A BIM-Based Solution for the Optimisation of Fire Safety Measures in the Building Design

A significant number of injuries and fatalities occur annually due to fire in buildings. The proactive use of fire safety measures at the design stage can potentially lead to a considerable improvement in reducing casualties by assisting occupants in a safe evacuation. In this study, a framework is developed to obtain a set of appropriate fire safety measures while considering their effects on safe evacuation (i.e., increasing the percentage of survived occupants) and budget limits. The framework consists of four phases, namely (1) initial preparation, (2) optimisation with a meta-heuristic algorithm, (3) decision making when the designer should select appropriate measures considering the budget limit, and (4) applying the selected measures into BIM. A binary version of Billiards-inspired Optimisation Algorithm (BOA) is developed and utilised in the optimisation phase. A case study approach is adopted for this research and the performance of the proposed framework is evaluated by implementing it in two case projects: a residential building and a hospital building. The results indicate that the framework is a beneficial approach for designers to modify building designs in terms of safe evacuation at the design stage by using fire safety measures effectively and economically. It is expected that the output of this framework will help decrease fatalities of building users during a fire.

Automated summary

This study developed a framework for improving building designs in terms of safe evacuation by using effective and economical fire safety measures at the design stage. The framework consists of four phases, including initial preparation, optimization with a meta-heuristic algorithm, decision making based on budget limits, and applying selected measures into BIM. The framework was evaluated through case studies of a residential building and a hospital building, and the results indicated its effectiveness.