Improved Stakeholder Communication and Visualizations: Real-Time Interaction and Cost Estimation within Immersive Virtual Environments

One of the main desired qualities of an efficient project management in the construction industry is the ability to visualize a construction project in 2D drawings and execute them accurately and efficiently on-site. However, there are several types of delays that significantly influence project durations, often resulting from misunderstanding and miscommunications among parties (owners, contractors, and other stakeholders). One of the more common delays is change orders that are usually attributed as one of the major reasons behind delays in construction. Making changes after a building enters the construction phase can be very expensive, conflicting, and time-consuming. Such delays may arise due to the lack of communication and coordination among the owner and the contractors regarding the change orders. In most instances, it is highly conflicting to form a mutual agreement when there is a predicted price difference to accept a change order. To minimize the impact of change orders on the design and total cost, an approach that allows communication and interaction with 3D models through advanced visualization tools (i.e., virtual and augmented reality environments) can be effective. To further identify the influence of immersive virtual environments (IVEs) on project management, a systematic approach is proposed through which stakeholders can: (1) visualize and interact with 3D models in one-to-one scaled realistic virtual environments (fully immersive); and (2) visualize the dollar amount changes as the results of change orders. The results of the presented case study show that clients can exercise the ability to make changes virtually well before actual construction begins.