Role of BIM in Construction

Role of BIM in Construction

Dissertation

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List of Figures

Introduction

Background

In the era of conventional methodologies of the construction of buildings or structures, in order to deliver crucial information regarding the design plan of the building structure, tools like conventional drawings and blueprints were utilized. However, numerous difficulties rose from the complexity in visualising the requirements and dimensions from this 2-dimensional methodology. Later on, as the tools like Computer Aided Design introduced in the industry, they provided a digital and uncomplicated environment making it highly helpful for the drafter’s inefficient visualization of the benefits of the design of the building or structure.

The Building Information Modelling i.e., BIM is a concurred procedure that efficiently helps the team of engineers, contractors, architects, and other manufacturers to plan and design the entire building or structure comprised in a single 3-dimensional model. It is also feasible to span the building information model throughout the management as well as the utilization of the buildings from the data owned and accessed by the owners of the building. The objects of a building information model consist of huge data which is regarding the geometry of the desired structure. If there is any variation in any element in the model of BIM, then that variation is reflected by updating the entire software, from this, proper consistency is maintained and the software is kept coordinated in the whole process which ultimately results in rendering a synergic environment to the project managers, Mechanical, electrical & plumbing engineers, contractors, designers and structural engineers. Currently, in the industry of design and construction of buildings or structures, it is mandatory to implement BIM to ensure the efficiency and synergy of building designing and construction. Currently, various structural engineering companies (SEC) have a chain of limitations those results in the hindrance of their functionalities which ultimately affects the productivity with a lack of collaborative operations. The recommendation of technologies like BIM aims to collaborate the operations and the officials involved in the desired duties of engineering by working on frameworks with synergised and feasible 3-dimensional models. This technology has a huge capability of increasing the productivity of the structural engineering companies by solving their root obstacles.

Aim

This dissertation provides a descriptive understanding regarding the role of Building Model Information in the designing as well as the construction of buildings or desired structures with high efficiency and productivity, and such authentic and in-depth justification of the implementation of this framework will help the team of officials of designing and construction of the buildings to get a provision of efficient tool for their utilization in the project.

Objectives

The main objectives of this study are

• To increase the awareness of benefits regarding implementation of Building Information Modelling in the structural engineering companies.

• To analyse the role of BIM in ensuring the safety of workers in the construction sites.

• To emphasize the impact of this technology in the feasible construction and designing of buildings or structures.

• To provide the authenticity of BIM’s components of functionality as a project i.e. Communication, Collaboration, Collation, Coordination and Exchange.

Research Questions

This case study will be covering some crucial questions which will collectively justify the

• What is implementation of Building Information Modelling in the industry of design and construction of buildings.

• Provide overview of Building Information Modelling and the primary phases of its implementation and functionality.

• What are the authentic reasons to implement this software from the perspective of a Structural Engineering Company which includes the advantages of implementation and the key accountability prior to the installation of this technology in the company?

• What are the current platforms which are based on the functioning of building information modelling?

• What is contribution of this technology in the enhancement of quality as a practice of the project management process?

After addressing these questions, it will be much more feasible to effectively understand the impacts of this technology on the companies in the industry of designing and constructing of buildings.

Structure of thesis

The extraction of the insights from this thesis is achieved sectional manner. In the beginning, there will be a descriptive overview of the agenda of this thesis i.e., Building Information Modelling which includes its functionalities, benefits and scope of implementations. Then, the extraction of insightful information via various articles will be achieved from reviewing those articles. Later on, while discussing the methodology of the research, the approach of conducting the research for this study will be addressed and explained which broadly includes the approach of collecting the data and the approach for analysing that data. The approach of data collection explains whether the data was collected from the quantitative methods i.e., surveys, archive data, experiments or from qualitative methods i.e., observation of participants, focus groups, other existing data. The data analysis approach will describe the process of data pre-processing and analysis in either method i.e., qualitative or quantitative which is lastly followed by the evaluation of the approach of research methodology.

