BIM Usage Research Articles

A hybrid conceptual procurement framework for BIM uptake to enhance buildings' sustainability performance in the Jordanian public sector

PurposeA large portion of the public building projects in Jordan suffers from sustainability performance issues. Therefore, this research aims to develop a hybrid procurement framework to enhance the implementation of BIM in the Jordanian public sector for better sustainable building performance. This study also aims to identify the influence of procurement factors on BIM adoption and usage in the public sector in Jordan and to provide a holistic picture of recent research on technology acceptance and adoption in the construction industry.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach was adopted using semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders (n = 12) in Jordan to explore procurement routes issues facing the adoption of BIM and to find proposed measures. Then, the findings of the interviews analysis using conventional content analysis and literature review were used based on a problem-solving approach to develop a hybrid conceptual procurement framework for BIM uptake to enhance the sustainability of building performance. Subsequently, semi-structured interviews were conducted to validate and refine the proposed conceptual procurement framework.FindingsIt was revealed that the deployment of unfavourable construction procurement approaches represents a major hurdle towards BIM implementation. Though essential for enhancing BIM implementation, it is revealed that a fundamental change from the common Design bid build (DBB) to more collaborative procurement approaches remains infeasible in view of the realities that govern the construction industry. Moreover, this study has found the key procurement approach challenges for effective BIM implementation.Research limitations/implicationsResearch is limited to the public sector in Jordan and further qualitative and quantitative testing of the conceptual procurement framework is needed to adjust the framework before large-scale testing.Originality/valueThe developed conceptual procurement framework is the first of its kind and draws a set of procurement approach remedies for the Jordanian public sector to foster the implementation of BIM.

Practices improvement of building information modeling in the Egyptian construction projects

Reduced Reinforced Concrete Material Waste (RRCMW) in building projects is regarded as a critical issue that must be managed. The main purpose of the research is to illustrate the importance of BIM in construction. Also, it is found that the main objectives of this paper are to study the improvement of practicing BIM in Egypt and, practicing of BIM in construction industry in Egypt is also measured. Two questionnaires survey are conducted. The first questionnaire is to measure the improvement of using BIM during the last 7 years and it is discovered that there is a massive improvement in using BIM in this period. The second questionnaire is to determine the adopting value of BIM in Egyptian projects in order to meet the study objective. So, based on the questionnaire analysis, it is discovered that about 94% of consultants actually practicing BIM in 3D while about 72% of contractors agree with practicing BIM in 3D. Also it is found that about 86% and 78% of consultants actually practicing BIM in 4D and 5D while only about 43% and 40% of contractors agree with practicing BIM 4D and 5D model respectively. Only about 61% and 58% considered that BIM is important in 6D and 7D respectively because it isn’t widely used in Egypt and engineers use BIM up to 5D. As a result, the findings reveal that the number of consultant’s site engineer’s respondents are more than contractors because the usage of BIM is effective in the field of design and consultancy more than using in site and while BIM isn't extensively utilized in Egypt, engineers should be familiar with it because it will be a useful tool in the future. So, the main purpose of this study is to illustrate practicing of BIM in the Egyptian construction projects and study the improvement of using BIM during the last 7 years in Egypt because BIM is considered as an important technology used to reduce waste in construction projects from design stage to construction and operation stage but still not used in Egypt in a wide range till now, so it is very crucial to study this issue. Also, another main objective of this study is to compare the development done in using BIM during the last 8 years to make sure that using BIM in Egypt is going on and developed.

Strategies of Public University Building Maintenance—A Literature Survey

In this article, comprehensive insights into the field of building maintenance, emphasizing the importance of keywords, collaborative efforts among authors, and the evolving research landscape, are provided. The use stage, as the longest phase in a building’s life cycle, involves economic, technical, and social activities. Numerous authors have contributed to the broader topic of building maintenance, covering aspects such as maintenance prioritization, improvement actions, decision-making guidelines, factors affecting success, cost estimation models, and BIM usage in maintenance. The study conducts a thorough literature review using Scopus as a search engine, employing the full-counting method for authorship, and uses VOSviewer 1.6.20 software for bibliometric analysis to identify gaps and outline future research directions. The results reveal distinct data sets focusing on building maintenance from general to specific, with each set reflecting unique aspects and considerations. Bibliometric maps illustrate author collaboration and keyword connections within each set, highlighting evolving research trends and areas of focus. Overall, the analysis highlights the importance of prioritizing maintenance, integrating technology, and fostering collaboration to enhance building maintenance in educational institutions. The study concludes with recommendations for future research, emphasizing the ongoing need for exploration and development in building maintenance, especially on maintenance strategies and Life Cycle Costs of university buildings.

