A web-based Decision Support System (DSS) to assist Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to broker risks and rewards for BIM adoption

Abstract

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a revolutionary technology and process which has led to new ways of thinking and working in construction project delivery. Governments around the world are promoting BIM capacity to eliminate waste on public projects and even mandating its use as part of the reform of the public construction sector and cost-saving strategy. In the UK, the government has declared that no public projects can be accepted without using BIM by 2016. Evidence shows that BIM adoption among small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) is currently lagging behind and they are losing out in wining publicly funded projects. There are existing sets of frameworks and matrixes developed to assist BIM implementation. However, guidance and frameworks for SMEs are lacking at the present time. This paper reports on criteria and framework as a part of an ongoing study that seeks to develop a web-based Decision Support System (DSS) to assist SMEs to broker risks and rewards of adopting BIM in project delivery. The paper presents the framework and its criteria of the proposed DSS assists SMEs to make informed decisions about whether or not use BIM to deliver building projects, according to specific criteria and queries. This includes tradeoff risks and rewards, broken down into several criteria such as BIM readiness, involvement stage, project value, funding and procurement route.