Literature Review

Background of BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING

Building Information Modelling is the current trend in the construction industry. This technology is increasing day by day in the construction industry. Because in the previous times the drawings and modelling of the structures are performed by hands on the paper and 3d structures are created with the help of the wood and sand. These are the basic things that were performed in the previous time in the construction field (Merschbrock et al. 2018). But as the advancement occur in the field there were various technologies, that help in creating the models and drawing in a proper way within very less time. the main thing that comes under this process of the project management and designing of the construction project is that there are various kinds of software which are included in this like the AutoCAD, Revit and many more which are used for the development of the project as per the requirement. In the previous times, the designer has to draw the work on the paper and they had to make proper security of those drawings because if any damage happened to that drawing then they have to create that drawing again. When the development of the drafting tools and the drawing tools of the building design, then the work of the designer to make the drawing and to store those drawings becomes very much easy. This is because in the designing and drafting tools there are various techniques that help in the creating the drawings in a very soft manner and save that work for a lifetime (Oraee et al. 2021). This is a new technology that totally changes the management and the development of the construction industry. In the building information modelling, there are various sections like the drafting, structural planning, project management, electrical planning, water planning, cost estimation, and many more things which are very much important for the development of the construction work as per requirement. Building information modelling is basically the process that helps in the creation of drawings, creation of project management plan, creation of scheduling charts, creation of bar plans, creation of cost estimation and many more things which are very much important for the construction of the building. The main purpose of building information modelling is to create the work as per the requirement and the properties of the building. The model which is generated with the help of the BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING process is developed in such a way that the user can easily view and easily interacted with the proper model in the view of three-dimension. The model was created in such a way that the two- dimensional orthographic plan can be created with the sections drawing and various other kinds of drawings. In the previous time, the sheets of drawings were generated by the engineers and architects on the paper and sheets. That thing takes very much time and labour. So, for the development of the work this technology is generated properly which help in creating the drawing as per the requirement and the best part is that there is an infinite workplace, that helps the designer to create the drawings as per the requirement of space. With the help of technology, the productivity of the work has also increased and it also helps in creating new methods of completing the work in the most efficient and easy way. So, this is all about the building information modelling which is very much important for the construction industry (Bosch-Sijtsema and Gluch 2021).

Current technological trends in the construction industry

Building information modelling is one of the biggest things in the construction industry is now a day. Because in the present time there are various kinds of requirements are raised by the clients which are needed to be fulfilled in less time. In the construction industry BUILDING, INFORMATION MODELLING is continuously evolving in the construction industry. Almost every architectural practise is performed with the help of Building information modelling based software. The building information modelling helps in converting the conventional CAD system as per the requirement. The current technologies trends which are in the system of the company are:

• Redefining Urban Planning- The urban planning is the biggest trend in the present time because that helps in creating the smarter cities. All the metropolitan cities are taking shape as per their requirement and the best part is that the government is giving their best interest in making the whole developing city at its best. In this the role of BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING expands in a very proper way like the new techniques and planning which are needed to be implemented in the smart city, that thing will be performed on the software, which helps in checking that the designing is perfect or not (Lindblad and Guerrero 2020).

• 3d printing of the material and fabrication- This is also a very good thing for the construction industry. Because in this any kind of material can be created on the software and can be printed in the 3d form which will help in getting the proper analysis of that material. So that the feasibility of the material, means that material can be used in the construction of the building or not, will be checked. So, 3D printing is a very good technology for the whole construction industry. Even with the help of the building information modelling is that this can help in creating the 3D model of the building, which will help the client to check all the requirements.

• Digital Twins- This is also a new requirement of BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING, but not a new concept. This concept of building information modelling shows that the interest for the AEC community is continuously increasing. The meaning of the digital twin is the replication of the processes and physical system with assets (Smaoui et al. 2018). This is the clone of the building project, which is created on the basis of the exact timelines, stages and processes. It helps in checking the issues which will be faced during the physical implementation of the building and this thing also contains the proper lifecycle of the building (Alizadeh Salehi and Yitmen 2018).

Figure 1: Current Trends of Building Information modelling

(Source: TechnoStruct 2022)

Use of building information modelling in the construction industry

The utilisation of the building information modelling in the construction industry is increasing day by day. This technology helps in creating the 3d models in the digital format which is very much important for the development of the work as per the requirement of the client. The building information modelling is very heavily used by the architects and engineers for the last 20 years because that thing helps in creating the proper kind of drawing which is very much specific and according to the requirement. The main uses of the building information modelling are in such form are as follows:

• It helps in creating the proper conceptual design according to the requirement of the building (Rathnasinghe et al. 2020).

• It creates the detailed design of the building component, as per the standards.

