Universitätsbibliothek
Weimar Open Access

Judith Fauth

• In recent years, the discussion of digitalization has arrived in the media, at conferences, and in committees of the construction and real estate industry. While some areas are producing innovations and some contributors can be described as pioneers, other topics still show deficits with regard to digital transformation. The building permit process can also be counted in this category. RegardlessIn recent years, the discussion of digitalization has arrived in the media, at conferences, and in committees of the construction and real estate industry. While some areas are producing innovations and some contributors can be described as pioneers, other topics still show deficits with regard to digital transformation. The building permit process can also be counted in this category. Regardless of how architects and engineers in planning offices rely on innovative methods, building documents have so far remained in paper form in too many cases, or are printed out after electronic submission to the authority. Existing resources – for example in the form of a building information model, which could provide support in the building permit process – are not being taken advantage of. In order to use digital tools to support decision-making by the building permit authorities, it is necessary to understand the current situation and to question conditions before pursuing the overall automation of internal authority processes as the sole solution. With a substantive-organizational consideration of the relevant areas that influence building permit determination, an improvement of the building permit procedure within authorities is proposed. Complex areas – such as legal situations, the use of technology, as well as the subjective alternative action – are determined and structured. With the development of a model for the determination of building permitability, both an understanding of influencing factors is conveyed and an increase in transparency for all parties involved is created. In addition to an international literature review, an empirical study served as the research method. The empirical study was conducted in the form of qualitative expert interviews in order to determine the current state in the field of building permit procedures. The collected data material was processed and subsequently subjected to a software-supported content analysis. The results were processed, in combination with findings from the literature review, in various analyses to form the basis for a proposed model. The result of the study is a decision model that closes the gap between the current processes within the building authorities and an overall automation of the building permit review process. The model offers support to examiners and applicants in determining building permit eligibility, through its process-oriented structuring of decision-relevant facts. The theoretical model could be transferred into practice in the form of a web application.…