabricated buildings using BIM and TLS.

Tolerance management in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector faces challenges due to a lack of systematic scientific methods and tools. Quality issues in construction, coupled with inefficiencies, rework, and waste arising from deviation problems, hinder the sustainable development of the AEC sector. Current deviation control methods in the AEC field rely on compliance inspections and on-site rework, which are reactive and costly. In contrast, the manufacturing industry, closely linked to AEC, has developed highly automated methods for tolerance management. Although prefabricated buildings are manufactured off-site with high precision, the on-site assembly precision remains low, failing to fully leverage manufacturing industry capabilities. This research proposes a framework for predicting assembly accuracy of prefabricated buildings during the design and early construction stages. The framework, based on tolerance analysis methods from the manufacturing industry, integrates Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Terrestrial 3D Laser Scanning (TLS) technologies. This innovative approach offers a computer-aided method for conducting tolerance analysis in prefabricated buildings. A completed prefabricated building project serves as a case study, utilizing the framework to predict variations in critical dimensions, and the predictions align with measured results, demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]