Application of BIM Implementation Process in the Operation and Maintenance of Information Management System in Building Facilities

The appalling state of building facilities in Nigeria, poses a great concern to stakeholders. This stems from lack of adequate information management in the operation and maintenance of building facilities. Therefore, the study is aimed at assessing the application of BIM implementation process in the operation and maintenance of information management system in building facilities. The study made use of a quantitative research approach, making the population for the study to encompass facility management practitioners (Onsite Facility Engineers, Onsite Facility Technicians, Facility Management Professionals [IFMA] and Facility Management Company owners) who are fully registered with International Facility Management Association (IFMA) in Abuja-Nigeria. The sample size for the study is 184 and the respondents were selected by a systematic random sampling method with a close ended questionnaire used for the data collection. The questionnaire is administered via Google forms; and questionnaires shared through the google form link were answered and the results were collected through google response tools, and 121 copies of the questionnaire were duly filled, returned and used for data analysis. The result shows that the implementation of BIM in operation and maintenance of facilities is very low as manual and stand-alone computer system are still predominant in most of the operations carried out by the practitioners and the stakeholders. The study further revealed that Improvement in asset information management that lead to increased efficiency of facility assets is significantly affect by the operational system. The result also shows that Facility managers are traditionally included late in the building lifecycle and posed a high challenge to most practitioners and this has made the application of BIM in operation and maintenance of information management in facility management very negligible, as such the paper suggest that BIM usage in the O&M of buildings should be encouraged and imbibed right from the planning and designing stages of building facilities. Facility managers/professional should also be included right from the inception of a building life cycle to the end of the building.

Usage of Building Passports and BIM in Multi-Criteria Evaluation

This paper presents a proposal for a multi-criteria evaluation methodology for partial building structures. The use of the multi-criteria methodology allows, in contrast to the usual assessment of the sustainability of buildings (e.g. for building certification), the assessment of individual building structures, which is essential, especially for the renovation or reconstruction of existing buildings. The survey aims at administrative buildings of public administration, however, the design of the methodology can be applied to a variety of building structures. The authors carried out research into innovative ways of using building information tools that are important for making the overall property management in facility management more efficient. The paper focuses on the possibility of using information based on these building information tools. One of the possibilities how to make building management more efficient and increase human performance can be using building-specific information along with providing a pleasant healthy workplace. Maintenance, renovation or reconstruction represent a significant cost over the entire life cycle. However, it is necessary to set limit conditions defining the level above which the condition of buildings should be maintained in relation to their purpose and demands placed on them. The article also responds to an anticipated EU decision that shall lead to renovations or reconstructions of office buildings as a result of efforts to reduce their emissions impact and energy intensity. Thanks to the proposed methodology, the owner which specifically in this article is the state and public administration, will be able to better evaluate both the financial impact and other criteria important for the choice of a specific type of construction, product and implementation procedures.

Assessing the impact of overcoming BIM implementation barriers on BIM usage frequency and circular economy in the project lifecycle using Partial least Squares structural Equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis

Assessing the impact of overcoming BIM implementation barriers on BIM usage frequency and circular economy in the project lifecycle using Partial least Squares structural Equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis

