Abc phd call 32b tutto

POLITECNICO MILANO 1863 - Doctoral Program in Architecture Built Environment and Construction Engineering

•  Research topic T1: MIXED TECHNOLOGIES BUILDINGS. GUIDE-LINES AND STANDARDS FOR WOOD-BASED PREFABRICATED BUILDINGS AND BUILDING EXTENSIONS DESIGN

•  Research topic T2: APPLICATION OF THE BIM SYSTEM TO CHEMICAL BUILDING PRODUCTS: DIGITALISED SOLUTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION CHEMICALS FOR MAINTENANCE AND NEW PROJECTS

•  Research topic T3: ENERGY FLEXIBLE BUILDINGS •  Research topic T4: ENERGY RETROFIT OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS

•  Research topic T5: REENGINEERING ASSET MANAGEMENT BUSINESS PROCESSES

•  Research topic T6: USE OF BIM FOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT IN PROJECT CONTROL

ABC PhD Program – CALL 4 SCHOLARSHIPS 32b (32° ciclo) Co-funded Thematic Scholarships (deadline Sept. 9th 2016)

ABCPhD CALL4SCHOLARSHIP 32b Research topic T1: MIXED TECHNOLOGIES BUILDINGS. GUIDE-LINES AND STANDARDS FOR WOOD-BASED PREFABRICATED BUILDINGS AND BUILDING EXTENSIONS DESIGN (32b-T1 Wood Based Prefabricated Buildings)

ABCPhD DOCTORAL PROGRAM IN ARCHITECTURE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING


ABC PhD Program – CALL 4 SCHOLARSHIPS 32b Thematic Scholarship 32b-T1 “Wood Based Prefabricated Buildings”

•  Number of scholarships: 1 (one) •  Monthly net income: €. 1.016,37 (max 36 months)

[In case of a change of the welfare rates during the three-year period, the amount could be slightly modified]

•  Additional support: Funding for educational activities(*) : €. 1.370 per student [for the 2nd and 3rd year]

•  Starting of PhD activity: 1/11/2016 •  Deadline for application to the call: 9/09/2016 •  Research Director: prof. Marco Imperadori •  Research Group: proff. Marco Imperadori, Manuela Grecchi, Gabriele Masera,

others to be defined. •  Funding and cooperating Institutions: the scholarship is co-funded by Politecnico

di Milano, Department ABC and FederlegnoArredo (FLA), Federazione italiana delle industrie del legno, del sughero, del mobile e dell’arredamento.

Funding and management of the thematic scholarships

(*)(purchaseofstudybooksandmaterial,fundingforpar:cipa:onincourses,summerschools,workshops,conferences)



While ambitious goals have been set for the energy efficiency of new buildings, which have to comply with the Nearly Zero Energy standard by the end of 2020, it cannot be underestimated that the substitution rate of existing buildings with new ones is very low, so that 50% of today’s building stock will still be in use in 2050. The total share of buildings dating from 1945 to 1970, poorly insulated and often with obsolete heating systems, accounts for around 70% of the total, while those built after 1990 to better energy standards accounts for only 1%. The energy retrofit of existing buildings is then a crucial strategy that must be implemented at a large scale to achieve the ambitious decarbonisation goals that the European Union has set for 2050. The importance of building retrofit, with a specific focus on the envelope performance, has been recognised widely and renovation activities constitute already around 50% of the turnover of the construction industry in Europe. The densification of the urban fabric with the addition of new volumes to existing buildings is not just a way to potentially improve their architectural quality and reduce sprawl, but also a strategy to pay for (at least a part of) the energy retrofit works required by the new and future regulations and/or by the market. The availability of lightweight, high-performance solutions in wood for the volumetric expansion of existing buildings with limited costs for their structural upgrade is an opportunity for the future that the construction sector could seize to get out of the current recession, also considering the increasing number of municipalities that impose severe limitations to the urban sprawl of cities in Europe. This would also help overcome one of the problems leading to the slow rate of renewal of existing buildings, namely the way these retrofit operations are typically conducted, with non-skilled workforce and labour-intensive procedures that make costs escalate.

