Benefits and barriers of building information modelling

Building Information Modelling (BIM) as a powerful set of design management’s tool has been highlighted by the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. BIM has significant advantages over the entire building lifecycle, particularly design but also construction and facility management. The full impact of BIM on the evolution of design tools in the AEC industry has recently become a topical research area. This paper opens with a literature review which outlines the historical evolution of design tools. The literature review describes the benefits of BIM claimed by its proponents as well as barriers to its implementation. Next, the paper describes questionnaire data from a survey of about 70 individuals from the AEC industry on BIM adoption, perceived benefits, and perceived barriers. The questionnaire is intended to determine professional opinions about BIM and whether companies adopt BIM tools or plan to adopt this technology. It is found that BIM adoption is much higher in the US than in the rest of the world. Still, the majority of companies were neither currently using BIM technology, nor did they have any plans to use BIM in the future. The paper concludes that improvements are still needed in the development of BIM technology. Secondly, the paper concludes that complete adoption of the technology by the AEC industry will take a few more years.