Awareness and utilisation of building information modelling (BIM) for facility management (FM) in a developing economy

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the awareness and utilisation of building information modelling (BIM) for facility management (FM) among FM companies in Lagos, Nigeria. This was with a view of increasing the awareness level and promoting adoption of BIM in FM practice.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data used for the study were sourced through questionnaire administered on the 37 FM companies that are corporate members of International Facility Management Association in Lagos, Nigeria. Frequency distribution and relative significance index were used for data analysis.FindingsFindings of the study suggest a low level of awareness and adoption of BIM for FM in the study area. Only 2 of the 31 FM companies surveyed were using BIM for their FM services. Also, the majority of the respondents (n = 22, 71 per cent) perceived that the awareness of BIM in the facilities management industry in Nigeria is very low.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study provided industry stakeholders with information on the level of awareness and utilisation of BIM for FM practice in Nigeria, thereby giving insights on the possible integration of BIM with FM practices in developing countries.Originality/valueThe paper is a pioneer research on the awareness and utilisation of BIM for facilities management from the perspective of an emerging property market like Nigeria.