• It can perform the analysis of the whole building with the help of loads like dead load, live load, wind load, and various other kinds of loads which are very much important for the development of the work.

• It helps in creating the proper documentation of the building drawings and the building estimation which can help in creating the proper solution as per the requirement.

• It helps in performing the fabrication as per the requirement of the building. It can easily manage the changes in the fabrication according to the requirement.

• The building information modelling help in performing the construction in 4D and 5D as per the requirement.

• The logistics of the building construction can be also managed by the building information modelling (Liao et al. 2019)

• It helps in the management of the operations which will be performed on the building construction.

• It helps in the renovation operation management of the building as per the lifecycle of the building.

• It helps in creating the proper cost estimation as per the planning of the building.

• It helps in the programming of all the activities as per the requirement.

So, these are some of the basic uses of building information modelling in the construction industry.

There are various benefits of the building information modelling which are as follows:

• Better Teamwork- It helps in creating better teamwork on the construction project.

• Real-time visualisation- It helps in the real-time visualisation which can help in the management of the work as per the requirement and if the client wants any kind of changes, then those changes can be implemented in the system in the system in a very fast manner.

• Clash detection in the fastest manner- This is the biggest benefit because, the model of the building is created with the help of the building information modelling and if there is any kind of clash is detected, then that clash can be sorted in a very fast manner.

• Better level of activities- There are various kinds of activities are needed to perform in the construction of the building, so these activities are needed to perform in the better way, so the building information modelling helps in completing the work as per the requirement, like all the methods and materials which are very much important for the development of the construction activities are performed with the help of the building information modelling (Jamal et al. 2019).

• Sustainability closer- this is also a very big factor means, in the present time the sustainability is a very big thing for the construction of the building, so building information modelling helps in creating the building in such a manner that it helps in promoting the sustainable construction in the proper way. So, these are the sections which are needed to perform properly.

So, these are some of the benefits of the building information modelling which are very much important for the construction industry.

Figure 2: What is BIM

(Source: LetsBuild 2022)

Building Information Modelling construction Network

The building information modelling network is the most important thing for the whole construction industry this is because the construction industry contains various activities and the engineers. In the high-level projects, the hiring of the engineers is taken from different places, so for the connection of those engineers, the building information modelling network is very much important. In the network of the building information modelling the main thing which is to perform is the connection of all the engineers properly. The number of candidates who are connected with the help of the BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING network is the civil engineer mechanical engineer, structural engineer, architect, plumbing engineer, electric engineer, client, supervisor, and various other candidates which are very much important for the development of the work as per the requirement. The connection of all these candidates is performed on the construction cloud of the building information modelling. in this cloud, if any changes are performed by any candidate, then the whole work will be modified on the cloud and the changes will be received by everyone. So, this is about the network of the building information modelling.

Figure 3: Process of BIM

(Source: Tejjy 2022)

Software associated with BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING

Building Information Modelling is the latest technology in the Construction field. This innovation is expanding step by step in the Construction field. Since in the past times, the drawings and displaying of the designs is performed by hands on the paper and 3d construction are made with the assistance of the wood and sand. These are the essential things which were acted in the past time in development recorded. In any case, as the headway happen in the field there were different advances, that assisted in making the models and attracting legitimate way inside in exceptionally less time. the primary thing that goes under this course of the undertaking the executives and planning of the development project is that there are different sorts of programming which are remembered for this like the AutoCAD, Revit and a lot more which are utilized for the advancement of the venture according to the necessity.

There is various software which is used in the construction of the building are as follows:

• AutoCAD- This is the most important tool of building information modelling because AutoCAD is the biggest drafting tool that helps in the creation of the floor plans and the section plans as per the requirement of the building. This software is very much beneficial because there is infinite workspace in this whole software which helps in creating the drawing without any kind of difficulty. This is mostly sued by the engineers and architects for the drawing of the plans. The mechanical and electric engineers also used this technology for the drawing of the machines and electric circuits as per the requirement.

• Revit- Revit is the main software of the building information modelling, this is because the Revit helps in creating the 3D model of the building. In the Revit, the drawings of the plan are generated automatically with the 3D model. This software helps in creating the section plan in a very easy format. This software can help in the creation of the proper structural plan which helps the structural engineer for the development of the proper building with standard codes as per the requirement of that particular area. Revit is both an architectural and structural tool. In this, the 3D architecture model and structural model is generated. This software also helps in the material scheduling as per the requirement of the building. This software helps in the creation of the walkthrough which helps the client to view the building from inside.

