Rafael Sacks

Rafael Sacks (born 7 July 1962) is an Israeli civil engineer whose research links building information modelling (BIM) with lean construction and, more recently, with digital-twin construction. He is a full professor in the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, and since 2020 has headed the Israel National Building Research Institute.

Early life and education Sacks was born in Johannesburg and moved to Israel in 1984. He earned a BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand (1983), an SM in Structural Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1985) and a DSc in Construction Management from the Technion (1998).

Career After three years in practice and service in the Israel Defense Forces construction unit, Sacks joined Shacham Computerized Engineering Ltd. (1989–1994).

Research Sacks’ work explores how BIM can support production-system design, safety and real-time control on construction sites. He is lead author of the BIM Handbook, now in its fourth edition (2025), Building Lean, Building BIM (2018) and Twin Systems: Digital Twins of the Built Environment (2024).

Honours and awards Thomas Fitch Rowland Prize - American Society of Civil Engineers (2016) Thorpe Medal - European Council on Computing in Construction (2023)

Selected works Sacks R, G. Lee, L. Burdi & M. Bolpagni, BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Designers, Engineers, Contractors, and Facility Managers (4th ed., Wiley, 2025). ISBN 978-1394222223. Sacks, R., Perlman, A., & Barak, R. (2013). Construction safety training using immersive virtual reality. Construction management and economics, 31(9), 1005-1017.