The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1471-4175.htm
CI
21,2
244
Received 13 December 2019
Revised 23 March 2020
29 June 2020
Accepted 30 June 2020
Construction Innovation
Vol. 21 No. 2, 2021
pp. 244-258
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1471-4175
DOI 10.1108/CI-12-2019-0147
Safety plugins for risks
prevention through design
resourcing BIM
Fernanda Rodrigues, Flavio Antunes and Raquel Matos
RISCO, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
Abstract
Purpose – The use of building information modelling (BIM) methodology has been increasing in the
architecture, engineering, construction and operation sector, driven to a new paradigm of work with the use of
three-dimensional (3D) parametric models. However, building information modelling (BIM) has been mostly
used for as-built models of a building, not yet been widely used by designers during project and construction
phases for occupational risks prevention and safety planning. This paper aims to show the capacity of
developing tools that allow adding functionalities to Revit software to improve safety procedures and reduce
the time spent on modelling them during the design phase.
Design/methodology/approach – To reach this objective, a structural 3D model of a building is used to
validate the developed tools. A plugin prototype based on legal regulations was developed, allowing
qualitative safety assessment through the application of job hazard analysis (JHA), SafeObject and checklists.
These tools allow the automated detection of falls from height situations and the automated placement of the
correspondent safety systems.
Findings – Revit application programming interface allowed the conception and addition of several
functionalities that can be used in BIM methodology, and more specifically in the prevention of occupational
risks in construction, contributing this paper to the application of a new approach to the prevention through
design.
Originality/value – This paper is innovative and important because the developed plugins allowed:
automated detection of potential falls from heights in the design stage; automated introduction of safety
objects from a BIM Safety Objects Library; and the intercommunication between a BIM model and a safety
database, bringing JHA integration directly on the project. The prototype of this work was validated for fall
from height hazards but can be extended to other potentials hazards since the initial design stage.
Keywords Construction 4.0, Safety, Automated hazards detection, Building information modelling,
Fall hazard, Prevention, Accidents, BIM, Building, Health and safety, Construction technology,
Risk assessment/risk management, Civil engineering and surveying
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The construction is one of the sectors with the highest rate of serious and fatal occupational
accidents in Europe (in 2017, one-fifth of all fatal accidents at work in the EU-28 took place
within the construction sector – Figure 1) (Eurostat, 2017a), with a high impact on health
and safety (Cheng et al., 2004; Alkilani et al., 2013). Considering all the fatalities, Portugal
arrives in 4th place with an incidence rate of 2.94 fatalities per 100,000 employees as
depicted in Figure 2 (Eurostat, 2017b).
This research work was funded by the Portuguese Government through the FCT under the PhD
grant SFRH/BD/147532/2019, awarded to the last author.
 Portugal has been accounted for 26% of fatal accidents in 2017, with an increase in 2018 Safety plugins
to 27.6%. It registered a decrease from 157 fatalities in 2018 to 83 in 2019 that was also for risks
registered in the serious occupational accidents from 508 in 2018 to 235 in 2019 (ACT, 2019).
It is possible to verify that in construction, some types of accidents kept happening
prevention
repeatedly, having as one of the main causes the singularity of the final product, as every new
project is different from the previous one. Besides that, political and economic factors have a
huge influence in this sector, resulting sometimes in conflicts between the construction process
and the activities susceptible to delays, such as safety planning, noting a detachment between 245
the project, the implementation and the construction phase (Swuste et al., 2012).
Those rates may also be associated with an insufficient safety training, an incomplete
safety plan during the pre-construction and an invalid site monitoring during construction,
leading to insufficient risk prevention during the construction phase (Cardoso, 2009; Guo
et al., 2017).
Therefore, among other measures, real-time monitoring of workers’ behaviour is
necessary for a reliable answering to project disruption, accidents and injuries prevention
(Li et al., 2016). So, the construction sector has specific aspects that distinguish it from all the
others: it is highly complex with numerous interrelated processes and hazardous worksites
because of the dynamic daily labour flow, the co-existence in space and time of different
activities, equipment and professions and by the constant changes resulting from the
constant construction work progress (Vrijhoef and Koskela, 2005; Anibire et al., 2020).
Thus, the implementation of measures that allows identifying the causes of construction
accidents (Golizadeh et al., 2018) to improve the prevention through design (PTD) is
essential to effectively plan the specifics safety measures for each project.
After a critical review about developed studies in this area, it was possible to settle that
the potentials of building information modelling (BIM) to study job hazards analysis in the
design phase and its automated prevention by the integration of suitable protective
equipment have not yet been deeply explored.
So, this study aims to provide a tool that allows the automatic prediction and
detection of potential hazards and automatically add protections for the respective
risks in the design phase through the integration of two plugins in Revit software. In
this paper, the plugins developed were tested for the risk of falls from height but can be
applied to the other buildings’ job hazards. Besides that, a database, which includes
Portuguese legal rules about protective measures, is associated with the “Job Hazard
Analysis” (JHA) plugin developed.
Thus, this study’s goal is to optimize the JHA, predicting the hazards that could occur
during whole construction, and to reduce the accidents in the construction site in an
advanced phase by the introduction of the respective safety protections to prevent them.

Safety in the design stage

Cooke and Lingard (2011), Lingard et al. (2013) and Behm and Schneller (2013) have shown
the importance of looking beyond the immediate/primary causes of an accident to identify
the possible failures at the upstream of construction projects such as in the design phase,
client actions, education and economic environment (Marhavilas et al., 2011; Gibb et al.,
2014). Also, Frijters and Swuste (2008) recognize the influence that designers, architects and
structural engineers have on the safety and health of the construction sites considering the
design options, decisions and the determining factors to achieve safe construction practices
and the need to integrate safety in the design objectives.
As depicted in Figure 3, with the advancement of the different project phases, the possibility
of influencing costs decreases (represented by curve 1). So, the design phase is essential to
CI make all the analyses and changes to the project, as the costs of eventual changes will always
21,2 be higher from the moment that construction starts (curve 2). In this sector, a great effort is
necessary in the preparation of all the documentation and details to prepare the construction
phase and subsequent maintenance (throughout the life cycle) of the building. Thus,
considering the two mentioned curves, it can be verified that the ideal phase for the
implementation of any change and the development of whole details is the initial one, more
246 specifically the design phase. Therefore, the implementation of a workflow in BIM (curve 4) will
bring more benefits than the traditional method (curve 3), in which most of these elements are
prepared at a later stage, with higher costs if changes are required (Fernandes, 2013). The same
applies to occupational risk prevention, being the design phase the more reliable for the risk
analysis and preventive/protective measures integration.