Context of the research activity



The objective of this PhD position is to deepen the knowledge in the field of wood-based solutions for the volumetric expansion of existing buildings using lightweight, energy-efficient technologies. The PhD Candidate will investigate different aspects in this field, such as:

�  existing technologies and applications, including their market diffusion, limitations, etc.; �  regulations, current state of legislative development and possible strategies for the development of this kind of

works; �  structural issues related to the additional loads and their interaction with the existing structure of the building,

especially in case this has to be upgraded on the occasion of the expansion; �  proposal of standardised solutions for construction kits taking into account the typical limitations of retrofit

operations, such as construction times, availability of scaffolding, nuisance to users of the building, etc.; �  development of fault-free, standard solutions about the joints to the existing building, connections, etc.; �  understanding and control of the main building physics issues related to wood-based, lightweight additions; �  economic issues (non-technical barriers to the diffusion of retrofit operations), such as investment costs, the

limitation of modifications to the structure of existing buildings, innovative financing schemes, etc.

Motivation and objectives of the research



The research work will start with activities of benchmarking and meetings with the most relevant institutions and companies working with wood in Europe (Austria, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Russia), USA, Canada and Japan. During the second year of the programme, a research period in one of these advanced research centres will be organised. The direct interaction with producers of innovative components will allow to continuously assess the progress of the research work. Simulations on case studies will be used to prove the reliability and the applicability of the proposed extension strategies.

Methods and techniques that will be used to carry out the research

At the end of the Doctoral Programme, the Candidate will have a deep knowledge of the technological, structural and energy-related issues related to lightweight, wood-based additions to existing buildings of different sizes. This will also be valuable for the construction market and, in particular, for those companies working with lightweight technologies that are suitable for this kind of retrofit strategies. The PhD Candidate will also have developed skills in structural and energy modelling, with a specific focus on the Italian Technical Standards and building physics for the retrofit of existing buildings. Besides acquiring skills in the field of research development and management, it is expected that the candidate will develop a publication record in recognized international journals and conferences.

Educational objectives



At the end of the research project the candidate will have acquired skills and expertise to operate in the fields of: 1.  Market analysis and comparison of alternatives 2.  Structural implications of lightweight volumetric extensions 3.  Building physics and energy retrofit solutions assessment and optimization 4.  Logistics issues, on site assembly and delivery questions etc., lightweight retrofit solutions 5.  Economic and financial aspects of energy retrofit

Moreover, he/she will gain a strong attitude of interaction with industries and public bodies in research activities.

Skills of the candidate

This research offers PhD candidates, either freshly graduated or professionals, a broad knowledge in the field of wood technologies, that can be used afterwards in academia or in the professional market. In the first place, the skills of the PhD candidate will be connected to the real construction market, which is becoming more and more concentrated on refurbishment and incremental additions rather than new buildings. Secondly, a wide range of possibilities is connected with wood industries, which constantly show a trend of economic growth and investments in innovation for sustainability. Finally, considering the impact on cities and their transformation and densification, the candidate will have the opportunity to work in the public or private sectors in design / construction /management companies.

Job opportunities

ABCPhD CALL4SCHOLARSHIP 32b Research topic T2: APPLICATION OF THE BIM SYSTEM TO CHEMICAL BUILDING PRODUCTS: DIGITALISED SOLUTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION CHEMICALS FOR MAINTENANCE AND NEW PROJECTS

(32b-T2 BIM for CHEM)



ABC PhD Program – CALL 4 SCHOLARSHIPS 32b Thematic Scholarship 32b T2: “BIM for CHEM”




•  Starting of PhD activity: 1/11/2016 •  Deadline for application to the call: 9/09/2016 •  Research Director: prof. Bruno Daniotti •  Research Group: proff. Alberto Pavan, (scientific manager), Bruno Daniotti ,

Sonia Lupica Spagnolo, Daniela Pasini, Valeria Savoia, Silvio Palomba. •  Funding and cooperating Institutions: the scholarship is co-funded by Politecnico

di Milano, Department ABC and BASF Construction Chemicals spa.





