Exploring an Interdisciplinary BIM-Based Joint Capstone Course in Highway Engineering

Abstract

Enhancing students’ interdisciplinary design ability in a highway engineering context is important for the development of building information modeling (BIM). This paper proposes a new paradigm for highway engineering and its service areas based on the BIM platform, integrating road, bridge, tunnel, engineering costing; architecture; structure; water supply and drainage; heating and ventilation; and electrical engineering for a senior year capstone course. An overall and breakdown work system is constructed of the joint design process guided by the highway engineering discipline. BIM technology is utilized to integrate the design work content of nine majors, linking the originally separated design stages, and articulating the flow of interoperability information in highway engineering. A case study tests the course, evaluates the students’ performance, and identifies improvements in software training, time schedule, technology connection, interoperability issues, as well as how BIM affects teamwork. In applying BIM in an interdisciplinary situation, a visualization tool is used to enrich the body of knowledge of BIM education as it relates to highway engineering.