Fall from height hazards

According to Swuste et al. (2012), falls from height are one of the major causes of injuries on
construction sites. Regarding safety equipment, while working at height, the Portuguese
Legislation only establishes that safety guards or safety nets must be used to prevent falls,
being necessary to consult the standards and technical documentation of such equipment to
get the respective specifications.
Moreover, the quantity of safety BIM objects, in BIM libraries, dedicated to protecting
against falls is very limited. BIM object repositories were selected for the search of safety
objects such as guardrails and safety nets. Table 1 shows the search results in the number of
existing objects on such repositories
Despite such results, almost all of them were false positive, as the existing objects
are destined to post-construction situations and not related with safety during the
construction phase, as the example depicted in Figure 4 representing a guardrail for a
finished roof.
To face this gap, the need to develop a Revit plugin with safety objects applicable to the
construction phase and to develop a database with safety recommendations according to
Portuguese legislation emerged.

Safety through building information modelling

According to ISO 29481–1:2010, BIM can be set as a concept to describe and visualize the
necessary information in the conception, construction and operation of facilities, bringing
together the various sets of information used in construction in a common project, reducing
or even eliminating omissions and errors. The three-dimensional (3D) BIM model contains
an extensive database, being a parametric representation of the project from which the
stakeholders can extract and analyse data that can support the decision-making along all
the project life-cycle (AGCA, 2005). The construction sector is realizing that the adoption of
BIM is crucial for the built environment sector, to improve construction quality and to drive
towards sustainable construction with competitive costs (Sawhney et al., 2017).
Beyond the physical characterization and relationships among the building components
and activities, it also contains information related to geographic position, material
quantities, costs estimation and the planning of the entire project, with the possibility to
visualize the entire life cycle of the building. This allows for a connection between the
various materials, designs and project phases, making it easier to extract information from
the project as a whole (Azhar et al., 2007). Highlighting these applications, Figure 5
summarizes the BIM dimensions in which is also included the 8th dimension that deals with
occupational risk prevention suggested by Kamardeen (2010).
 BIM has been widely used to simulate building performance and to optimize designs (Azhar Safety plugins
et al., 2012), constructability analysis, sustainability (Anton and Díaz, 2014; Ahuja et al., 2018), for risks
value analysis and facility management (Rodrigues et al., 2018b; Rodrigues et al., 2019).
However, for health and safety within construction project management, this tool has not been
prevention
fully explored (Godfaurd and Ganah, 2015; Golizadeh et al., 2018).
Many studies enhance that four-dimensional (4D) model can be a useful tool to hazards
identification in a preventive way (Zhang et al., 2011; Hu and Zhang, 2011; Kim et al., 2013;
Tixier et al., 2017) but, according to Kamardeen (2010), PTD should be included in an 8th
247
dimension tool of the BIM methodology. BIM 8D linked to accident PTD consists of three
tasks:
(1) hazard reporting of BIM model elements;
(2) providing safe design suggestions for revising high hazard summarized elements;
and
(3) proposing on-site risk controls for hazards that are uncontrollable through design
revisions (Kamardeen, 2010).

Research studies about occupational hazards identification linked to BIM (Table 2) have
been developed by several authors (Sulankivi, 2009; Sulankivi et al., 2009; Sulankivi and
Kiviniemi, 2010; Hu et al., 2010; Zhang et al., 2011; Hu and Zhang, 2011; Azhar and
Behringer, 2012, 2013; Kim and Teizer, 2014; Berlo and Natrop, 2015; Zhang et al., 2015b;
Rodrigues et al., 2018a; Drozd and Kowalik, 2019; Wang, 2019; Yuan et al., 2019; Schwabe
et al., 2019; Chen et al., 2019). Studies also linked to BIM focused on occupational risk
prevention have been developed by Hu et al. (2010), Berlo and Natrop (2015), Malekitabar
et al. (2016) and Kulkarni et al. (2018).
Regarding the standards in the scope of BIM and occupational risks prevention, it is
important to refer that some were developed in other countries in the scope of safety through
BIM methodology, such as: “Common BIM Requirements” in Finland (COBIM, 2012); “PAS
1192–6 – Specification for collaborative sharing and use of structured health and safety
information using BIM” in the UK (BSI, PAS 1192–6, 2018); “Building information
Modelling Site Safety Submission Guidelines and Standard” in New York Department of
Buildings (New York County Buildings, 2013); and “The BIM Guide” in Building
Construction Authority in Singapore (BCA, 2013).

