BIM-Enabled Integration of Laboratory Quality Control Data for Railway Infrastructure Assets
TL;DR
A digital methodology is developed that integrates laboratory test results with BIM-referenced assets and delivers the integrated information via interactive 3D-enabled dashboards and provides a practical pathway for laboratories to centralise, filter, and communicate test results without embedding full datasets into the BIM environment.
Abstract
Quality control data for construction materials is frequently exchanged as heterogeneous documents, limiting traceability and making element-level retrieval slow and error-prone. This study develops and assesses a digital methodology that integrates laboratory test results with BIM-referenced assets and delivers the integrated information via interactive 3D-enabled dashboards. The methodology comprises three stages, starting with the acquisition of data from laboratory deliverables and 3D models, followed by data standardisation and relational structuring in the software Power BI Desktop (version 2.157.879.0, Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, USA), and finally the publishing of generated dashboards embedded in a web application environment. The methodology is assessed through a real case study of a railway infrastructure asset, showing how laboratory records can be accessed and interpreted within a 3D model context, while preserving stakeholder-specific visibility through access control. The proposed approach supports element-level navigation of quality control and provides a practical pathway for laboratories to centralise, filter, and communicate test results without embedding full datasets into the BIM environment.