BIM USE IN GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION PROCESSES

Green building certification schemes have been developed to incentivize sustainable construction leading to the development of green BIM technology, which uses multi-disciplinary data to support sustainable construction. However, due to a lack of understanding, interoperability, and technical issues, BIM is not widely used to support green building certification. This study investigates the current use of BIM for certification purposes, the building characteristics or information that need to be modeled, and the skills or knowledge required to use BIM for green building certification. The research, which employed a case study approach, examined the BIM use in a recently built 6 Green Star rated Head Office of a major supermarket chain in south Auckland. The main data collection methods were document analysis and semi-structured interviews with key project stakeholders. The results suggest that despite generally good knowledge of BIM and sustainable building design, the connection between BIM and green building certification is weak or non-existent. Instead, BIM is used mainly for model authoring, coordination, quantity take-off, and basic sustainability analysis. The main factors hindering BIM integration that have been identified are low-quality modeling, lack of multi-disciplinary coordination, and inefficient procurement. It is recommended that BIM usage should be accurately detailed and coordinated for downstream uses to gain the most value. Procurement should also accommodate appropriate BIM procedures to encourage multi-disciplinary coordination. Furthermore, new technology and research development are also needed to increase interoperability with sustainable (green) software.

Augmented Reality for Building Authorities: A Use Case Study in Austria

The widespread usage of BIM and technological advances in augmented reality (AR) paves the way for Construction 4.0. This digital transformation has reached the construction industry and requires consideration of all life cycle phases. The approval phase has been little researched to date. In Vienna, the analogous process takes up to 18 months. This long duration inhibits progress in the building industry. One reason for this is objections from parties who are nonexperts and have difficulty understanding the project solely from its 2D plans. Therefore, the City of Vienna wants to redesign the building authority processes through the use of BIM and AR in the BRISE-Vienna research project. This article examines possible applications for public authorities. AR can be utilised at the interface between authorities and stakeholders and is intended to accelerate processes through better communication. For the City of Vienna, 12 AR use cases were developed from process analyses and expert interviews. In addition to the conception of the AR use cases for public authorities, a study was carried out regarding their benefits and feasibility. The use cases have the potential to increase the understanding of the project for experts and nonexperts. The best-rated AR use cases (plan checking and hearing during the permission process) will be further developed in the research project. The AR use cases should help to significantly accelerate processes in Vienna and, thus, serve as a basis for other cities and countries.

Implementation of building informational modeling in designing multi–story modular building

The paper discusses features of employing BIM for designing modular building, using the Steel2Real'23 competition as a case study. The Steel2Real'23 student competition, organized by the Association for the Development of Steel Construction, seeks to enhance the usage of steel in construction. Modular construction is an emerging construction technol-ogy. However, a research gap is found concerning the practical usage of BIM in designing multi–story modular construction buildings in Russia. The article performs comparative anal-ysis of the various approaches for process of designing and highlights that have streamlined the work of architects and designers during planning and design phases. The conclusions em-phasize the advantages of employing information modeling in modular construction and out-line the potential for its integration into contemporary design practices.

Digitalisation of the building permit process - a case study in Italy

Building permitting plays a significant role in a building’s life cycle because without a building permit a legal construction fails. However, digitalization in building permit authorities is rare in global context and issuing a building permit is still mostly a manual and time-consuming process. Moreover, a gentle instrument that authorities do not feel overwhelmed with is missing so far. Hence, a BIM-oriented and process-based web application prototype was developed in preliminary research. This research aims at validating and testing the BIM-oriented and process-based web application prototype by analysing the building permit processes in relation to digitalization and promotion of BIM usage by means of a specific case study. For this purpose, an empirical study using qualitative expert interviews in a building permit authority in South Tyrol (Italy) is conducted. The results shed light on the level of acceptance and plausibility of the web application prototype, as well as the ability of the prototype to assist building permit authorities within their review process.

BIM implementation in Sarawak construction industry: Awareness, readiness and challenges

Lack of coordination and fragmentations have always existed among the stakeholders and parties involved in the implementation of planning, design and construction process of construction projects, especially in the aspects of information transfer. In the recent trends, Building Information Modelling, BIM has been introduced to address the fragmentation issues. The BIM framework is based on the notion of coordination between stakeholders in digital format for information exchange throughout the construction progress. Although BIM technology has been implemented in Malaysia for several years, low adoption is found within the Sarawak construction industry. This paper aims to assess the awareness and readiness for BIM implementation in the Sarawak construction industry. The study was carried out using questionnaire survey across the districts in the Southern Region, Central Region and Northern Region of Sarawak. There are in total 404 responses received, and it is revealed that only 14% of the participants have experience in BIM-related projects. This is still far from the goals set by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia. Meanwhile, 63% of respondents had heard of BIM and 46% of them had attended some seminar or program related on BIM. The investigation of awareness, readiness and challenges of BIM implementation has been further inferred and compiled as a foundation guideline for the proposed solution framework to increase BIM usage in the state. It is hopeful that proposed solution framework can help in overcoming BIM implementation barriers in the Sarawak Construction Industry.