Risk prevention
Traditionally, the safety planning and construction risk assessment and its prevention are
based on two-dimensional (2D) drawings, schedules, safety rules and stakeholders’
experience (Chantawit et al., 2005; Guo et al., 2017). The safety and health plan developed
during the design phase has the purpose of establishing rules and procedures to be adopted
by the construction companies, aiming the prevention of occupational risks and diseases
and defining essential factors to be respected. That plan will be developed and specified
according to the construction planning and the related risk assessment, by any of the
stakeholders in the construction phase (DL no. 273/2003; Directive 92/57/EEC).
However, the information for developing a safety and health plan is fragmented between
existing regulations, occupational accidents records, correct practices and the experience of
each stakeholder (Zhang et al., 2015a).
Risk assessment is a method for qualitatively and/or quantitatively assessing the
risk associated with an identified source of hazard, ensuring that the correct decision is
made for its prevention (Firmenich, 2017). It is an essential and systematic process for
CI assessing the impact, occurrence and the consequences of any unsafe event. For this,
21,2 there are several methods with their characteristics, but with common ends, being
distinguished between qualitative, hybrid and quantitative methods (Rodrigues et al.,
2015).
As previously referred design phase, from its first instance, is the ideal moment to
influence construction results (Potts, 2008) and construction safety during the inception,
248 conception and detailed design phase (Kamardeen, 2010), during which designers can
influence safety through their options. Therefore, the ability to influence safety in
construction decreases as the project progresses. For that reason, it is necessary to address
safety in early stages, implementing PTD that means:
Addressing occupational safety and health needs in the design and redesign processes to prevent
or minimize the work-related hazards and risks associated with the construction, manufacture,
use, maintenance, and disposal of facilities, materials, and equipment (Manuele, 2007).
The European Directive 92/57/CEE and the Portuguese Law DL 273/2003 that
transposed that directive establishes that risk prevention must be integrated during the
early design phase and the correspondent preventive and protective measures must be
stated in the safety and health plan. However, a lack of integration still exists
(Sulankivi and Kiviniemi, 2010).
The emergence and the development of BIM technology in construction 4.0 have strongly
influenced the construction industry (Dallasega et al., 2018; Maskusiy et al., 2019). Taking
advantage of this reality, in this work, the development of plugins applied to BIM model is
presented that enables automated hazards detection in the initial design stages and
consequently risk prevention on construction site.

Job hazard analysis

The JHA or task analysis, aims the task’ hazards identification and analysis, analysing how
people perform the tasks in their work environment, how these tasks are defined into
subtasks and describe how the operators interact both with the system itself and with other
personnel (Marhavilas et al., 2011).
The basic procedure for performing a JHA consists of the following steps:
 identification for a given activity of all the works to be performed;
 identification of the hazards related to different jobs; and
 recommended procedures to eliminate, reduce or minimize hazards.

To identify the hazards and establish the respective prevention recommendations, prior
knowledge is required for the correct development of a JHA. Associating this situation
with the existence of activities with unique and complex characteristics results in a
time consuming and laborious process to maintain, being difficult to react quickly to
design and planning changes during the execution of the work. Using BIM
methodology, it is possible to automate the detection and analysis of activities’ hazards
integrating JHA databases with BIM models, facilitating the identification and
prevention of hazards in construction (Zhang, 2014). To achieve this, a methodology
was developed that is presented as follows.

Methodology
One goal of this paper is the JHA optimization in the design phase. To achieve this goal, the
following methodology was applied:
  Rule-checking framework – a rule-checking system was studied, consisting of the Safety plugins
analysis of occupational safety regulations and rules applicable to BIM. for risks
 Plugins – based on the rule-checking, a “Job Hazard Analysis” plugin and a prevention
“SafeObject” plugin was developed. This one allows the automated introduction of
the safety objects to protect from the hazards identified by the “Job Hazard
Analysis” plugin.
 Online databases and digital tools – a database with information about protective 249
measures (that could not be programmable in the rule-checking) was created and
linked to the “Job Hazard Analysis” plugin.

To develop this work Revit application programming interface (API) was used. The main
benefit of Revit API is that it is possible to compile the code for implementing the API on
any operating system without having to do any changes (Oti et al., 2016).
The API platform provided by Autodesk is the most used, as it is free to programmers
without academic restrictions. The Revit API allows the development of programmes and
scripts to extend Revit capabilities, being accessible by Microsoft .NET frameworks such as
Visual C# or Visual Basic .NET allowing the implementation of external commands and
applications to Revit platform. Two class libraries are available for this purpose, RevitAPI.
dll and RevitAPIUI.dll. The first one is responsible for accessing Revit, its documentation,
model elements and respective parameters, while the second is related to the user interface
(Oti et al., 2016). In the Revit API Developer Guide (Autodesk, 2018), the capabilities are
pointed out to:
 obtain access to the graphics of the model;
 obtain access to parametric information from the model;
 create, edit and delete elements on the model such as floors, walls and columns;
 create add-ins to automate repetitive tasks;
 integrate applications with Revit, such as connecting to an external database or
sending model information for analysis;
 perform different types of analysis; and
 automatic creation of project documentation.

Rule-checking framework
The main reason to assist safety management with a BIM-based rule-checking system
is risk prevention and the elimination of potential hazards. Another major advantage of
rule-checking based on 3D models is time-saving, as manual observation requires huge
amounts of time and effort, therefore, being more expensive (Zhang et al., 2011). In
general, BIM-based rule-checking offers detailed and visual reports in a short period.
As Melzner et al. (2013) refers “the progress computational tools are much more
efficient than humans in applying the rule-based checker”. Thereby, a functional model
of analysis and management must contain a structural safety analysis, a schedule
conflict management, a resource and cost conflict management and a site conflict
management (Zhang and Hu, 2011).
To address a rule-check system (Figure 6), it is necessary to collect and analyse
information such as project planning and the work breakdown structure to improve the
safety of different activities’ phases. Currently, there is no repository of regulations and
CI safety rules applicable to BIM, based on Occupational Safety and Health Administration
21,2 and good practices guidelines (Zhang et al., 2011).
Initially, the safety rules are interpreted to turn them in machine-readable rules according
to their properties. As an example, an algorithm of the rule-checking system applied to
prevent falls from height is presented in Figure 7.
The BIM model should be prepared and verified if it contains the schedule of the different
250 phases of the activities, verifying if it is prepared to the implementation of the rule-check
system, with the manual intervention, being possible to complement or correct the
application of the rules, obtaining the best preventive measures for each situation. These can
then be exported to visualize the protective equipment application in the model, but a report
with the unsafe situations and the respective measures to be applied can also be exported to
Excel. Finally, it is possible to export a list of quantities of safety equipment and add this
information to the project schedule (Eastman et al., 2009).
Considering that a construction site is a place that is constantly changing and executing
several activities simultaneously, the rule-check system should be applied whenever there
are changes, granting that the planning is always up to date.
The development of a rule-check system needs to identify the hazards and the consequent
risks and interpret the current legislation to verify the possibility of converting these same rules
to a computer system. Considering the purpose of this paper, Portuguese safety legal
regulations (DL273/2003 and DL 41821/1958) and the OSHA 1926–501 (2019) regarding
performing work at height, openings and excavations were analysed to be included in the rules
of protection measures database linked to the JHA plugin.
Regulation no. 101/96 of April 3 (Portaria no. 101/1996), in article 10 and 11 establishes
the procedures to be performed in situations of falling objects and falls from height.
However, a more objective document should be used as a best practice guide, as it does not
provide specific measures.

