Alfonso Cortés-Pérez

The generation of explosive atmospheres (ATEX) is a relevant safety issue in wastewater treatment plants, where methane accumulation may create hazardous conditions. Although regulatory frameworks exist, their practical assessment remains difficult when based on conventional two-dimensional analysis. This study develops and applies a BIM-based methodology for ATEX risk assessment in wastewater treatment plant design. The approach combines structured safety parameters, automated calculation, and three-dimensional representation of hazardous volumes within a digital workflow. A 3D model of the facility was developed in Autodesk Revit, incorporating dedicated parameters for safety data management and a Dynamo-based connection between the BIM model and a spreadsheet used for risk calculation. The methodology was applied to the sludge dewatering room of a wastewater treatment plant in Coria, Spain. Emission and ignition sources were identified, and the volumes associated with flammable gas release were generated directly in the BIM environment, enabling the analysis of their interaction with potential ignition sources. The resulting model supports scenario simulation and facilitates design review and maintenance planning. The proposed methodology improves the traceability of safety-related decisions during design and provides a practical digital approach for ATEX-informed assessment in wastewater treatment infrastructure.

Despite regulatory advances, there continues to be a high accident rate on construction sites, especially on road projects, mainly due to the lack of organization of safety information. Although there is research demonstrating the benefits of the BIM methodology for improving occupational safety, its scope is still limited. This study addresses the integration of occupational health and safety in road projects using the BIM methodology, in line with ISO 19650-1, proposing a standardization framework based on ISO 7817-1:2024. The concept of Level of Information for Safety and Health (LOINSH) is introduced, structured into four categories (100, 200, 300, and 350), which allows risks to be managed progressively throughout the project’s life cycle. The framework defines graphical and alphanumeric requirements for BIM objects, establishing sets of parameters recognized by the open IFC format to ensure interoperability and traceability. It also proposes a system for assessing risks associated with activities and disciplines, facilitating preventive decisions from the design stage onwards. The results indicate that this standardization improves communication and collaboration between agents, reduces workplace accidents, and can be applied to other types of construction works.

The high number of accidents in the construction sector makes the concept of prevention through design (PtD), which starts with the integration of an occupational risk assessment in this phase, increasingly important. To this end, BIM (building information modelling) is a methodology that provides benefits related to the management of health and safety in the design phase. Its application in linear work projects is less developed than its application in building, even more so with regard to health and safety in BIM. This research proposes a methodology for integrating risk assessment into the design phase of BIM road projects, structuring the information, establishing the information integration processes, its analysis and risk management, and automating its integration into the model through zones. As a result, the research enables risk assessment in the BIM model through zones, differentiating risk values and allowing for the analysis of interferences between certain activities and the study of other specific activities in the design. As a result of the structure and organisation of the data, it is possible to export the data to IFC for coordination with other stakeholders. Thus, the final contribution of the research is the introduction of health and safety into road projects conducted with BIM, in compliance with legal requirements.

Electrical risk has a particular impact within the construction sector. This leads to the development of regulations to mitigate it, but correct application of regulations is impossible with a traditional 2D analysis. The construction sector is using technologies from the industrial sector (Construction 4.0), with BIM as the main enabling technology. Thus, the objective of this article is the evaluation of the risk produced by Overhead Power Lines (OPL) through BIM integration. The OPL, its risk zones, the affected road, and the envelope resulting from the geometry of the necessary machines to build it were digitized, converging in a single model to perform a 4D risk analysis. The risks of the execution of the embankment and road surface of a road section passing through an OPL were analyzed by means of the collision of the envelope with its risk zones, resulting in an integration of their evaluation, to which was added the introduction of preventive measures and their re-evaluation. The parametric 3D modelling allowed a better definition of the risk zones and the BIM management minimized errors, providing traceability of decisions from the design phase, complying with health and safety regulations and applying the principle of Prevention through Design (PtD).

DOI: 10.7764/RDLC.16.2.262The investment in tunneling shows an worldwide expansion trend. Reduction of risks, as part of the financial strategy of the stakeholders, has been the focus of several research studies. This paper aims to describe the construction risk prevention, in terms of occupational accidents and diseases, of the 2nd phase of the Marão Tunnel (Portugal) – the longest roadway tunnel in the Iberian Peninsula excavated with Sequential Method -with the particularity of the works being interrupted, leaving the tunnel only with primary lining for three years. The methodology is based in: 1) identification, by literature review, of most typical preventive measures and assessement of their applicability in the case study; 2) description of new preventive approaches. The paper will start with a history of work accidents, followed by the case study and, finally, it will delve into the preventive measures applied, as well as the new approaches, such as over-runs, falling blocks and risks associated with the suspension of works. Measures identified in literature were implemented and their validity was assessed. New approaches provided an safer and quickest way to work. This study is relevant to future tunnelling sites, since it is a good example of risk management using new approaches.