A process model for collaboration at the design stage of rail project delivery

The absence of a clear collaboration process at the design stage of rail projects hinders the ability to provide the right information at the right time for the right purposes. The scope and complexity of rail projects make them particularly sensitive to problems arising from poor collaboration. Within projects, collaboration is a key enabler for effective decision making and rework reduction and this leads to time and cost savings. Strategies and technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) facilitate collaboration among project stakeholders during the asset delivery phase but require a roadmap to ensure successful implementation. Using collaboration as a theoretical lens, and applying collaboration technologies, this paper conceptualizes the collaboration processes for rail delivery with the focus on the design stage. The aim of this research is to develop a collaboration process model at the design stage of rail delivery. Ten in-depth interviews with BIM, GIS and rail delivery experts were carried out to identify the dimensions and characteristics of the collaboration process model. The collaboration process emerging from the results was modelled using Integrated Definition (IDEF) notation and reveals the project activities, key players’ roles and responsibilities for effective BIM-GIS19 based collaboration in the design stage of rail projects. The process was operationalized by customizing a commercial Common Data Environment platform and was validated using a focus group and in-depth interview to establish the trustworthiness of the theoretically modelled collaboration process for rail delivery. The precise model of the collaboration process, based on integrated use of BIM and GIS, constitutes a significant original contribution of this research. This model should facilitate smoother implementation of these technologies, timely information flows between project participants, and ultimately more effective delivery of rail projects.