Proposal for the Integration of the Assessment and Management of Electrical Risk from Overhead Power Lines in BIM for Road Projects

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).