Building information modeling on blockchain: basic principles, development tools, an application scenario, and future directions
Young Joo Kim, Miroslaw Jan Skibniewski · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2022
During the 2010-2020 decade, blockchain technology, a technology in search of real-world use cases, has received attention from the construction sector. This chapter introduces basic blockchain concepts, presents development tools, and demonstrates an application scenario in the context of delivering a critical infrastructure project. The chapter also highlights the potential, limitations, and applicability of blockchain technology in the construction sector. The chapter outlines prospects and challenges in running BIM applications, as well as project delivery systems in general, on blockchain technology. Research into blockchain technology by construction engineering and management researchers are covered in the process. Development of a simple, naive smart contract-powered social network platform for project delivery is described to depict the dynamics between the front- and the back-end of a distributed application running on blockchain. Coordinated efforts are critical to avoid reproduction of a fragmented, uncoordinated, and inefficient legacy construction sector in virtual space.