Integration of blockchains and smart contracts into construction information flows: Proof-of-concept

The process of constructing structural systems produces a huge amount of documentation that traces human activities on a construction site. While the building information modelling approach introduces common data environments (CDEs) to support document management, communication between them is limited, and mainly involves the use of email and activities susceptible to human error. This paper proposes a proof-of-concept for the integration of blockchains and smart contracts into information flows used in various CDEs. The focus of the proposal is on reducing human error and increasing the reliability and transparency of decision-making processes on construction sites pertaining to the structural system. To this end, the proof-of-concept introduces smart contracts that have different levels of complexity, with the advanced version comparing information exchanged with data gathered by IoT sensors on site. A first implementation of the proposal is also presented. •The process of constructing structural systems produces a huge amount of documentation that traces human activities on a construction site.•While the BIM approach introduces common data environments (CDEs) to support document management, however, communication between them is limited, mainly involving the use of email and activities susceptible to human error.•This paper proposes a proof-of-concept for the integration of blockchains and smart contracts into information flows used in various CDEs.•The proof-of-concept introduces smart contracts that have different levels of complexity.•The focus of the proposal is on reducing human error and increasing the reliability and transparency of decision-making processes on construction sites pertaining to the structural system.