• Edificius- This is a BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING software that helps in the 3D designing of the building with the 4D and 5D capabilities. It means the main aim of this software is not only the construction of the building but also the monitoring of the building as per the lifecycle of the building. This software also helps in the creation of the building plans and 3D models and it helps in the monitoring of the building. The changes of the building as per the requirement can be easily performed in the software. IT includes the architecture of the building, BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING of the building, interior design of the building, outdoor design of the building, MEP installation of the building and various other activities of the building

Similarly, there is various other software of the building information modelling like Navisworks, Revizto, ArchiCAD, Vector works, Midas Gen and many other software which help in the BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING construction.

Project management with the help of the Building Information modelling

In the construction project, project management is very much important because without that the construction of the project will not perform in the secure manner. Building information modelling helps in the proper management of the project. This process helps in the creation of the project management plan as per the requirement. there are some of the important processes which are needed to perform by the building information modelling for the management of the project. Those steps are as follows:

• Initiation of the project- in this step all the requirements of the client have to be gathered which needs to perform as per the requirement, initial planning of the project is needed to perform as per the requirement.

• Project planning and designing- The next thing which is to perform is the creation of the work as per the requirement and creation of the building design which can help in the construction of the building.

• Resources collection- Then the next thing which is to perform is the collection of all the resources and material which are very much important for the development of the work as per the requirement of the construction.

• Workflow Planning- This is the most important process in which the planning is needed to perform which is used for the construction of the whole project. This planning is very much important because that makes the whole project successful.

• Construction- the next thing which is to perform is the construction of the building as per the planning. The building planning is performed as per the client's requirement, then the next thing is implementing that planning on the construction site.

• Monitoring- This is the most important stage in which all the activities of the construction is needed to be monitored because of that help in the creation of the work as per the requirement.

• Operation- This is the final stage in which the building is handed over to the client with the proper documentation and facility manager, this included the simplified operation, repairs and renovation of the building as per the requirement.

Challenges of Building Information Modelling

There are various kinds of challenges which are needed to be faced during the utilisation of BIM, those challenges are as follows:

• Lack of knowledge- There are various architects or engineers who are currently using this technology but the main thing is that there is no proper knowledge of this technology because that technology has a very wide area that needs the proper knowledge (Al-Hammadi and Tian 2020).

• The level of resistance towards the changes in the company due to the BIM.

• The deficiency of skill in the engineers.

• Less demand for clients for the BIM project.

• Lack of support from the government side for this technology.

• Deficiency of BIM standards and guidelines are very much important for the development of the work (Hyarat et al. 2022).

So, these are some of the challenges which are to be faced by the construction industry due to the building information modelling.

Methodology

The methodology of the research accommodates every approach for the achieving the research in the study. For the investigation in the study, the qualitative method was used for the extraction of the data as well as the analysis of the extracted data. The quantitative data are the measured values that are represented in numeric form while the qualitative data gives a measure of a category of information that is expressed in the alphanumeric or symbolic format.

Figure 4: Qualitative method

(Source: Questionpro 2022)

Data collection techniques

Experiment

The fundamental objective of this approach of data collection is to explore and evaluate the occasional relationship among the given number of variables. It is used for evaluating the cause-effect relationship between variables and the dimension of effect with its significance. In a typical strategy like this, two entities or groups are established based on random selection for the testing. Apart from the planned arbitration parameter for the test, both groups show equal characteristics in every condition. The entity with the planned arbitration is termed as the experimental group while the other group is termed as the control group.

Survey

This type of technique for data collection is very feasible for its implementation in the approach of derivation. This method is often utilized in the area of business and management as it is mostly implemented to answer the questions containing the elements like ‘where’,’ how’,’ who’,’ what’ and ‘why’. There are numerous benefits obtained from this approach to the person conducting the research. However, it is beneficial yet crucial to obtain the data from the sample population in which the data is in the numeric form, it results in rendering a quantitative analysis that gives reliable outcomes from the research. The outcomes of a survey will be efficient if the survey is conducted in a properly structured and regulated questionnaire. The questions of a survey can be open ended or close ended based on the problem statement under the investigation in the study.