Plugins
Based on Figures 6 and 7 and the legislation analysis, two types of plugins were developed.
The first plugin called “Job Hazard Analysis”, identifies using Revit software, the risks at
the worksite and shows the safety procedures that should be applied. The second one, called
“Safeobject” applies the protective measures to delete the hazards and consequent risks
detected by the “Job Hazard Analysis”. Both plugins development initially consisted of the
analysis of development processes for Revit software, culminating in the choice of C# (reads
C Sharp) as a programming language. For programming, the Microsoft Visual Studio 2015
IDE was used that supports the .NET framework platform, and the integration of the Revit
API.
Job Hazard Analysis plugin. “Job Hazard Analysis” is a plugin that brings to Revit the
risks and safety procedures of the Portuguese Legislation for a given task, assisting
designers while developing the model and safety planners while preparing the safety
procedures on-site with all the information related to occupational safety. Figure 8 shows the
BIM model and the database connection.
For the user, it is possible to select the activity related to the constructive element
selected in Revit, being shown the potential hazards related to that activity (Figure 9).
Finally, with the selection of one of those hazards, recommended safety procedures will be
displayed on the right-side box. An export option was included, allowing the possibility to
create the visible information in a PDF format.
SafeObject plugin. Another plugin was also developed called SafeObject to apply the
protective measures according to the hazards and risks. In the sequence of the insufficient
results of safety BIM objects available in BIM libraries, a safety BIM object library Safety plugins
(“SafeObject” plugin) was conceived and developed, with the possibility to automatically for risks
detect falls from height hazards and to apply the correspondent protective measures, aiming
to easily implement safety through design. This plugin was also developed in Visual Studio
prevention
in C# language. Its user interface is presented in Figure 10.
Focused on the interface and in the Revit connection, the family objects used for the
plugin were created by Rodrigues et al. (2018a) all with the .rfa file extension. Based on them,
the interface was divided into different categories according to the existing objects: covers, 251
guard-rails and safety-lines (life-lines). Considering the future possibilities of expanding the
plugin, it was also designed with the possibility of adding new objects to it, increasing the
object database (Figure 11).
Besides the possibility of adding new safety objects to the project, this tool also allows to
automatically apply them. Regarding guard-rails, the plugin enables to place them per slab
or in all the slabs simultaneously when this category is selected (Figure 12).
To do so, a Revit Project Parameter (“Has GuardRails”) is used in a first instance to
identify if the slab already contains or not guardrails applied to its boundary, skipping the
application when the parameter was a yes value (Figures 13 and 14).
If the parameter is a no, the plugin will then retrieve the beginning and ending
coordinates of the boundary of the selected slab and the level, and use them to generate the
paths where the guardrails will be laid on. The placing is made by an iteration of that path in
every three meters (Figure 15).
These plugins were linked to Revit through an API allowing the development of software
to add new functionalities through external tools to already existing software products.

Online databases and digital tools

BIM is changing the way construction can be approached and it has been already proven its
potential. However, it has not still broadly been extended to include automated safety
management functions, such as hazard identification, assessment and control of risks for
construction works. As a high percentage of accidents can be prevented by safety
deliberations at the design stage, the use of this methodology is increasing in the
construction industry and it is believed that its versatility, effectiveness and efficiency can
be extended to construction safety (Godfaurd and Ganah, 2015; Chan et al., 2016).
Different databases and digital tools for hazard prevention already exist, but not related
to BIM. The online databases have the possibility of containing large amounts of
information in a centralized way, allowing various stakeholders to obtain the most diverse
safety recommendations and procedures at the time of decision-making and risk
assessment. Through its use, all the information is accessible at one time, not depending on
the stakeholders’ experience. Meanwhile, other tools have emerged (Zhou et al., 2012).
Augmented and virtual reality, 4D simulations, laser scanning and radio-frequency
identification communications are some of the new digital technologies that arose in the past
few years in the construction sector, allowing a change shifter in the way that a project is
conceived, permitting to introduce new approaches and working methodologies (Kim and
Kano, 2008; Yihai et al., 2016; Rebolj et al., 2017).
Considering that during the study of the rule-checking framework and protective
measures, it was verified that lots of rules were not translatable in a programming language,
namely, the individual protective measures, and a database of protection measures rules
linked to Job Hazards Analysis plugin was developed.
So, when selecting a parametric object in the BIM model, recommended safety
procedures will be displayed on the right side box of the JHA Interface (Figure 9). An export
CI option was included, allowing the possibility to create the visible information in a PDF
21,2 format.
To obtain this information, the safety database built to store the information is based on
five different categories: activity, description, element, hazards and common hazards. This
database has the format of MSSQL and is external to Revit (Table 3).
The connection to a BIM model is made through the user interface. The Revit API allows
252 to retrieve information from the model, such as the selected object and its properties, and
then present that information in the interface. It is according to that selection that the
database information is then filtered, indicating the respective data (Figure 16).

Case study
As previously mentioned, the methodology adopted allows to:
 Detect job hazards in Revit software using “Job Hazard Analysis” plugin.
 Import safety objects individually, or apply them automatically on slabs in Revit
software using “SafeObject” plugin.
 Include safety database in Revit through the inclusion of legal and technical
requirements in a database linked to “Job Hazard Analysis” plugin. These tools can
be used in any BIM model and its validation during and after its creation was
performed in a 3D BIM structural model of a building (Figure 17).