The digital revolution of production and services, globally recognised as the fourth industrial revolution, also concerns the construction industry, today experiencing the first prototypes of collaborative platforms for Information Management (optioneering, authoring, process, review and management), making realistically and effectively possible to pursue a relationship that does not consist solely in goods marketing but, above all, in knowledge sharing between all the different players in such a long and diverse supply chain (B2B or B2C). Rather than the product flow, it is the management of data flows that drive the products and their design, production, marketing, management, maintenance and disposal that becomes essential. Even the world of industrial and chemical production needs to experiment new proactive dialogue systems with construction industry which, in its progressive migration to digitalisation, will be increasingly permeable to product and process innovation efforts coming from other sectors. The technical and regulatory evolution (compulsory, following national and EU procurement "BIM" legislation, or voluntary, based on "BIM" standard tables developed in national and international contexts) are consolidating this methodological revolution, making the search for new communication/collaboration/coordination systems between highly specialised worlds such as that of chemicals (30% of graduates) and construction (1% of graduates) increasingly necessary (and prospectively fertile) through a new digital "language”. The real "objects" of production and the virtual BIM objects merge into a digital platform sys-tem for process optimisation, quality of results, end-user satisfaction.




The objective of this PhD position is to study the communication between the different specialists working in the construction industry and to understand how manufacturers should strive to transform their products into digital objects, associating them with data able to guide the user in selecting the right technical solution to be implemented and providing support in the use of the product or products adopted. The PhD Candidate will investigate different aspects :

1.  Identification, integration and management of process and project information (times, costs, quality, safety, sustainability) associated with the relative products.

2.  Standardisation of information transferred throughout stages: �  new construction project or maintenance project �  surveys �  definition of technique �  selection of suitable materials �  description of executive stages �  drafting of project documents

3.  Implementation with the software, related or non-related to the object geometries, of the information models relating to the systems and solutions defined in points 1) and 2).

4.  Planning of user (designer, job manager, executing company) training courses




The first year of Candidate’s work is devoted to exploration, to Doctoral Courses and to other basic training activities on technological items and ICT ones, to consolidate the choice of the Research Topic, to obtain a deep understanding of the research activity about that topic and to define the main objectives of his/her work, explaining which advancement (and how) he/she is going to produce. Training activities will be developed at Politecnico di Milano and in the BASF Construction Chemicals context. A first list of Phd Courses is drafted:

1.  Information Technology for Planning, Architectural Design and Built Environment Management 2. Research in Building Process Management 3. Composites as Reinforcement for Concrete Structures and Strengthen-ing for Exist-ing Structures

During the second year, Candidates will produce a clear view of their Research Project and start their PhD Thesis, under the guidance of their Supervisors and the research group. International activities will be developed to get experience and to publish research results. During the third year, Candidates will develop the Phd thesis, concluding the whole research activity.




At the end of the Doctoral Programme, the Candidate will have a deep knowledge of design, testing, implementation and management processes of the construction and maintenance of concrete and masonry structures, hydraulic and non-hydraulic infrastructures, with courses, laboratory and field-testing training activities, jointly developed by Politecnico di Milano and BASF Construction Chemicals, in Treviso, providing the candidate with the tools to operate in the field of structural systems renovation. In addition, the candidate will develop skills relating to the professional role responsible for producing BIM models (BIM Field), through: •  the computerised management of databases and product categories •  the creation and management of an object •  the modelling of the object and its related interface •  the practical use of the digitalised object and of the information related to the object in a project and on site (e.g.

enhanced situation on site)


At the end of the research project the candidate will have acquired expertise to operate as: •  Expert in the field of the digitalised BIM design (with reference both to new construction projects and

maintenance projects and to the use of chemical products). •  Professional consultant in the field of manufacturing companies of BIM design software. •  Technical expert for solutions related to the chemistry of constructions integrated in a design context.


ABCPhD CALL4SCHOLARSHIP 32b Research topic T3: ENERGY FLEXIBLE BUILDINGS (32b-T3 Energy Flexible Buildings)



ABC PhD Programme – CALL 4 SCHOLARSHIPS 32b Thematic Scholarship 32b-T3 “Energy Flexible Buildings”




•  Starting of PhD activity: 1/11/2016 •  Deadline for application to the call: 9/09/2016 •  Research Director: prof. Gabriele Masera •  Research Group: proff. Gabriele Masera, Niccolò Aste, Roberto Lollini (EURAC). •  Funding and cooperating Institutions: the scholarship is co-funded by Politecnico

di Milano, Department ABC and EURAC, European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano.