Advantages of Building Information Modeling Technology (BIM) in Structural Design and Construction Stages

Building Information Modeling has recently spread worldwide and is commonly used in construction projects. Whereas in Egypt, despite the fact of the increased awareness of the BIM, the actual use of BIM by consultants and contractors remains limited. BIM in Egypt is still in the development phase, and it requires more efforts to become widely used by construction societies. This research studies the effect of applying BIM in the design and construction stages of high-rise buildings, and how it increases the quality of co-ordinations between all disciplines, which affects directly the productivity of construction projects in high rise building. This research tries to find the ideal usage of BIM in the design and construction stages and to find out how the direct application of BIM in selecting structural design. The methodology used for this research approach depends on a detailed literature review, a field survey for the building information modeling in Egyptian construction field as it is intended to use the questionnaire answers from a group of engineers that used the technology and followed by statistical analysis of the collected responses to the questionnaire. The obtained results showed that using BIM technology in high rise buildings projects can increase the productivity and provided a high level of visualization that could be missed by traditional design methods. The term “build before you build” best describes how digital prototyping with BIM was used to test the design. It provided the opportunity to explore different options with the client.

BIM feasibility for small and medium-sized contractors and subcontractors

BIM adoption for SMEs is an imperative topic. It is assumed that construction contractors and subcontractors play a great part in adopting or neglecting an innovative technology due to different factors. We believe this reluctance attribute would be a common factor between these two groups of construction actors and it would further be an indication of sort of behavior these groups have in common. This study intends to make a major contribution to the body of knowledge by investigating BIM feasibility for SMEs. The research method consists of application of a structured online questionnaire distributed Online, out of which 70 responses from the industry were collected and analyzed. Inferential statistics, and hypothesis testing were applied to check the associations among categorical variables via Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test and Mann-Whitney U Test. The factors between contractors and subcontractors in terms of organizational, technological, economic, and social attributes were compared. Further, contractors were grouped in terms of BIM and software usage, firm size, and partnership by Cluster Analysis. The results show the rankings for contractors were different from the rankings for subcontractors with respect to technological feasibility and the rankings of contractors were all higher than those of subcontractors when partnership was introduced as a differentiating variable.

Barriers to BIM Adoption in Brazil

Purpose: The research goal was to investigate the main barriers faced by a large Brazilian construction company in their efforts to thoroughly implement BIM. This study focused on the analysis of understanding the barriers to BIM adoption and the usage of 3/4 dimensions (3D/4D) on the development of an infrastructure project.Research methodology: The research methodology was exploratory and qualitative, carried out through a single-case study approach made upon bibliographical research, company document analysis, project document analysis, interviews, informal conversations, and observations. The research methodology was developed in six months (from June to December 2019) divided into three main phases: phase 1: definition and design; phase 2: preparation and collection; phase 3: data analysis and conclusion. Data collection was developed using a semistructured research protocol with two different semistructured questionnaires: the first questionnaire aimed at collecting data regarding BIM implementation in the company’s organizational context; the second one focused on the understanding of BIM adoption in the project and on the investigation of the main barriers related to the usage of 3D and 4D modeling in the project studied.Findings: Regarding BIM implementation in the company, although the company studied is a construction company in the infrastructure sector, BIM was considered more efficient in the design phase and flawed in the construction phase. Findings have shown that BIM has improved the information management of the design itself and its interface with the construction phase. In relation to the usage of BIM in the project, a more collaborative work environment was noticed due to the effectiveness of communication between the design and construction teams on the job site. With respect to the usage of 3D/4D modeling in the project studied, the difficulties in extracting information from the 3D model have disabled the usage of 4D modeling during the construction phase. Therefore, the difficulties reported were identified as an opportunity to map deficiencies in the BIM model in order to define parameters for the new project proposals and to automate the process of receiving the model and checking for inconsistencies or lack of information.Implications for Research and Practice: The case study is an example that BIM as a technological tool is not able to promote an integrated design and construction interface by itself. It is necessary to integrate BIM as an integrated process with structured management methods and tools. From our perspective, we understand that contracts should change, including construction stakeholders in the very beginning of the design process fostering collaboration across stakeholders such as designers, design and construction managers, suppliers, and subcontractors, thereby achieving a higher level of improvement potentially carried on by the new technologies allied to management practices. With regard to the nature of this article, it is important to make it clear that the results from this study were based on the Brazilian construction industry only.Limitations: The research is a single-case study; therefore, the findings cannot be generalized. Most of the data were dependent on the interviewees’ self-reported perceptions. We suggest new studies should be conducted with other construction companies in the Brazilian context, comparing companies with different organizational structures and sizes and other types of projects.