Because of the various possibilities of the JHA plugin, a structural slab was selected to
demonstrate the possible hazards that exist, and for the selected case (falls from height), the
safety procedures recommended (Figure 18) were obtained through the JHA interface.
The automated openings tool detector associated with SafeObject was also applied, and
as can be seen in Figure 19, a total of 12 openings were automatically detected on the model,
referring to slab openings. Besides this type, the filter also recognizes openings created by
the other opening tools provided by Autodesk Revit, with the possibility of also indicating
rectangular straight wall opening and to identify if it is a shaft opening or not.
The loading of several safety objects of different sizes allows the application of correct safety
systems for various hazardous situations. Using the load into project button, the appropriate
object can now be used to avoid the risk (Figure 20). Nevertheless, the automatic placement
button was also used to apply the required protections on the slab boundary (Figure 21).

Conclusions
The architecture, engineering, construction and operation sector is constantly evolving, with
emerging complex processes and methodologies. However, insufficient deadlines associated
with the lack of designers concern about occupational risks prevention usually invalidate
not only the application of some new rules but also lead to neglect the existing ones. Safety
planning is one of the most undervalued aspects, being its correct implementation almost
not considered during the design phase.
BIM methodology is one recent technology providing the possibility of parametric 3D
modelling, and it is responsible for new solutions and tools to make the construction process
more reliable along all its life cycle (Wang and Chong, 2015). However, the bibliographic
review made perceptible the scarcity of information and the weak approach to the safety
theme resourcing BIM methodology.
The introduction of an automatic rule-check system provides the resolution of gaps in a
shorter time interval and introduces new possibilities in design. Although requiring human
intervention to verify the results, the rule-check plugin can be used to find out the existing Safety plugins
hazards and the respective preventive measures. for risks
This paper contributes to demonstrating the potential of the API provided by Autodesk Revit
for the hazards prevention through BIM methodology. A plugin for Revit software was developed
prevention
that enables the hazards detection in the design phase preventing them for the construction stage.
Through this paper, it was also possible to note the lack of BIM objects dedicated
to occupational safety protections for the construction phase in different repositories,
leading to the development of the second tool herein presented, which is the plugin 253
“SafeObject”. This tool allows the automated introducing of safety objects for the
hazards detected in the first plugin. An interconnection between the JHA plugin and a
safety database was developed, which includes some of the Portuguese safety legal
specifications, in a practical and accessible way, with the possibility of exporting
safety data sheets according to specific BIM objects and the work activities
associated.
It is concluded that Revit APIs allow several approaches and process automation
and despite the initial time of programming and developing the plugins, these
contribute to substantial gains, both in the time required to execute the tasks that are
intended and in an accurate hazards identification and prevention during the design
phase. In the scope of risk prevention, the automation of the detection of potential falls
from height in the design phase contributes to its elimination/minimization in a reliable
and fast way.
As further developments, it is proposed: the development of the JHA plugin to be
applied to other types of hazards; the improvement and widening of objects library
(SafeObject plugin); the automated inclusion of objects in the model, for another type of
hazards and risks. These developments will be an important contribution to hazards
and risk prevention through the design phase.
All Figures and Tables are available on: https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%
3a%2f%2fuapt33090-my.sharepoint.com%2f%3af%3a%2fg%2fpersonal%2fmfrodrigues_ua_
pt%2fEieQcCgkKP1Iu6IYP2BwlisBOFmsQrYb3TfB39hh82BxMA%3fe%3d8TfMqt&
c=E,1,9CRAxVDxwMAAVjzDQ7Bf-eAsohv56esJPek7RTjKDbru7awgQ9_a0LPIzVy4lSbvKfs
Yhxd-Uo947XbLJ6VXcHTRZIALagIUVK1nz-BQgIotwRiP6FMW&typo=1