The foreseen large deployment of renewable energy sources may seriously affect the stability of energy grids. It will be necessary to control energy consumption to match instantaneous energy production. The built-in Energy Flexibility in buildings may be utilized for stabilizing the energy grids, allowing for a larger roll out of renewable technologies. The Energy Flexibility of a building is the ability to manage its energy demand and generation according to local climate conditions, user needs and grid requirements. This can be done by several means i.e. thermal mass, charging of electrical cars and use of appliances. Energy Flexibility of buildings will thus allow for demand side management and load control and thereby demand response based on the requirements of the surrounding grids. . Currently there is, however, no overview or insight into how much Energy Flexibility different building types and their usage may be able to offer to future energy systems. To fulfil this gap, in October 2015, it started the IEA EBC ANNEX67 “Energy Flexible Buildings”. The scope of the ANNEX is to increase knowledge on and demonstrate the Energy Flexibility that buildings can provide. In-depth knowledge of the Energy Flexibility that buildings may provide is important for the design of future Smart Energy systems and buildings. The knowledge is, however, not only important for the utilities it is also necessary for companies when developing business cases for products and services supporting the roll out of Smart Energy networks. Furthermore, it is important information for policy makers and government entities involved in the shaping of future energy systems.




The objective of this PhD position is to deepen the knowledge in the new and complex topic of building energy flexibility. The PhD candidate will develop a line of research that investigate the different aspects of flexibility in buildings: �  Formal (what energy flexibility is and why is it needed) �  Technical (studying technologies to implement flexibility without negatively impact indoor environmental quality). �  Economical (what the economic advantage of flexibility is).


At the end of the doctorate-training period, the candidate will know in deep the topic of energy flexibility in buildings: modelling, simulation, definition of technology solutions at building and building cluster scale.


The Candidate is expected to complete his/her skills following a series of courses to be planned as soon as possible after the selection process and to gain research experience taking part to activities of the IEA EBC ANNEX67, to which Candidate’s research will be closely related: It is expected that the candidate will develop a publication record in recognized international journals and conferences, contributing to the ANNEX implementation.




At the end of the research project the candidate will have acquired skills and expertise to operate in the fields of: •  Knowledge of building physics •  Knowledge of RES integrated in building system, mainly PV and solar thermal •  Energy storage systems and control •  Building modelling, energy dynamic simulation, optimization strategies •  Energy economics


This research offers to young graduated as well as to professionals, an indepth knowledge in the field of energy efficient buildings, energy storage and optimization strategies, that can be used afterwards in academia or in the professional market.

Job opportunities

ABCPhD CALL4SCHOLARSHIP 32b Research topic T4: ENERGY RETROFIT OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS (32b-T4 Energy Retrofit of Historic Buildings)



ABC PhD Programme – CALL 4 SCHOLARSHIPS 32b Thematic Scholarship 32b-T4 “Energy Retrofit of Historic Buildings"




•  Starting of PhD activity: 1/11/2016 •  Deadline for application to the call: 9/09/2016 •  Research Director: prof. Niccolò Aste •  Research Group: proff. Niccolò Aste, Valeria Pracchi, Alexandra Troi (EURAC). •  Funding and cooperating Institutions: the scholarship is co-funded by Politecnico

di Milano, Department ABC and EURAC, European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano.