Integration Approach of BIM and GIS in Forming of the Upper Kama Architecture Database

The article address the issue of three-dimentional and spatial data integration applied to architectural heritage. Integrated approach of BIM and GIS models allow BIM models not to be limited in the description of buildings but also describe interactions of the object and surrounded environment, contributing to the management of the urban environment in an interoperable way. In this paper proposed the approach of division investigating objects on several scales. Movement from regional scaled data till building scaled data allows considering architectural monuments on every stage of the persistence. This approach described at the case study of surveying Upper Kama region. For this territory were identified several types of the environment. Within every of this types the morphology of architecture is described. All obtained data was divided considering scales and usage of BIM or GIS, or integrated models. Creation of certain model depends on analytical tasks. Such ways of the heritage digitization is a basis for future work on physical or virtual restoration.

AUTOMATIC CONVERSION OF CITYGML TO IFC

Abstract. The trend of increased usage of both BIM and 3D GIS and the similarity between the two has led to an increase in the overlap between them. A key application of such overlap is providing geospatial context data for BIM models through importing 3D GIS-data to BIM software to help in different design-related issues. However, this is currently difficult because of the lack of support in BIM software for the formats and data models of 3D Geo-information. This paper deals with this issue by developing and implementing a methodology to convert the common open 3D city model data model into the most common open BIM data format, namely CityGML (Gröger et al., 2012) to IFC (buildingsmart, 2019b). For the aim of this study, the two standards are divided into 5 comparable subparts: Semantics, Geometry, Geographical coordinates, Topology, and Encoding. The characteristics of each of these subparts are studied and a conversion method is proposed for each of them from the former standard to the latter. This is done by performing a semantic and geometrical mapping between the two standards, converting the georeferencing from global to local, converting the encoding that the two standards use from XML to STEP, and deciding which topological relations are to be retained. A prototype implementation has been created using Python to combine the above tasks. The work presented in this paper can provide a foundation for future work in converting CityGML to IFC. It provides an insight into the relationship between the two standards and a methodology for the conversion from one to the other, and the process of developing software to perform such conversion. This is done in a way that can be extended for future specific needs.

An investigation into BIM uptake among contracting firms: an empirical study in Nigeria

PurposeBuilding information modeling (BIM) is vital in the performance improvement of contracting firms. Thus, there is a need to stimulate its implementation in the construction sector with a view to meeting the competitive demands of the industry. However, there have been very few studies on BIM implementation among contracting firms in Nigeria. Hence, this study aims to examine the current BIM uptake among Nigerian contracting firms, assess the barriers to BIM implementation and examine the ways of improving BIM implementation within these contracting firms.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was conducted on contracting firms (comprising small-, medium- and large-sized firms) in Lagos, Nigeria. The obtained data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. These included percentage, mean score, standard deviation, the Kruskal–Wallis test and factor analysis.FindingsThis study revealed the current state of BIM implementation among contracting firms in Nigeria in terms of their knowledge of BIM, their usage of BIM as well as the BIM software adopted. Furthermore, the study identified 25 barriers to BIM implementation in contracting firms and identified 15 ways to improve BIM implementation in contracting firms. The relative importance of both the identified barriers and the ways for improving BIM implementation was gauged among contracting firms comprising small-, medium- and large-sized firms. The result of the Kruskal–Wallis test revealed that, except for two (out of 25) identified barriers, and one (out of 15) identified ways of improving BIM implementation in contracting firms, there is no significant statistical difference in the perceptions of the three respondents’ groups. The result of the factor analysis categorized the identified 25 barriers into seven main factors.Practical implicationsThis study provides empirical evidence on the barriers to BIM implementation and the ways of improving its implementation among contracting firms, thereby providing a better insight of the Nigerian construction industry’s BIM environment.Originality/valueThis study’s findings can positively inform the decisions of construction stakeholders to formulate strategies capable of improving BIM implementation in the construction industry at large.

