Using Network Theory to Explore BIM Application Barriers for BIM Sustainable Development in China

Guodong Ni,Na Xu,Qiuting Wu,Jinyun Li,Yongliang Deng,Shuangshuang Pei

doi:10.3390/su12083190

Guodong Ni, Na Xu + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083190

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Apr 15, 2020
Citations: 22	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: China University of Mining and Technology

Abstract

Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology has promoted the development of the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, but has encountered many barriers to its application in China. Therefore, identifying the barriers to BIM application and capturing their interactions are essential in order to control and eliminate the determined barriers. From this standpoint, 23 BIM application barriers were identified through a literature review and expert interviews. Furthermore, the interactions among them were determined based on the Delphi method, which was the foundation for establishing the BIM application barrier network (BABN). Then, the software Pajek was employed to construct the network model and reveal its topological characteristics based on complex network theory, including degree, betweenness, eigenvector, clustering coefficient, network diameter, and average path length. As indicated by the results, BABN possesses scale-free network property because its cumulative degree distribution obeys power–law distribution. BABN is also a small-world network, due to its relatively high clustering coefficient as well as small average path length, implying that barrier propagation in BABN is fast. In addition, the results are discussed and recommendations are proposed. This research will help BIM stakeholders to develop coping strategies to control and eliminate BIM application barriers for the sake of driving BIM sustainable development.

Highlights

The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry has long been criticized for its low productivity, especially in the complicated engineering construction projects [1]
Research conducted by Stanford University’s Center for Integrated Facilities Engineering (CIFE) on 32 large-scale construction projects has shown that the application of building information modeling (BIM), compared with previous working modes, reduces 80% of the time spent in project budget estimation, eliminates 40% of unbudgeted changes, saves 10% in contract value, decreases 7% of the total project duration, and creates a 3% profit margin for the entire project [2]
Applying the aforementioned retrieval method, 18 English articles and 20 Chinese articles about BIM application barriers were retrieved and screened; relevant literature was searched by the Web of Science (WoS) and CNKI

Summary

Introduction

The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry has long been criticized for its low productivity, especially in the complicated engineering construction projects [1]. The AEC industry becomes complex and difficult to manage. The low efficiency of production in the AEC industry has drawn wide attention. For the purpose of sustainable development, the AEC industry urgently needs a new technique to change its current situation. According to the study performed by Franz and Messner, when BIM use adoption increased by one unit, the average project delivery speed increased by 19.4% [3]. Another study conducted by Min et al [4]

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