Cloud BIM Collaboration Tools for Infrastructure Development in Africa

Abstract

The recognition and acceptance of the impending population increase in Africa, and in particular the expected influx to urban cities, calls for an interdisciplinary effort to provide original solutions to the concomitant urban city services demands. A critical and practical approach to arrest the complex pressure on urban infrastructure accompanying the predicted population increase needs not only to be reviewed, but viable steps need to be appraised and implemented sooner rather than later. One prerequisite of the traditional methods of collaboration is that interdisciplinary deliberations take place simultaneously in the same geographical location. This resource-intensive approach is redolent with waste. Technological advances in cloud-based communication can effectively facilitate the vast majority of evaluation and resolution of challenges, interspaced with key face-to-face stakeholder meetings. This streamlined approach reduces waste. The study examines cloud building information modelling (BIM) systems that can be used for improving the delivery of building and infrastructure in Africa. The paper critically appraises the different cloud BIM systems, draws on the experiences of their use in developed countries and examines their application in the context of Africa.