Historic buildings make up a considerable part of our building stock (one fourth for Europe). They are the trademark of numerous cities, and they will only survive if maintained as a living space. This means, that in order to save this heritage for future generations, we need to find conservation compatible energy retrofit approaches and solutions, which allow to preserve the historic and aesthetic values while increasing comfort, lowering energy bills and minimizing environmental impact. In the last 10 years a shift in paradigm could be observed: While in times of the first EPBD, a strong opposition from conservators and architects could be observed – “don’t touch these buildings” – there is growing a new openness, a much more constructive approach – “let’s find the right solutions together”. Examples for this development are last but not least the installa-tion of the International Scientific Committee on Energy and Sustainability within ICOMOS and the development of “Guidelines for improving the energy performance of historic buildings” (FprEN16883, now under final vote) by the CEN TC 346 on Conservation of Cultural Heritage. Realised examples show that a reduction of “Factor 4” (i.e. reduce the energy demand by 75%) and beyond is possible also in historic buildings preserving their heritage value, depending however on the specific case. Since there will be also historic buildings where only little im-provement is possible, on regulation level a minimum performance as for “standard” buildings would not make sense - historic buildings profit from a “negotiation space”. When looking at the specific building, however, the design team should not “stop thinking” too early!




The objective of this PhD position is to deepen the knowledge on how to save energy in renovation of historic and protected buildings in a cost efficient way without losing their heritage value. The research will assess replicable procedures on how experts can work together with integrated design to maintain both the heritage value of the building and at the same time make it energy efficient. At the same time, it will identify conservation compatible retrofit solutions in a “whole building perspective”, taking into account the range of aspects from hygrothermal compatibility over life cycle performance to conservation principles.


At the end of the doctoral program, the Candidate will know in depth the topic of energy retrofit of historic buildings. It is expected that the candidate will take part in the IEA SHC task on “Deep Renovation of Historic Buildings towards lowest possible energy demand and CO2 emission (NZEB)”, which is now in task definition phase and will start mid 2017. EURAC is operating agent for this Task and will be actively involved, with Politecnico di Milano, Dept. ABC in all the activities of the Tasks.




The research activity will be closely related to the IEA SHC task “Deep Renovation of Historic Buildings towards lowest possible energy demand and CO2 emission (NZEB)”, which is planned to be divided in four subtasks with several activities beneath. The Candidate is expected to complete his/her skills following a series of courses to be planned as soon as possible and to gain research experience taking part to the four subtask activities: Knowledge Base - Collection and analysis of Best Practice cases with the aim of understanding and demonstrating retrofit feasibility and the criticalities of expert collaboration in complex projects towards the same goal. Multidisciplinary planning process – Identification of replicable “integrated design procedures” (how experts can work together and make compatible conservation issues with energy efficiency) and collection of feedbacks from the application o FprEN 16883 and the practice of comprehensive diagnosis, identification and assessment of potential measureson multiple criteria on a multidisciplinary basis. Conservation compatible retrofit solutions – Identification of replicable solutions from case studies and R&D experience on conservation-compatible retrofit solutions. Demonstration and dissemination – Organization and participation to a series of workshops for different target groups. Writing of guidelines and recommendations for policy makers. It is expected that the candidate will develop publication record in recognized international peer review journals, and presented at scientific conferences. The “dissemination-plan” will be defined and periodically updated in agreement with the Politecnico di Milano and EURAC supervisors.




At the end of the research project the candidate will have acquired skills and expertise to operate in the fields of: •  Knowledge of building physics •  Building modelling, energy dynamic simulation, optimization strategies •  Comprehension of conservation principles •  Familiarity with RES integrated in building system •  Energy economics fundamentals


This research offers to young graduated as well as to professionals, an indepth knowledge in the field of energy efficient buildings, energy storage and optimization strategies, that can be used afterwards in academia or in the professional market.

Job opportunities

ABCPhD CALL4SCHOLARSHIP 32b Research topic T5: REENGINEERING ASSET MANAGEMENT BUSINESS PROCESSES

(32b-T5 Asset Management Business Reengineering)



ABC PhD Program – CALL 4 SCHOLARSHIPS 32b Thematic Scholarship 32b-T5 “Asset Management Business Reengineering”




•  Starting of PhD activity: 1/11/2016 •  Deadline for application to the call: 9/09/2016 •  Research Director: prof. Enrico De Angelis •  Research Group: proff. Enrico De Angelis, Fulvio Re Cecconi, Giuseppe

Rigamonti (Rigamonti spa). •  Funding and cooperating Institutions: the scholarship is co-funded by Politecnico

di Milano, Department ABC and Rigamonti Francesco S.p.A..





