The project benefits of Building Information Modelling (BIM)

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the extent to which the use of BIM has resulted in reported benefits on a cross-section of construction projects and find that the most frequently reported benefit related to the cost reduction and control through the project life cycle.

About: This article is published in International Journal of Project Management.The article was published on 2013-10-01 and is currently open access. It has received 991 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Building information modeling.

Summary

Introduction

• The Spanish construction industry has been subject to EU Directive 2014/24/UE.
• 01-08 states to encourage, specify and even require the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in construction projects financed by EU public funds as of 2016 [7], also known as BUILDING & MANAGEMENT, 1(1).
• The recent 2015 NBS National BIM Report [10] shows that BIM adoption in the UK is going from being led by innovators and early adopters towards becoming a more mature market.

1.2. BIM BENEFITS

• The benefits of implementing BIM processes and technologies have been widely espoused.
• Reduced construction costs [22, 23, 24]; better quality of design information; integration of project systems, data and teams; a lower propensity for change orders; improved interoperability; and whole lifecycle asset management, also known as They include [25].
• The recent 2015 NBS National BIM Report in the UK [10] shows that the professionals who have adopted BIM are keen to promote the benefits.
• The causes are that the various players have to use many diverse applications and systems, and that dynamics and adaptability are essential to operate in this sector [27, 28].
• More difficult to resolve are the related issues of people agreeing on common IT platforms, cooperating with each other to share their BIM data models, and not restricting the flow of information to and from other parties by protecting the ownership and intellectual property rights of BIM-generated output. [28].

2. METHODOLOGY

• To ascertain the extent to which BIM has been implemented in the Spanish AEC market, a quantitative methodology based on surveys has been adopted.
• No probability convenience sampling has been applied.
• BUILDING & MANAGEMENT, 1(1): 01-08 Figure 2: Universitary Degrees of BIM users the survey was developed with the open-source software SurveyMonkey [29], which allows users to create personalized surveys online.
• In each of the professional groups, the survey was published in the “debates” area, generating a new update for all the group members.
• As a result, there are 744 valid entries.

3.1 SAMPLE PROFILE

• The surveys received provide a sample divided into similar percentages between professionals who use and do not use BIM tools.
• In this sense there are no big differences between any of the age groups.
• The professionals who assert that they use BIM tools are in the 30 to 45 years age group.
• It should be highlighted that 46.6% of the Architects state that they are users as opposed to 23.6% of the Building Engineers.
• With respect to project stages, BIM tools are mainly being used in the design stages (conceptual design, preliminary design, detailed design, and take-off and budget estimate).

3.3 OPINIONS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPLEMENTING BIM TOOLS IN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR

• It is worth emphasizing that the responders who are BIM tool users and those who are not mainly coincide in stating that BIM is important (32.9%) or very important (61.1%) for improving professionalism in the construction sector.
• Responders could select all the professional tasks they performed.
• Selecting more thn one task indicated that their practices were multidisciplinary.

In the sample, the BIM users’ specialties are to a large extent

• Designer/Architect, Take-off and Budget Estimate, and Project Supervisor.
• These tasks are normally performed by Architects in Spain.
• Hence, the results confirm that the large majority of professionals who responded to the survey are Architects working on the technical and economic design and definition of construction works.

3.4 BENEFITS AND BENEFICIARIES OF USING BIM TOOLS

• Regarding the benefits of using BIM tools, both users and nonusers have similar opinions.
• The main benefits are: Reducing errors during the construction process (21.0%) Improving the quality of the final project (17.7%) Reducing work time in the detailed design stage (14.4%).
• This means that they are already obtaining these benefits.
• The responders believe that the greatest beneficiaries of working with BIM are the Draftspeople (21.4%), followed by the Property Developer (14.8%), the Principal Contractor (13.3%) and the Project Manager and Quantity Surveyor (11.6% and 11.1%).
• Interestingly, the Owners and the Facility Manager appear in the last positions.

