Benefits and Challenges of Implementing BIM in the AEC Industry in Iraq

Abstract

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is considered a fundamental tool in the architecture, engineering and construction industry. BIM is the future of the AEC industry. Utilizing digital engineering tools such as BIM in the construction industry helps to detect economic and social benefits by enhancing productivity, improving visualization, and ensuring better communication. In spite of the enormous improvement of BIM application in the AEC business, there are many challenges that make the selection of this new technology a lot harder. The focus of this paper is to investigate the current extent of adopting the BIM technology in Iraq. Furthermore, this paper aims to identify the benefits of using BIM and the most common obstacles for applying BIM in the AEC industry in Iraq. For the purpose of this study, we prepared an online survey and sent out 85 invitations. There are numerous factors that prevent or at least discourage the use of BIM in construction projects. Resistance to change and lack of government support are among the most important of these factors. The survey results showed that the most common tools preferred by BIM users in Iraq are AutoCAD, STAAD.Pro, and Primavera p6. Finally, the results indicate that the BIM state in Iraq is not satisfactory because most of the people involved have less than 3 years of experience working with the BIM technology.