All over Europe old building stocks are faced with regulatory practices shifting toward reductions in energy use, with new users’ needs and, most of the times, with the request for better economical performances. These stocks are rarely replaced with new and better performing buildings, been the replacement rate of existing buildings by new buildings only around 1.0–3.0% per annum, thus asset management is becoming more and more important in the construction sector also in term of economic impact. Effective control and governance of assets by organizations is essential to realize value through managing risk and opportunity, in order to achieve the desired balance of cost, risk and performance. Current asset or portfolio management processes do not take advantage of the digital revolution undergoing in many different Industries and stick to old procedures, techniques and tools, thus there is the need for changing the way asset management is done. While Building Information Modelling (BIM) development and its application to date has largely focused on the design and construction phases of assets BIM has an important application across the entire life cycle of assets and is therefore a key enabler of improved asset management within the recognised ISO55000 framework.




Asset management enables an organization to realize of value from assets in the achievement of its organizational objectives. The benefits of an asset management can include, but are not limited to the following: �  informed asset investment decisions and improved financial performance �  managed risk, improved services and outputs and demonstrated compliance; �  demonstrated social responsibility and enhanced reputation; �  improved organizational sustainability, efficiency and effectiveness.

Asset management enables an organization to examine the need for and performance of assets and asset systems at different levels. Additionally, it enables the application of analytical approaches towards managing an asset over the different stages of its life cycle but it requires large set of accurate information. The benefits from an integrated, enterprise-wide and life cycle approach to BIM and Asset Management, will include: �  Greater clarity on long-term in-service performance expectations and on the consequences of design-stage

decisions over life cycle performance and cost. �  Reduced project start-up costs due to availability of better information at the beginning of the project. �  Reduced construction and operational costs as a result of reduced construction defects. �  Better lifecycle management from consolidated design and construction information as a single source of data. �  Reduced management process costs arising from incomplete data.

Motivation and objectives of the research (1)



The main objective of the research is to set up an innovative asset management system to provide a structured approach for the development, coordination and control of activities undertaken on assets by the organization. This should be done taking into account latest development in information management for the for the operational phase of assets. The purpose is to optimize the whole life cost of managing portfolios of assets which can be complex and varied in nature, distributed over extensive geographical areas and may be subjected to differing demand/utilization requirements. The main objective of the research can be reach through a series of steps (or secondary objectives):

1.  Definition of some Key Performance Indicators able to benchmark energy and OM&R (Operation, Maintenance and Repair) behaviour of assets and portfolios.

2.  Definition of the structure of a OM&R costs database and its implementation. 3.  Organisation of information flows and definition of new asset management procedures. 4.  Comparison of the innovative tools, procedures and benchmarks developed with current procedure with the help

of some case studies, different for function, extension, age and technologies.

Motivation and objectives of the research (2)



The research will be carried out in close cooperation with the sponsoring company of this research project, this will allow an on field testing of each step of the research and, moreover, a large amount of case studies for data collection. Information management system and related software tool will be widely used in defining new asset management procedures complying to the English standard PAS 1192-3 “Specification for information management for the operational phase of assets using building information modelling”. The web will be the vehicle of asset information, each stakeholder and operator will access its own share of asset information stored in a central Data Base (used by the sponsoring company) through a web interface to be designed in this research. The candidate is expected to choose, among the courses offered by both the Politecnico di Milano and the ABC PhD Program, the most useful classes about information management, BIM and IT technologies, according to the main target of the project and his/her training needs.


The candidate will learn how to deal with real estate complexity, to elaborate raw data coming from assets and portfolios to create reliable benchmarks. It is expected that the candidate will constantly review his/her work in a systematic confrontation with international experts in the field of Construction and Asset Management and Project Control, and will develop a publication record in recognized international journals and conferences.




At the end of the research project the candidate will have acquired skills and expertise to operate in the fields of Real Estate Development and Management, with a direct experience in the field, thanks to the direct interaction with the Construction Company that is co-funding the project. In particular, the experience of the Candidate will be in the development of innovative approaches and in a complete re-engineering of business processes. The skills that will be are frequently asked by asset and facility management companies, which also claim for an upgrade of their internal standards. This will lead to a high international academic interest, as well as a pull from the industry.


