Automatic clash correction sequence optimization using a clash dependency network

Building information modeling has demonstrated its advantage to support design coordination, specifically for automatic clash detection. Detecting clashes helps us identify problems, but the process for solving these problems is still manual and time-consuming. This paper proposes using network theory to improve clash resolution by optimizing the clash correction sequence. Building systems are often interdependent of each other, and the dependency relations between building components propagate the impacts of clashes. Ignoring the dependency may cause new clashes when solving a clash or cause iterative adjustments for a single building component. However, a well-organized clash correction sequence can help reduce these issues. Therefore, it is necessary to holistically discuss the clash correction sequence by considering the dependence between clashes. This paper analyzes clash dependencies based on building component dependency relations. We design an optimization algorithm for determining the optimal sequence based on the clash dependency network to minimize feedback dependency, which may cause design rework on a project in project practice. The proposed method is validated on a real building project. After comparing with the natural sequence detected by commercial software, we find that the optimized sequence significantly reduces feedback and automatically groups dependent clashes, which facilitates design coordination.