Case Study

The case study is nothing but a common strategy of data collection for the research which consists of an empirical study of a specific case that is immediate to the moment. It is entirely opposite to the method of experiment since the research is obtained in an uncontrolled context. This method utilizes various sources of information for obtaining an empirical study of that phenomenon. That phenomenon is then evaluated based on the context of reality. This method emphasizes the evaluation of the ideas in reality and practicality. For a scenario in which the researcher desires to achieve the insights from the process and context of the investigation, in that case implementing the case is suitable and beneficial. Case studies are broad of four types, one critical case, more than one case, the whole system of the holistic case and the study of numerous logical sub-units.

Interviews or Focus Groups

These types of methods can be structured, semi-structured or unstructured which are mainly the three types of interviews. The structured interviews are utilized for obtaining the quantitative data for the investigation and are more often used in the strategy of the survey. The semi-structured interviews are classified as a non-standardised interview which is utilized as a method of investigation for obtaining the qualitative data collection methods (Bakhareva et al. 2020). In this method, the interviewer owns a set of pre-determined questionnaires to be covered; however, there can be a possibility in which the interviewer may not be able to ask every question. The unstructured interviews are entirely informal and are performed in a depth, these types of interviews are utilized to research on a desired case or topic of research and do not have any pre-determined questionnaire for the person in the interview.

Ethnography

Ethnography is another type of method of data collection which is implemented for the approach of empiricism, exploratory and consuming time. This method takes an extension of time and originates from the anthropology as it examines and describes the social world and explains the areas in the social aspects. Implementing it requires a flexible and reflective process of research due to the constant development of patterns from the investigation throughout the course of investigation from this approach. When a researcher needs to investigate a community or organization’s culture initially, then in that case this type of approach is suitable for the investigation. Ethnography gives a descriptive understanding of a society or the procedure of performing such investigations. The present ethnographies often comply with a particular community instead of any individual. Also, it currently focuses on the description of the contemporary cases instead of events of history. This research methodology centrally renders the knowledge about the world based on the aspects of social relationships.

Archival Research

Archival research is an investigation involving the search for the information as well as obtaining that information including authentic pieces of evidence from original archives. Archives are nothing but historical documents which are independent of the current scenario; also, they are the sources of records regarding the claims of an individual, entity or both of them. Archives are maintained for the preservation of historic materials as well as for making them available for utilization in the future. This type of data collection method renders the information of desire to the research professionals in numerous aspects which may include historians, journalists, genealogists, researchers, media professionals, legal professionals and knowledge managers. Since there are numerous amounts of archived data available in the public domain, this also makes this methodology a bit complex as well as time-consuming compared with the traditional methods of data collection, however, this method delivers highly reliable outcomes of the investigation.

Justification of data collection technique

For this research methodology regarding the role of BIM in the construction industry, the method of the survey as a concept of semi-interview was decided as a suitable strategy for data collection in this investigation. These interviews were conducted in which the participants were belonging to various structural engineering companies. This was done due to the requirement of achieving an in-depth understanding of the opinions or perceptions of the officials that are utilizing the Building Information Modelling in their companies and the feasibility that is experienced by them that justifies the agenda of this investigation (Ibem et al. 2018). The participants were asked some previously determined set of questions in the questionnaire regarding their experience in utilizing this technology. The types of professionals involved in this survey process were Structural engineers, Main contractors, Architects, Mechanical and electrical engineers.

Data Analysis

The entire data for this research was obtained from the survey conducted for the officials (a total of 50) were belonging to various structural engineering companies and other organizations regarding the design and construction of structures and buildings. The interviewees possessed expertise belonging to their respective professions like Architects, Construction engineers, Structural engineers, Mechanical & Electrical engineers etc. The data gathered from the interview was utilized for a contemporary understanding of the perspective of these officials on the implementation of Building information modelling in their daily practice as a part of their profession (Locatelli et al. 2021). The first phase of data analysis consisted the categorising and necessary coding. The abstract data obtained fundamentally from the surveys were then divided into groups and it was done based on the four objectives of the entire investigation.

Qualitative analysis of participants’ perception

50 people belonging to various professions and organizations were interviewed with 14 pre-determined questions in which there were 14 architects, 15 contractors, 5 mechanical engineers, 3 electrical engineers and 3 manufacturers.

These surveys were helpful for obtaining the desired information regarding the experiences and perceptions rooted deeply in various construction industries including the practical information regarding the practices.

