Understanding Of Building Information Modelling Research Articles

Overview of BIM contributions in the construction phase: review and bibliometric analysis

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a revolutionary invention within the construction industry that essentially aids the design, construction and management of construction projects throughout their lifespan. Globally, the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry has for decades progressively adopted and implemented BIM. While there are several papers in this context, none have tried to extensively document BIM’s comprehensive contributions and uses in the construction phase. Therefore, this paper aims to identify BIM’s various contributions and uses in the construction phase and analyze publication trends, co-occurring keywords, contributing authors and countries. A systematic overview approach was used to review published articles on state-of-the-art of BIM in construction, supported by bibliometric network mapping analysis. A total of 409 documents were extracted and analyzed. The study’s findings document BIM’s various uses and contributions to the AEC industry, such as simulation of each stage of the construction process, virtual presentation of the building and site, visualization of progress, management of construction work, enhancement of safety, communication and collaboration, quick generation of reliable and accurate cost estimates, assistance in the fast realization of return on investment (ROI), and serving as a platform that hosts and documents various technological tools used during the construction phase. The bibliometric analysis reveals the most contributing scholars, countries, document sources, trend network mapping of co-occurring keywords, and publication trends. The primary practical implications of this study’s discoveries can be exploited as a basis for further research and to influence the future direction of BIM in the AEC industry. The findings will enhance the wider spread, application and understanding of BIM in the AEC industry, thereby increasing BIM awareness and knowledge globally.

Business value of integrated BIM-based asset management

Purpose Currently, building information modelling (BIM) is largely seen as a 3D model, not as an information model or information management tool. This wrong perception of BIM and low interest in 3D asset management (AM) is one of the major reasons for the slow adoption by clients in the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. The purpose of this paper is to identify the techniques and strategies of streamlining AM systems for BIM-based integration, and how the information is captured from physical assets towards BIM-based integration for clients to derive value from BIM investments. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative case study strategy was used to study the strategic implementation process of integrating BIM with AM systems and the business value of BIM in AM by a large asset owner in the UK. Findings The paper identifies key strategies in the adoption of BIM-based processes by an asset owner, the implementation process, the challenges and the benefits attained. Several barriers were identified as the challenges of adopting BIM-based processes in AM: complexity and cost associated with BIM; irrelevance of 3D geometric data in AM processes; nature of asset ownership structure; managing the asset handover process; managing change within the organisation. Organisations will have to consider the following issues in streaming asset information with BIM: the development for a clear strategy prior to adoption; connecting the strategy to the business goals; and conducting the discovery exercise to identify organisational information needs. Originality/value The research addresses a significant gap in the development of techniques and strategies for asset owners to streamline BIM with AM systems and derive business value from such integration. The research context is a case study involving a large owner-operator in the UK that has been able to derive value from BIM systems in their AM processes. The key value of the paper is improving asset owners’ understanding of BIM in AM by demonstrating the implementation strategies, linkage to organisational objectives, challenges, value management process and business value of BIM in AM. Another contribution of the paper is improving the understanding of BIM, which is usually viewed as 3D models and that 3D geometric data do not have much value for AM tasks.

BIM adoption model for small and medium construction organisations in Australia

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a model for building information modelling (BIM) implementation at small and medium-sized construction contractor organisations (SMOs). The proposed BIM adoption model assesses BIM implementation benefits, costs and challenges faced by SMOs. Correlation between BIM adoption in SMOs and the associated impacting factors, including knowledge support and BIM adoption motivation, is captured through the model.Design/methodology/approachA literature review of BIM adoption in construction was first presented. Research data, collected from 80 SMOs in Australia through a conducted survey, are then analysed. Descriptive analysis and structural equation modelling were used to investigate SMOs’ understanding of BIM, and to qualify the correlations among the proposed latent variables impacting BIM implementation at SMOs, respectively. Additionally, this study used χ2 test to compare differences between BIM users and non-BIM users regarding BIM understanding, interested applications and attitudes towards implementation benefits and challenges.FindingsPotential benefits associated with BIM implementation are a major motivation factor when it comes to BIM adoption at SMOs. In addition, existing staff’s capability in using BIM tools positively affects the establishment of an organisational knowledge-support system, which determines the decision of adopting BIM eventually. Ultimately, there is a need for further emphasis on staff engagement in the implementation process.Research limitations/implicationsThe results presented in this paper are applicable to SMOs in the building sector of construction. BIM implementation at organisations involved in non-building activities, including civil works and infrastructure, needs to be assessed in the future.Practical implicationsThe results indicate that rather than placing the focus mainly on benefits of BIM implementation, successful implementation of BIM in practice requires adequate effort to assess implementation problems, establish knowledge support and engage staff in using BIM.Originality/valueResults of this study provide an insight into the adoption challenges of BIM in SMOs, given that the focus of previous studies has been mostly placed on BIM adoption in architectural firms and large contractors.