OM&R market share in Europe is bigger than the one of new construction, i.e. more Euros are spent on constructed asset than on new projects. Many companies, not only construction and maintenance companies, employ asset managers thus job opportunities aren’t limited to the construction sector, in any other industrial sectors companies have asset to be managed. Besides, the sponsoring company of this research project may want to employ the candidate at the end of his PhD period.

Job opportunities

ABCPhD CALL4SCHOLARSHIP 32b Research topic T6: USE OF BIM FOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT IN PROJECT CONTROL

(32b-T6 – BIM 4 Construction Project Control)



ABC PhD Program – CALL 4 SCHOLARSHIPS 32b Thematic Scholarship 32b-T6 “BIM 4 Construction Project Control”




•  Starting of PhD activity: 1/11/2016 •  Deadline for application to the call: 9/09/2016 •  Research Director: prof. Enrico De Angelis •  Research Group: proff. Enrico De Angelis, Gianni Utica. •  Funding and cooperating Institutions: the scholarship is co-funded by Politecnico

di Milano, Department ABC and Impresa Garibaldi S.r.l.





Construction Industry is a complex and fragmented sector where several independent professionals are involved during the different process phases of an infrastructure, building life cycle, from its design to its disposal, through the management of the construction site and maintenance activities. The independence of all these actors and the usual absence of centralized information management, often generates inconsistencies among all the documents produced during this process: lacks and errors that may cause defects, delays, increase of costs, safety and security risks. This situation needs a change of attitude that, now, may be supported by a renewal of the tools that are used during all the life cycle phases, from the very beginning and, in particular, during the construction phase, in order to reduce these risks, enabling the collection of data within a Document Management System that allow planning, programming and control its consistency and completeness as well as the adequacy of all design and management choices, as well as an efficient management of construction phases. Such a control system is a key point in the correct management of any project, but it is much more important when this refers to conservation, restoration and reuse works.




The objective of this PhD position is to deepen the knowledge about the digitalization of construction management. The PhD Candidate will investigate the different aspects of construction management and project control, facing: •  the reason why the digitalization of the process is necessary and which are its advantages and the impact that the

digitalization will have on the quality of the project; •  the question of construction industry digitalization, from the point of view of the Contractor; •  the advantage in terms of time and cost of the flexibility of digital models; •  technical and operative aspects which lead to the sharing of information between the actors involved and to the

update of information, in real time, on the digital model; The research work of the Candidate will be focused in the development of a control system within a Contractor organization, reengineering its procedures and optimizing formats, data collection, management and analytical processes used to predict, understand and constructively influence the planning and cost estimating of a construction project. A special focus will be devoted to the understanding of the most effective governance, management and decision making strategies. The research activities will be applied to a specific case study: the restoration of the Teatro Lirico di Milano.




The research activity may provide dynamic relationships with companies working in the industry with the formulation of questionnaires and interviews with companies operating in the Milano context. In addition, the doctoral school delivers the following classes related to the subject of the research: •  Dealing with uncertainty in construction (management); •  Research in building process management; •  Information technology for planning, architectural design and built environment management; •  Cultural heritage and built environment surveying, modelling and monitoring.


At the end of the doctoral programme, the Candidate will know in deep the topic of construction management in project control. It is expected that the candidate will develop a BIM based methodology aimed at the optimization of the construction processes using models and real time simulations. The Candidate will be able to manage and control the operations of the main firm and of all of the subcontractors that are involved in the restoration of the Lyrical Theatre of Milan. It is expected that the candidate will develop a publication record in recognized international journals and conferences.




At the end of the research project the candidate will have acquired skills and expertise to operate in the fields of: 1.  building information modelling; 2. resource analysis, budget and timelines; 3. construction document preparation; 4. project execution phase; 5. construction cost and time estimating.


Nowadays the construction industry requires qualified professionals with experience in construction supervision and management of construction documents. Such skills, when integrated with the mastery of informative tools and techniques such as Building Information Modelling and project management further facilitates the entry into a more and more demanding professional world with regard to the digitization of the building process.

Job opportunities