Bridging Safety and Innovation: Integrating Building Information Modelling (BIM) with Fire Safety Evacuation Compliance Checking Process

Fire safety evacuation is an essential aspect in building design, directly impacting the safety of occupants during fire incidents. However, the conventional approach in checking the fire safety compliance is prone to errors and could not accommodate complex buildings. With the growing emphasis on proactive measures to mitigate fire risks and ensure swift evacuations, leveraging the compliance checking process through Building Information Modelling (BIM) demonstrates significant potential in this field. In Malaysia, the current compliance checking process grapples with challenges related to manual processes, fragmentation, and lack of automation. Hence, this paper aims to identify the potential of integrating BIM in the fire safety evacuation compliance checking process in Malaysia. Interview sessions were conducted with fire authority, architects, and engineers who are experienced in fire safety design and compliance checking. The study highlights the need for an integrated BIM platform for fire safety compliance checking with user-friendly interfaces, real-time collaboration tools, advanced simulation features, and smooth integration with existing fire safety systems. Collaboration through continuous feedback and cloud-based platforms for information sharing is also paramount in this integration. Tailored training programmes, strong leadership, and gradual implementation are the key elements in ensuring a successful BIM integration in this field. Future works involve identifying the key features needed for local authorities to check fire safety evacuation compliance using BIM, followed by creating a framework for the system.