3.5 REASONS FOR NOT USING BIM TOOLS AND HOW TO ACQUIRE TRAINING

• Considering that the sample is divided by almost 50% between those who state that they are BIM users and those who are not, it is important to identify the reasons why the non-users, despite acknowledging the importance of these tools, are not using them yet.
• Software cost (17.1%), also known as These reasons are essentially.
• The authors are currently training but still need more time to prepare (14.3%).
• In relation to how professionals from the sector are being trained, it is very representative that 38.4% are teaching themselves, which is a higher percentage than that accumulated by the options of company internal training (11.9%), college courses (10.8%) and professional associations(10.3%).

4. CONCLUSIONS

• According to the data obtained in the survey, it can be concluded that the BIM user profile in Spain is an Architect aged between 35 and 49 years who is self-taught and applies BIM tools in the design stage.
• It is worth highlighting the similarity between the opinions of BIM users and non-users.
• As shown in the study, BIM tools are being used in the design stages.
• The concern regarding intellectual property disputes that is being expressed in other studies conducted in countries that are more advanced in the use of these tools has not been detected [28], which could also be considered a lack of maturity.
• It is essential to have formal training that does not exclusively focus on how to use the modeling program; rather, it should cover the various tools as a whole, their interoperability and suitable project management in the different stages.

Figures

Figure 6: BIM training

Figure 3: Universitary Degrees of BIM users

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What are the contributions in this paper?

This directive allows member states to encourage, specify and even require the use of Building Information Modeling ( BIM ) in construction projects financed by EU public funds as of 2016. The QBIMInvest Project ( supported by the Universidad Europea de Madrid ) has conducted a survey, which is the subject of this article, on the implementation of Building Information Modeling in the Spanish AEC industry. This research uses 548 responses from a sample of Spanish AEC professionals to demonstrate that currently BIM tools are only being used in the design stage of residential buildings. There are few cases of them being applied in the construction, operation and maintenance stages or in other project types. On the other hand, professionals think that they will need at least 3 to 5 years to finish implementing BIM in projects. 

Q2. What are the benefits of implementing BIM?

They include [25]: reduced construction costs [22, 23, 24]; better quality of design information; integration of project systems, data and teams; a lower propensity for change orders; improved interoperability; and whole lifecycle asset management. 

Q3. Who is the target population of the survey?

The Target Population of the survey is Architects, Technical Architects, Building Engineers, Civil Engineers, Highway Engineers and Industrial Engineers working in the construction sector. 

Q4. What are the common types of projects where BIM tools are used?

BIM tools are mainly used in all types of residential building projects, making up 30% of the total, followed occasionally by office buildings and refurbishment projects. 

Q5. What is the error margin for the survey?

Given that the number of valid responses considered is 548 for a confidence level of 95%, the error margin is less than 5% (4.18%). 

Q6. How many people could have accessed the survey?

It was published in 45 professional groups connected to the national construction industry, which means that it could have reached 139,332 individuals. 

Q7. What are the main benefits of using BIM in the construction industry?

The main benefits (figure 5) are: Reducing errors during the construction process (21.0%) Improving the quality of the final project (17.7%) Reducing work time in the detailed design stage (14.4%) 

Q8. What are the main reasons for the lack of interoperability?

The causes are that the various players have to use many diverse applications and systems, and that dynamics and adaptability are essential to operate in this sector [27, 28]. 

Q9. How many Spanish professionals did they use?

548 entries were completed by Spanish professionals, of which 292 subjects responded that they use BIM tools, while 256 said that they did not. 

Q10. What is the purpose of the survey?

BUILDING & MANAGEMENT, 1(1): 01-08Figure 2: Universitary Degrees of BIM usersthe survey was developed with the open-source software SurveyMonkey [29], which allows users to create personalized surveys online. 

Q11. What is the importance of formal training?

It is essential to have formal training that does not exclusively focus on how to use the modeling program; rather, it should cover the various tools as a whole, their interoperability and suitable project management in the different stages. 

Q12. What is the sample size of the survey?

This study’s sampling method, instrument type, sample size and confidence level comply with the industry standard in international studies on the same topic, such as the SmartMarket Report [15] or the study conducted by Eadie to analyze BIM use throughout the building project lifecycle in the UK [22].