Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Malaysian Industrialised Building System (IBS) Construction Projects: Benefits and Challenges

Abstract

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a digital depiction of a developed facility that provides an essential line of ‘integration’ in Industrialised Building System (IBS). BIM, according to the researchers, can help IBS building projects save money and improve budgeting and cost estimating. In the case of the IBS project, BIM has the ability to improve the design process. The building industry in Malaysia, on the other hand, is not progressing as predicted, contributing the least to economic productivity. In relation, BIM adoption would be a key factor of the breakthrough development of construction industry in term of the productivity and efficiency of the project delivery process. Thus, the objectives of this paper is to determine the benefits of using BIM in IBS construction and to identify the challenges of using BIM in IBS building in Malaysia. In Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, a questionnaire survey was given to 93 Grade 7 IBS contractors with BIM experience, 44 of them answered, resulting in a 47.3 percent response rate. Using SPSS software, the data was analysed using frequency analysis and the direct mean approach. According to the findings, the top five benefits of BIM implementation in the IBS industry are visualisation of design, improved cost estimating and budgeting, monitoring and controlling cash flow and cost, installation process, and initial work process, while the top five challenges of implementing BIM in the IBS construction industry in Malaysia are high costs for BIM training, BIM tools and experts, and lack of intellectual property protection. The outcome indicates that implementing BIM in IBS industry benefits the whole project delivery process from design to installation as well as cost performance. However, the financial and legal issues are the main challenges for BIM implementation in IBS industry. Thus, this study is significant in addressing both benefits and challenges of implementing BIM in IBS industry to the stakeholders and provide a perspective to catalyse the development of BIM and IBS construction industry.