When you need identity management, people higher in some “dark” personalities can be your most thoughtful and altruistic helpers

Some research found that actors higher in dark-personality constructs help others cultivate desired identities (i.e., beneficial impression management; BIM) and this helping could be based partly in an altruistic agenda. We expand on these findings by testing whether these “dark” actors are responsive to the salient identity needs of others. Participants completed indices of grandiose narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and vulnerable narcissism. Then, participants imagined a scenario wherein they would complete a mock recommendation form by rating a hypothetical friend on desirable characteristics. Prior to providing ratings, participants self-reported their intent to use BIM. As a between-subjects manipulation, participants found that their friend was either deficient (high need) or adequate (low need) on the desirable characteristics. All dark-personality constructs (sans grandiose narcissism) related to enhanced BIM intent. Grandiose narcissism and Machiavellianism related to enhanced BIM usage, but these effects were stronger in the high-need condition. All dark-personality constructs related positively to self-reported selfish goals, and grandiose narcissism and Machiavellianism also related positively to self-reported altruistic goals. The study provides evidence that grandiose-narcissistic and Machiavellian actors might experience altruistic orientations and respond to the identity needs of others in contexts involving BIM.

Required model content and information workflows enabling proficient BIM usage

The modern issue within the construction industry is its conservative approach to innovation and poor data management. In a world where information means everything and efficient workflows are becoming the norm for advanced businesses, not using the attainable data pool is a recipe for stagnation and even regression. Different ways to mitigate the risks involved in building projects have been developed at the design company Elea iC to become more flexible and efficient. Through several large-scale high-rise and tunnelling BIM projects in the past four years, engineers at Elea iC have identified two crucial development barriers for advanced proficient BIM usage. The first is organizing the BIM models: internal model structure, information required in models, and how this information is written into models. The second barrier is establishing crucial information workflows to achieve valuable practical results. Exploration of the required model content and its organization together with data workflows are thus the main purposes of this article. Incremental improvement from project to project was needed to provide a much-needed baseline for crucial project data which makes 4D, 5D and 6D BIM modelling possible. A database structure for model properties was developed, from which consistent properties can be inserted into all project BIM models. This provides a unified internal standard ensuring the correct level of information modelling. At the same time essential workflows for BIM implementation, modelling, data sharing, and information management were also developed. Standard BIM software was used to create the base models, but collaboration with other software developers and adapting their solutions was needed in order to attain the desired outcomes of advanced BIM analyses. As more and more clients require advanced BIM solutions for their projects, neglecting to develop and implement new ways of using BIM will diminish companies’ potential in the market in the long run. This paper demonstrates that BIM, coupled with databases including standard model content requirements and information workflows, can provide a credible solution for proficient project data management in the construction industry. Therefore, BIM must not be seen as an impractical tool only requiring additional expenses, but as a system that needs internal company development to be adequately utilized and profited from.

BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING AND PROJECT INFORMATION MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

The study aims to develop an effective BIM-project information management framework (BIM-PIMF) and associated assessment model for construction projects with a view to enhancing the functional management of project information. An explanatory case study technique and case study evidence from four BIM construction projects form the study’s research design. The study identified and established the three sub-criteria of the BIM-PIMF model which are the BIM process level factors, BIM product level factors, and the key indicators for a successful BIM deployment on construction project sites. These criterias were semantically linked to the development of the BIM-PIMF framework on a five-point metric scale. The deliverables of this study include the development of the BIM-PIMF framework, together with its analytical scoring system. The findings of the study will improve the information channels of and ease the integration of technological innovations in construction processes while improving the technical competencies of project staff. The study highlighted a basket of effective recommendations and strategies to enhance the deployment of BIM throughout a project lifecycle. Policymakers and government departments can utilize the model in assessing the level of usage of BIM in a construction project as one of the useful measures in gauging which construction firms to be provided subsidies.