1. Perception of the participants on their satisfaction with BIM

The participants were asked to describe their satisfaction regarding the implementation of Building information modelling in their respective organizations in which out of the total participants, 54% of them were satisfied and 40% were somewhat satisfied with 7% as somewhat unsatisfied with its implementation in the industry (Rahman and Ayerv 2019).

2. Defining BIM from the perspective of participants

In this question, the participants were asked to give a perspective of their definition regarding BIM based on their experience and work. From this, 60% of people defined BIM as a tool while 10% define it as a practice or process of structural design. However, 7% of people show no opinion on BIM being a tool or process while 23% are entirely unable to define it properly (Barqawi et al. 2021).

3. Experience of participants of their work with BIM

The participants were asked to share their duration of work experience with building information technology in which, 40% of them had no experience of working with this software and 14% were experienced less than a year. The highest work experience of 44% people was found between 1 to 3 years and only 1 person (0.02%) was experienced for more than 3 years.

4. Possibility of handling complex projects with BIM

Participants were asked whether or not they are able to handle complicated projects with BIM. In this, 4% of the participants were able to easily carry out the tasks without any additional expertise, while 26% find it easy to handle with an additional expertise. 38% of participants find it a moderate task whereas the remaining 32% find it impossible to carry out complex projects (Sanhudo et al. 2018).

5. The ability of error detection using BIM from the perspective of participants

The survey participants were asked to share their opinion on feasible error detection in designing or planning with BIM. From the results, 50% find it easy to spot the errors while 16% need additional help for the detection. 8% of people do not find it possible to detect errors while the remaining 36% people have no opinion.

6. Opinion on reduction of deadlines & cost for a project

The impact of BIM on cost & deadline reduction was evaluated by asking the professionals to share their views from their experience in which, 32% of the participants indicated the high reduction of cost and deadline while 24% of people were inclined towards indicating no change in deadline or cost of projects. 64% indicated a slight reduction in cost or deadline (Goldobina et al. 2020).

7. Feasibility of learning and utilizing BIM

The participants were asked to share their express the feasibility in learning and working with BIM in which, 58% of the participants expressed that BIM was where easy to learn and to be used by workers, while 26% of them found it neither easy nor hard. 12% of them faced a bit of difficulty in using it while only 1 person (0.02%) found it very difficult to operate.

8. Status of productivity from implementing BIM

The impact of BIM’s implementation on the productivity of the organization was assessed from this survey in which the participants were asked to indicate any improvement in the productivity after implementing BIM in their organization. In this, 34% of participants indicated a high increase in productivity while 60% indicated traces of enhanced productivity. 6% of participants didn’t indicate any variation in productivity.

9. Status of Return on Investment by implementing BIM

Since an optimum ROI plays a crucial part in the development of construction companies, the participants were asked to indicate if there was a significant increase in ROI from the implementation of BIM. In this, 18% of participants stated a high increase of ROI while 24% indicated traces of enhancement in ROI. 58% of people indicated no variation of ROI.

10. Requirement of specialist for utilizing BIM

The survey participants were asked to share whether they prefer to have an external specialist for the company for better use of BIM. From this, 30% of the highly recommended a specialist for the implementation of BIM in the company while 50% showed a bit of necessity of specialist. 4% of people did not indicate any requirement while the rest 16% had no opinion on an external specialist (Ahmed 2018).

11. Assessing the collaboration after implementing BIM

Since the collaborative environment was one of the major characteristics of BIM, the participants were asked to share their perspectives on the collaborative environment after implementing BIM. In this, 80% of them noticed a high collaboration while 10% noticed partial collaboration. 8% of them had no idea regarding this while only 1 person (0.02%) noticed no increase in collaboration (Sepasgozar et al. 2020).

12. Assessing the benefits rendered to the end-user of the project

To evaluate the user satisfaction, the participants were asked to showcase the benefits delivered to the employee after implementing BIM in their work culture from which, 48% of the projected high benefits to the end-user while 32% faced a bit of considerable benefits. 16% people were unaware of those benefits while the rest 4% noticed no new benefits from it (Cheung et al. 2018).

13. Assessing the quality of project management delivered from BIM

Building information modelling was evaluated on the concept of a project management, and the participants were asked to share the quality of their projects due to BIM and based on their responses, 54% of them noticed a high amount of enhancement in their projects while 12% noticed no change in the quality due to BIM, and 34% noticed only a considerable improvement of their project quality from BIM.

