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Abstract

Inadequate presentation of analytical results has been identified as a barrier to the use of simulation tools in the construction industry. The objective of this paper is to substantiate the existence of this barrier and to provide data to support research into its effective removal. The approach taken is to survey users by means of an online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Survey data is presented for each step of the analytical process alongside details of the respondents' levels of experience with various software applications. The majority of respondents were either building services or structural engineers and an intergroup comparison is made. Building services engineers of various levels of experience participated in follow-up interviews and the results are presented. The survey results indicate that whilst difficulties of working with analytical results are recognized as a barrier to using simulation other barriers are perceived to be a greater hindrance. Users were also generally happy with the presentation of their results. However the interviewees all described the lengthy process required to validate their analytical models and stated that their tools require improvement to aid this process. The paper argues that whilst not recognized as the greatest barrier to the use of simulation tools there is justification for improving the manipulation and presentation of analytical results.

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Towards the efficient use of simulation in building performance analysis: a user survey

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