BIM-Integrated Machine Learning for Automated Cost Estimation in Light Gauge Steel Modern Methods of Construction

Abstract: Light gauge steel (LGS) panelised systems are a growing method of offsite construction within the modern methods of construction (MMC) categories. LGS panelised systems face persistent challenges in early-stage construction cost estimation, resulting in manual, time consuming sometimes inaccurate pricing at tender. This paper presents a machine learning-based tool for automated prediction of LGS and hot-rolled steel (HRS) material quantities from preconstruction building parameters for LGS offsite construction. An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was trained on a synthetic dataset of 1,000 building projects, with an outlier-removed variant of 531 samples used for the primary model evaluation. Output targets were normalised to a [0, 1] scale using Min-Max scaling. Twenty-seven parameters extracted from Building Information Modelling (BIM) files served as input features, with number of doors (r = 0.94) and gross floor area (r = 0.93) identified as the strongest predictors of LGS tonnage. On the outlier-removed dataset, the ANN achieved R² = 0.834 for LGS tonnage and R² = 0.801 for HRS tonnage, demonstrating that preconstruction BIM parameters contain sufficient predictive information for early-stage LGS quantity estimation and providing a basis for data-driven tender screening prior to detailed manual take-off.

Keywords: Light Gauge Steel, Modern Methods of Construction, Building Information Modelling, Artificial Neural Network, Cost Estimation, Construction Digitalisation

Publication details: Full-text conference paper presented at the Civil Engineering Research in Ireland 2026 Conference (CERI2026), 18-19 June 2026, Riddel Hall, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom. Published in: Proceedings of the Civil Engineering Research in Ireland 2026 Conference (CERI2026), pp. 635-639. Publisher: Civil Engineering Research Association of Ireland (CERAI).

Acknowledgement: Developed through a University College Dublin – Evolusion Innovation research partnership. CERI 2026 was organised by the Civil Engineering Research Association of Ireland (CERAI) and chaired by Dr Daniel McPolin, Queen's University Belfast.

How to cite / Kaynak gösterimi

APA 7: Gülmez, B., Osman, M. S. M., Wallace, D., Murphy, M., Gordan, M., & McCrum, D. (2026, June). BIM-Integrated Machine Learning for Automated Cost Estimation in Light Gauge Steel Modern Methods of Construction [Conference paper]. In Proceedings of the Civil Engineering Research in Ireland 2026 Conference (CERI2026) (pp. 635–639). Civil Engineering Research Association of Ireland (CERAI). Civil Engineering Research in Ireland 2026 Conference (CERI2026), Riddel Hall, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23036846

IEEE: B. Gülmez, M. S. M. Osman, D. Wallace, M. Murphy, M. Gordan, and D. McCrum, "BIM-Integrated Machine Learning for Automated Cost Estimation in Light Gauge Steel Modern Methods of Construction," in Proceedings of the Civil Engineering Research in Ireland 2026 Conference (CERI2026), Riddel Hall, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom, Jun. 2026, pp. 635–639, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.23036846.

Chicago: Gülmez, Burak, Mohamed S. M. Osman, Declan Wallace, Michael Murphy, Meisam Gordan, and Daniel McCrum. 2026. "BIM-Integrated Machine Learning for Automated Cost Estimation in Light Gauge Steel Modern Methods of Construction." In Proceedings of the Civil Engineering Research in Ireland 2026 Conference (CERI2026), 635–639. Riddel Hall, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom: Civil Engineering Research Association of Ireland (CERAI). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23036846.

MLA 9: Gülmez, Burak, et al. "BIM-Integrated Machine Learning for Automated Cost Estimation in Light Gauge Steel Modern Methods of Construction." Proceedings of the Civil Engineering Research in Ireland 2026 Conference (CERI2026), Civil Engineering Research Association of Ireland (CERAI), 2026, pp. 635–639. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23036846.

Harvard: Gülmez, B., Osman, M. S. M., Wallace, D., Murphy, M., Gordan, M. and McCrum, D. (2026) 'BIM-Integrated Machine Learning for Automated Cost Estimation in Light Gauge Steel Modern Methods of Construction', in Proceedings of the Civil Engineering Research in Ireland 2026 Conference (CERI2026). Riddel Hall, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom: Civil Engineering Research Association of Ireland (CERAI), pp. 635–639. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.23036846.

BibTeX:

@inproceedings{Gulmez2026bimintegrated,
  author    = {Gülmez, Burak and Osman, Mohamed S. M. and Wallace, Declan and Murphy, Michael and Gordan, Meisam and McCrum, Daniel},
  title     = {BIM-Integrated Machine Learning for Automated Cost Estimation in Light Gauge Steel Modern Methods of Construction},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the Civil Engineering Research in Ireland 2026 Conference (CERI2026)},
  year      = {2026},
  month     = {jun},
  pages     = {635--639},
  address   = {Riddel Hall, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom},
  publisher = {Civil Engineering Research Association of Ireland (CERAI)},
  doi       = {10.5281/zenodo.23036846},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23036846}
}