Identifying Construction-Stage Management Problems in Super High-Rise Projects: A Qualitative Study of BIM and Smart-Site Practices in Xi'an, China

Fang Li; Nurazim Ibrahim

doi:10.62177/jaet.v3i4.1738

Authors

Fang Li Kuala Lumpur University of Science and Technology; Xi’an Siyuan University
Nurazim Ibrahim Xi’an Siyuan University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62177/jaet.v3i4.1738

Keywords:

Building Information Modelling (BIM), Smart Construction Site, Super High-Rise Building, Management Problems, Thematic Analysis, Information Fragmentation, Xi'an

Abstract

The increasing use of Building Information Modelling (BIM), Internet of Things devices, and smart-site platforms has expanded the amount of information available during construction, but it has not necessarily resolved the management problems created by fragmented responsibilities, disconnected data, and rapidly changing site conditions. This study identifies and explains the principal construction-stage management problems affecting super high-rise projects in Xi'an, China. An interpretive qualitative design was adopted. Fifteen practitioners representing project management, BIM and digital construction, safety and environmental management, quality and technical management, equipment and mechanical-electrical-plumbing management, and regulatory inspection participated in semi-structured interviews. The data were analysed through a problem-centred thematic procedure based on Braun and Clarke's six phases, supported by NVivo 14, cross-role comparison, saturation monitoring, and independent coding of 20% of the transcripts. Four domain-specific problems were identified: disconnection between foundation-pit monitoring data and BIM spatial objects; fragmentation of core-tube construction and quality-status information; absence of integrated vertical-transportation coordination; and discontinuity in work-at-height safety management. Across all four domains, a meta-problem of information coordination failure was evident in duplicate data entry, unsynchronised model and site status, isolated management systems, informal communication, and unclear ownership of cross-domain events. The findings show that the central difficulty is not a lack of digital tools, but the inability to convert dispersed digital records into shared, spatially located, responsibility-linked management information. By separating problem diagnosis from later framework development, this paper provides an empirically grounded account of where and why current BIM and smart-site practices fail during super high-rise construction.

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