Construction management and lean thinking in highways maintenance

To realize the benefits of BIM in construction management using (4D and 5D applications), it has to be implemented first. There are various BIM implementation plans to select from; with BIM features and guides, companies better understand BIM concepts and can easily choose a plan to apply in their operations. A literature review was conducted and 15 different definitions of BIM were encountered. Twelve different BIM implementation plans were found in publications by academics, software vendors and Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC) industry professionals. Those implementation plans were compared using a matrix which covers the complete building lifecycle. This research concludes that out of the 12 implementations plans, three were equipped with additional guides attached to their plans, simplifying project data collection; namely those by Autodesk, Penn State University and Indiana University. One implementation plan that scored very highly (based on 16 key issues identified from the three categories of stakeholders specified in this project) was the implementation plan proposed by a major software vendor. BIM is poised to solve many of the shortcomings reported in the construction industry. However, before realizing the full potential of BIM in construction management, it needs to be systematically implemented.