References
ACT (2019), “Autoridade Para as Condições do Trabalho”, available at: www.act.gov.pt/(pt-PT)/
CentroInformacao/Estatistica/Paginas/default.aspx (accessed 17 March 2020) (in Portuguese).
AGCA (2005), The Contractor’s Guide to BIM, 1st ed., AGC Research Foundation, Associated General
Contractors of America, Las Vegas, NV.
Ahuja, R., Sawhney, A. and Arif, M. (2018), “Developing organizational capabilities to deliver lean and
green project outcomes using BIM”, Engineering Construction and Architectural Management,
Vol. 25 No. 4, doi: 10.1108/ECAM-08-2017-0175.
Alkilani, S., Jupp, J. and Sawhney, A. (2013), “Issues of construction health and safety in developing
countries: a case of Jordan”, Construction Economics and Building, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 141-156,
doi: 10.5130/ajceb.v13i3.330.
Anibire, M., Mahmoud, A., Hassanain, M. and Salami, B. (2020), “A risk assessment approach for
enhancing construction safety performance”, Safety Science, Vol. 121, pp. 15-29, doi: 10.1016/j.
ssci.2019.08.044.
Anton, L. and Díaz, J. (2014), “Integration of life cycle assessment in a BIM environment”, Procedia
Engineering, Vol. 85, pp. 26-32, doi: 10.1016/j.proeng.2014.10.525.
CI Autodesk (2018), “Revit API developers guide”, available at: http://help.autodesk.com/view/RVT/2017/
ENU/?guid=GUID-F0A122E0-E556-4D0D-9D0F-7E72A9315A42
21,2
Azhar, S. and Behringer, A. (2012), “BIM for facilitating construction safety planning and
management at job sites”, CIB W099 International Conference Modeling Building Health
Safety, Singapura.
Azhar, S. and Behringer, A. (2013), “A BIM-based approach for communicating and implementing a
254 construction site safety plan”, 49th ASC Annual International Conference Proceedings, CA,
EUA: Associated Schools of Construction.
Azhar, S., Hein, M. and Sketo, B. (2007), “Building information modeling (BIM): benefits, risks and
challenges”, BIM-Benefit Measurement, Vol. 18 No. 9, p. 11.
Azhar, S., Khalfan, M. and Maqsood, T. (2012), “Building information modeling (BIM): now and beyond”,
Construction Economics and Building, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 15-28, doi: 10.5130/ajceb.v12i4.3032.
BCA (2013), Singapore BIM Guide, Building and Construction Authority, Singapore.
Behm, M. and Schneller, A. (2013), “Application of the Loughborough accident causation model: a
framework for organizational learning”, Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 31
No. 6, pp. 580-595, doi: 10.1080/01446193.2012.690884.
Berlo, L. and Natrop, M. (2015), “BIM on the construction site: generating on demand, task specific
drawings in the site”, 10th European Conference on Product and Process Modelling, ECPPM
2014, 17-19 September 2014, Vienna, ISSN 9781138027107, pp. 63-68.
Bimobject (2017), available at: https://bimobject.com/pt/babcock/product/roof-hatch-safety-
railing
BSI, PAS 1192-6 (2018), Specification for Collaborative Sharing and Use of Structured Health and Safety
Information Using BIM, The British Standards Institution (BSI), London.
Cardoso, P. (2009), “Modelo de prevenção de acidentes na construção”, 128, available at: www.
ordemengenheiros.pt/fotos/editor2/cdn/especializacoes/16_000137864.pdf (in Portuguese).
Chan, I., Leung, H., Fung, I. and Leung, M. (2016), “How can BIM support construction safety
management? Development of SIM”, MATEC Web of Conferences, Vol. 66, p. 00018,
doi: 10.1051/matecconf/20166600018.
Chantawit, D., Hadikusumo, B.H.W., Charoenngam, C. and Rowlinson, S. (2005), “4DCAD-safety:
visualizing project scheduling and safety planning”, Construction Innovation, Vol. 5 No. 2,
pp. 99-114, doi: 10.1108/14714170510815203.
Chen, D., Shao, C., Yuan, Z. and Ding, S. (2019), “The application of BIM technology in a comprehensive
experimental building project”, IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science,
IOP Publishing, doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/218/1/012058.
Cheng, E., Li, H., Fang, D. and Xie, F. (2004), “Construction safety management: an exploratory study
from China”, Construction Innovation, Vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 229-241, doi: 10.1108/14714170410815114.
COBIM (2012), Common BIM Requirements, COBIM, Finland.
Cooke, T. and Lingard, H. (2011), “A retrospective analysis of work-related deaths in the Australian
construction industry”, ARCOM 27th Annual Conference, Reading, UK.
Dallasega, P., Rauch, E. and Linder, C. (2018), “Industry 4.0 as an enabler of proximity for construction
supply chains: a systematic literature review”, Computers in Industry, Vol. 99, pp. 205-225,
doi: 10.1016/j.compind.2018.03.039.
Drozd, W. and Kowalik, M. (2019), “Use of BIM tools for organization of the construction site in
the aspect of work safety”, IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering,
IOP Publishing, doi: 10.1088/1757-899X/471/11/112041.
Eastman, C., Lee, J., Jeong, Y. and Lee, J. (2009), “Automatic rule-based checking of building
designs”, Automation in Construction, Vol. 18 No. 8, pp. 1011-1033, doi: 10.1016/j.
autcon.2009.07.002.
Eastman, C., Teicholz, P., Sacks, R. and Liston, K. (2011), BIM Handbook a Guide to Building Safety plugins
Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers and Contractors, John Wiley
and Sons, Hoboken, NJ.
for risks
Eurostat (2017a), “Fatal and non-fatal accidents at work’ by NACE section, EU-28”, Source: Eurostat
prevention
(online data code: (hsw_n2_01) and (hsw_n2_02)), available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/
statistics-explained/index.php/Accidents_at_work_statistics#Analysis_by_activity (accessed
18 March 2020).
Eurostat (2017b), “Fatal accidents at work”, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- 255
explained/index.php/Accidents_at_work_statistics#Incidence_rates (accessed 18 March 2020).
Fernandes, R. (2013), “Advantages and disadvantages of BIM platforms on construction site”,
Department of Civil Engineering, available at: http://repositorio-aberto.up.pt/handle/10216/73195
(in Portuguese).
Firmenich, J. (2017), “Customisable framework for project risk management”, Construction Innovation,
Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 68-89, doi: 10.1108/ci-04-2015-0022.
Frijters, A. and Swuste, P. (2008), “Safety assessment in design and preparation phase”, Safety Science,
Vol. 46 No. 2, pp. 272-281, doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2007.06.032.