Developing a Modular Advanced BIM Course in Construction Management

Due to the rapid adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, many construction management (CM) programs in the US have introduced BIM in their curriculum. Previous research has revealed that most of the BIM courses offered in CM programs have mainly focused on modeling skills as well as BIM applications in scheduling and estimating. While these topics appear to be important to apply BIM technology, students will not be able to fully understand the BIM process in a construction project without knowing the fundamental workflow of BIM. This paper presents a modular BIM course which was developed to help CM students better understand the BIM workflow and focuses on advanced uses of BIM in construction projects. The course contains three modules: BIM workflow, basic BIM applications, and advanced BIM applications. The BIM workflow module discusses how BIM is addressed in project delivery method, contract, the execution plan, and team building. The basic BIM applications module explains the typical BIM applications in coordination, scheduling, estimating, logistics, visualization, etc. The advanced BIM applications module demonstrates the latest technology advances in the AEC industry that utilizes BIM applications, including laser scanning, virtual reality, and mixed reality. The course objectives and assessment methods ensure that CM students’ understanding of BIM will be considerably improved from as a modeling tools or software program to an efficient process, and their insights into BIM will be significantly broadened beyond the existing 3D, 4D, and 5D applications. The highly positive course evaluation demonstrates the effectiveness of these approaches in meeting course objectives, delivering course materials, as well as raising students’ interest. This paper will serve as a case study of an advanced level BIM course in CM programs.

Initial Study on Building Information Modeling Adoption Urgency for Architecture Engineering and Construction Industry in Indonesia

This paper presents our initial study on Building Information Modeling (BIM) adoption urgency for architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry in Indonesia. Currently, BIM is being adopted by many countries around the world because of its’ efficiency and other benefits. Meanwhile, most of AEC industries in Indonesia still using the conventional method and there are no regulations from Indonesian AEC authority for adopting BIM. With that situation, a study of BIM adoption in Indonesian AEC industries is important. This study uses a qualitative approach with explorative type. Input from the survey is evaluated qualitatively using content analysis, distribution analysis and correspondence analysis method. Based on analysis result, it shows that BIM as a mean to encourage a more sustainable approach in AEC industry is still in its development phase but it shows great potentials and it gives stakeholders a better way to achieve sustainable built environment. Current lack of awareness and understanding of BIM in Indonesia, particularly in the education sector, is a key factor that impedes BIM adoption and one that can be addressed by integrating BIM into AEC curriculum. Government and practitioners alike need to develop a strategic roadmap to pave way for successful BIM implementation.

Ten questions concerning building information modelling

Building information modelling (BIM) has been a dominant topic in information technology in construction research since this memorable acronym replaced the boring “product modelling in construction” and the academic “conceptual modelling of buildings”. The ideal of having a complete, coherent, true digital representation of buildings has become a goal of scientific research, software development and industrial application. In this paper, the author asks and answers ten key questions about BIM, including what it is, how it will develop, how real are the promises and fears of BIM and what is its impact. The arguments in the answers are based on an understanding of BIM that considers BIM in the frame of structure-function-behavior paradigm. As a structure, BIM is a database with many remaining database challenges. The function of BIM is building information management. Building information was managed before the invention of digital computers and is managed today with computers. The goal is efficient support of business processes, such as with database-management systems. BIM behaves as a socio-technical system; it changes institutions, businesses, business models, education, workplaces and careers and is also changed by the environment in which it operates. Game theory and institutional theory provide a good framework to study its adoption. The most important contribution of BIM is not that it is a tool of automation or integration but a tool of further specialization. Specialization is a key to the division of labor, which results in using more knowledge, in higher productivity and in greater creativity.

Adoption of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) for Construction Project Effectiveness: The Review of BIM Benefits

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has recently attracted extensive attention in the Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry with an increase in the use of information technology, all the while increasing productivity, efficiency, infrastructure value, quality, and sustainability, rendering a purer image of constructability issues that are dealt with at the beginning of the construction process. The purpose of this study is to better comprehend the BIM benefits and to analyze BIM adoption, thus providing better understanding of BIM and its usefulness in various stages of the construction projects. Our review concludes that BIM fulfills its purpose through all the stages of the construction project delivering benefits in terms of improved design quality, easiness to implement, information sharing ability, reduction of construction costs and design errors, faster work and shortening the construction time, enhancing energy efficiency, supporting construction and project management, and enabling its owners more operational efficiency in the building lifecycle. The current research identifies relevant factors and outcomes of BIM, and sets up a framework for a future study. The critical review of BIM benefits contributes to the existing body of literature on AEC and BIM.