Gibb, A., Lingard, H., Behm, M. and Cooke, T. (2014), “Construction accident causality: learning from
different countries and differing consequences”, Construction Management and Economics,
Vol. 32 No. 5, pp. 446-459, doi: 10.1080/01446193.2014.907498.
Godfaurd, J. and Ganah, A. (2015), “Integrating BIM and planning software for health and safety
site induction”, Safety and Health at Work, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 39-45, doi: 10.1016/j.
shaw.2014.10.002.
Golizadeh, H., Hon, C., Drogemuller, R. and Hosseini, M. (2018), “Digital engineering potential in
addressing causes of construction accidents”, Automation in Construction, Vol. 95, pp. 284-295,
doi: 10.1016/j.autcon.2018.08.013.
Guo, H., Yu, Y. and Skitmore, M. (2017), “Visualization technology-based construction safety
management: a review”, Automation in Construction, Vol. 73, pp. 135-144, doi: 10.1016/j.
autcon.2016.10.004.
Hu, Z. and Zhang, J. (2011), “BIM-and 4D-based integrated solution of analysis and management for
conflicts and structural safety problems during construction: 2. Development and site trials”,
Automation in Construction, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 167-180, doi: 10.1016/j.autcon.2010.09.014.
Hu, Z., Zhang, J. and Zhang, X. (2010), “Construction collision detection for site entities based on
4-D space-time model”, Journal of Tsinghua University Science Technology, Vol. 50 No. 6,
pp. 820-825.
Kamardeen, I. (2010), “8D BIM modelling tool for accident prevention through design”, 26th Annual
ARCOM Conference, September, pp. 281-289.
Kim, H. and Kano, N. (2008), “Comparison of construction photograph and VR image in construction
progress”, Automation in Construction, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 137-143, doi: 10.1016/j.
autcon.2006.12.005.
Kim, K. and Teizer, J. (2014), “Automatic design and planning of scaffolding systems using building
information modelling”, Advanced Engineering Informatics, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 66-80, doi: 10.1016/
j.aei.2013.12.002.
Kim, H., Lee, H., Park, M., Chung, B. and Hwanfg, S. (2013), “Information retrieval framework for
hazard identification in construction”, Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, Vol. 29 No. 3,
p. 04014052, doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)CP.1943-5487.0000340.
Kulkarni, A., Ranjha, S., Rajeev, P., Sanjayan, J. and Sierra, C. (2018). “Building information modelling-
enhancing productivity in rail infrastructure construction”, First International Conference on 3D
Construction Printing (3DcP), and the 6th International Conference on Innovative Production
and Construction (IPC 2018), Melbourne, 25-28 November.
CI Li, S., Yan, X., Wang, F., Rose, T., Chan, G. and Dong, S. (2016), “Stochastic state sequence model to
predict construction site safety states through real-time location systems”, Safety Science,
21,2 Vol. 84, pp. 78-87, doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2015.11.025.
Lingard, H., Cooke, T. and Gharaie, E. (2013), “A case study analysis of fatal incidents involving
excavators in the Australian construction industry”, Engineering, Construction and
Architectural Management, Vol. 20 No. 5, pp. 488-504, doi: 10.1108/ECAM-08-2011-0073.
Malekitabar, H., Ardeshir, A., Sebt, M. and Stouffs, R. (2016), “Construction safety risk drivers: a BIM
256 approach”, Safety Science, Vol. 82, pp. 445-455, doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2015.11.002.
Manuele, F. (2007), “Prevention through design: addressing occupational risks in the design and
redesign processes”, ByDesign, pp. 1-13.
Marhavilas, P.K., Koulouriotis, D. and Gemeni, V. (2011), “Risk analysis and assessment methodologies
in the work sites: on a review, classification and comparative study of the scientific literature of
the period 2000-2009”, Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, Vol. 24 No. 5,
pp. 477-523, doi: 10.1016/j.jlp.2011.03.004.
Maskusiy, R., Selamat, A., Ali, K., Maresova, P. and Krejcar, O. (2019), “Industry 4.0 for construction industry
– how ready is the industry?”, Applied Sciences, Vol. 9 No. 14, p. 2819, doi: 10.3390/app9142819.
Melzner, J., Zhang, S., Teizer, J. and Bargstädt, H. (2013), “A case study on automated safety compliance
checking to assist fall protection design and planning in building information models”, Construction
Management and Economics, Vol. 31 No. 6, pp. 1-14, doi: 10.1080/01446193.2013.780662.
New York, NY County Buildings (2013), Building Information Modeling Site Safety Submission
Guidelines and Standards, New York, NY City Department of Buildings, New York, NY.
OSHA 1926-501 (2019), “Occupational safety and health administration”, Fall Protection in
Construction, available at: https://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/otm_v/otm_v_4.html (accessed
13 November 2019).
Oti, A.H., Tizani, W., Abanda, F.H., Jaly-Zada, A. and Tah, J.H.M. (2016), “Structural sustainability
appraisal in BIM”, Automation in Construction, Vol. 69, pp. 44-58, doi: 10.1016/j.autcon.
2016.05.019.
Potts, K. (2008), “Construction cost management: learning from case studies”, First Published 2008
Taylor and Francis Group London and New York, ISBN 0-203-93301-X.
 Bizjak, M. and Mongus, D. (2017), “Point cloud quality requirements
Rebolj, D., Pucko, Z., Babic, N.C.,
for scan-vs-BIM based automated construction progress monitoring”, Automation in
Construction, Vol. 84, pp. 323-334, doi: 10.1016/j.autcon.2017.09.021.
Rodrigues, F., Coutinho, C. and Cardoso, C. (2015), “Correlation of causal factors that influence construction
safety performance: a model”, Work, Vol. 51 No. 4, pp. 721-730, doi: 10.3233/WOR-152030.
Rodrigues, F., Estrada, J., Antunes, F. and Swuste, P. (2018a), “Safety through design: a BIM-based
framework”, Conference paper: Sustainable Civil Infrastructures: Innovative Infrastructure
Geotechnology, Springer, doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-61645-2_9.
Rodrigues, F., Teixeira, J., Matos, R. and Rodrigues, H. (2019), “Development of a web application for
historical building management through BIM technology”, Advances in Civil Engineering,
Vol. 2019, doi: 10.1155/2019/9872736.
Rodrigues, F., Matos, R., Rodrigues, H., Alves, A. and Ribeirinho, P. (2018b), “Building life cycle applied
to refurbishment of a traditional building from Oporto, Portugal”, Journal of Building
Engineering, Vol. 17, pp. 84-95, doi: 10.1016/j.jobe.2018.01.010.
Sawhney, A., Singh, M. and Ahuja, R. (2017), “Worldwide BIM overview”, Chapter 1 in Wu, P., Li, H.
and Wang, X. (Eds), Integrated Building Information Modelling, 1st ed., Bentham Science, doi:
10.2174/97816810845721170101.
Schwabe, K., Teizer, J. and König, M. (2019), “Applying rule-based model-checking to construction site
layout planning tasks”, Automation in Construction, Vol. 97, pp. 205-219, doi: 10.1016/j.
autcon.2018.10.012.
Sulankivi, K. (2009), Building Information Modelling (BIM) Promoting Construction Safety, VTT, Safety plugins
Editor, Finlândia.
for risks
Sulankivi, K. and Kiviniemi, M. (2010), “4D-BIM for construction safety planning”, Proceedings of
W099-Special Track 18th CIB World Building Congress.
prevention
Sulankivi, K., Mäkelä, T. and Kiviniemi, M. (2009), “BIM-based site layout and safety planning”, VTT
Symposium (Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus), Vol. 259, pp. 125-140.
Swuste, P., Frijters, A. and Guldenmund, F. (2012), “Is it possible to influence safety in the building 257
sector? A literature review extending from 1980 until the present”, Safety Science, Vol. 50 No. 5,
pp. 1333-1343, doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2011.12.036.
Tixier, A., Hallowell, M., Rajagopalan, B. and Bowman, D. (2017), “Construction safety clash detection:
identifying safety incompatibilities among fundamental attributes using data mining”,
Automation in Construction, Vol. 74, pp. 39-54, doi: 10.1016/j.autcon.2016.11.001.
Vrijhoef, R. and Koskela, L. (2005), “A critical review of construction as a project-based industry:
identifying paths towards a project-independent approach to construction”, CIB Combining
Forces, Publication code: 978-952-5004-68-7952-5004-68-6.
Wang, Q. (2019), “Automatic checks from 3D point cloud data for safety regulation compliance for
scaffold work platforms”, Automation in Construction, Vol. 104, pp. 38-51, doi: 10.1016/j.
autcon.2019.04.008.
Wang, X. and Chong, H.-Y. (2015), “Setting new trends of integrated building information modelling
(BIM) for construction industry”, Construction Innovation, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 2-6, doi: 10.1108/ci-
10-2014-0049.
Yihai, F.K.C.Y., Sijie, Z. and Esau, P. (2016), “Case study of BIM and cloud – enabled real-time RFID
indoor localization for construction management applications”, Journal of Construction
Engineering and Management, Vol. 142 No. 7, p. 5016003, doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-
7862.0001125.
Yuan, J., Li, X., Xiahou, X., Tymvios, N., Zhou, Z. and Li, Q. (2019), “Accident prevention through design
(PtD): integration of building information modeling and PtD knowledge base”, Automation in
Construction, Vol. 102, pp. 86-104, doi: 10.1016/j.autcon.2019.02.015.
Zhang, S. (2013), “Integrating building information modeling (BIM) and safety: automated safety
checking of construction models and schedules”, Automation in Construction, Vol. 29,
pp. 183-195, doi: 10.1016/j.autcon.2012.05.006.
Zhang, S. (2014), “Integrating safety and BIM: Automated construction hazard identification and
prevention”, (August), available at: http://hdl.handle.net/1853/52235
Zhang, J. and Hu, Z. (2011), “BIM-and 4D-based integrated solution of analysis and management
for conflicts and structural safety problems during construction: 1. Principles and
methodologies”, Automation in Construction, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 155-166, doi: 10.1016/j.
autcon.2010.09.013.
Zhang, S., Boukamp, F. and Teizer, J. (2015a), “Ontology-based semantic modeling of
construction safety knowledge: towards automated safety planning for job hazard
analysis (JHA)”, Automation in Construction, Vol. 52, pp. 29-41, doi: 10.1016/j.
autcon.2015.02.005.
Zhang, S., Lee, J., Venugopal, M., Teizer, J. and Eastman, C. (2011), “Integrating BIM and safety: an
automated rule-based checking system for safety planning and simulation”, Proceedings of CIB
W99 Conference, pp. 1-13.
Zhang, S., Sulankivi, K., Kivuniemi, M., Romo, I., Eastman, C. and Teizer, J. (2015b), “BIM-based fall
hazard identification and prevention in construction safety planning”, Safety Science, Vol. 72,
pp. 31-45, doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2014.08.001.
Zhou, W., Whyte, J. and Sacks, R. (2012), “Construction safety and digital design: a review”,
Automation in Construction, Vol. 22, pp. 102-111, doi: 10.1016/j.autcon.2011.07.005.
CI Further reading
21,2 Directive 92/57/EEC (2020), “‘Temporary or mobile construction sites of 24 June 1992 on the
implementation of minimum safety and health requirements at temporary or mobile
construction sites’ (eighth individual directive within the meaning of article 16 (1) of directive 89/
391/EEC)”, Official Journal of the European Communities, L 245, Volume 35, 26 August 1992.
DL 41821/1958 (2020), “Decreto-Lei ‘normas de segurança no trabalho da construção civil’, 11 de agosto
de 1958: Min.Obras públicas e das corpor. e prev. Social”, (in Portuguese).
258
DL n.° 273/2003 (2020), “Decreto-Lei ‘condições de segurança e de saúde no trabalho em estaleiros
temporarios ou moveis’, 29 outubro, 2003, DR série A, 251”, pp. 7199-7211, (in Portuguese).
Hale, A., Walker, D., Walters, N. and Bolt, H. (2012), “Developing the understanding of underlying
causes of construction fatal accidents”, Safety Science, Vol. 50 No. 10, pp. 2020-2027, doi: 10.1016/
j.ssci.2012.01.018.
Haslam, R., Hide, S., Gibb, A., Gyi, D., Pavitt, T., Atkinson, S. and Duff, A. (2005), “Contributing factors
in construction accidents”, Applied Ergonomics, Vol. 36 No. 4, pp. 401-415, doi: 10.1016/j.
apergo.2004.12.002.
Hide, S., Atkinson, S., Pavitt, T., Haslam, R., Gibb, A. and Gyi, D. (2003), “Causal factors in construction
accidents”, HSE research report 156, available at: https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/2558
ISO 29481-1 (2020), “Building Information Modeling – Information Delivery Manual – Part 1:
Methodology and Format” – 2010.
Portaria n.° 101/1996 (2020), “‘Prescrições mínimas de segurança e de saúde nos locais e postos de
trabalho dos estaleiros temporarios ou moveis’, 3 de abril de 1996, diario da república, 1a Série-
B n.° 80”, pp. 703-706. (in Portuguese).

Corresponding author
Raquel Matos can be contacted at: rvpm@ua.pt

For instructions on how to order reprints of this article, please visit our website:
www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/licensing/reprints.htm
Or contact us for further details: permissions@emeraldinsight.com