Findings

This section gives a descriptive interpretation of the statistical data analysis performed in the methodology. The survey was conducted consisting of 15 pre-determined questions with the first question was regarding the profession of the participants and in the survey, most of the participants were Contractors, then architects, then mechanical and electrical engineers followed by the lowest number of manufacturers in this industry (Tan et al. 2019).

After analysing the survey data in statistical manner, it was found that even though there is high amount of satisfactory response gained by the implementation of building information modelling (BIM), there is also a significant number of responses showcasing the unsatisfactory officials from the induction BIM in their organization. After assessing the awareness of participant’s knowledge of BIM based on their definition of building information model, it was found that most of the people look at it with a perspective of a tool while there are considerably less amount of people defining it as a practice or process in their company, this reflects the precise awareness of people regarding the fundamental knowledge of Building Information Modelling (Martínez-Aires et al. 2018).

The evaluation of participants ‘work experience in using BIM showed that there is a significant lack of experience in working with this methodology, however their highest amount of information of the participants with experience of 1 to 3 years which indicates that BIM is significantly emerging in the industries of designing and construction.

The confidence delivered by the building information modelling methodology in carrying the projects with complexities in independent manner to very little number of people. This might have happened due to the lack of expertise in skilfully working with Building information modelling which also causes the lack of work experience in this methodology. Out of the total number of participants, half of them were independently able to detect and process the errors in their design while there are also a significant number of people who were depending on an external specialist with expertise in performing such type of tasks (Reizgevi?ius et al. 2018).

From the responses of participants, the building information modelling was successfully able to reduce the cost as well as the deadlines of the allotted projects in the companies, however this can be further enhanced by improving the expertise of people working with building information modelling. Since it is highly important for a strong learning and understanding of building information modelling for the employees, it was found from the survey that there was a high amount of feasibility for learning as well as utilizing this methodology in the industry (Zamora-Polo et al. 2019).

However, there is a considerable requirement of enhancing the learning experience because it is the fundamental key of enhancing the expertise of the employee working on this methodology. The survey conducted in this study indicated that there is a gradual enhancement of productivity of employees in various construction companies because there is a greater number of just traces of improvement instead of a perfect enhancement (Skripkina et al. 2019).

In the contemporary industries, building information modelling is currently unable to bring any major improvements in the return on investments on projects of any company as the survey indicates only few improvements in the ROI. The information regarding the expertise of the employees in working with Building information modelling has proven a necessity of an external specialists as even though there are people without any need of it, there are a greater number of people who find it beneficial to have a specialist for implementation of BIM in their company.

Since, a collaborative environment is very crucial for a feasible and a productive workflow, the methodology of building information modelling truly justified this characteristic as the survey yielded the fact that there is a huge extent of collaborative environment provided in the organization due to the implementation of BIM. Implementation of building information modelling has various benefits which are not limited to just the employees of the construction companies or the organization, but also for the end-user of the project carried out by that company. This might be due to the fact that there is a significant reduction of deadlines and cost involved in a project being carried out by BIM.

Since it is true that the functionality of building information modelling is based on the concept of project management, its assessment has shown that there is a huge enhancement of quality of the project delivered by the company to the end-user. From the entire findings of the analysis, it can be clearly said that the fundamental key players of enhancing the work experience of the employees participating in the survey are nothing but the enhanced training or learning on this methodology, improvement in the expertise of the workers, and most importantly increasing the awareness of the building information modelling.

The metrics like work experience on this methodology, carrying out complex projects, dependency in error detection, reduction in cost & deadline of project etc are interlinked together and fundamentally based on the learning and expertise in utilization of building information modelling by the worker in the company. Enhancing the learning experience of the employees or workers of the structural engineering company will bring an ultimate impact on the growth of their organization due to the implementation of Building Information Modelling. It is a genuine fact that the concept of implementing a collaborative environment has been gaining an upper hand in the organizations, which is why every stakeholder in the industry of construction should be aware of the various maturity levels of building information modelling. And due to that, the participants of the survey as an employee apply the use of building information modelling as a vital tool of construction management for the respective company in the construction industry for an enhanced coordination, interaction and exchange of information.

Discussion

The building information modelling is nothing but a practice or a procedure of establishing a digital transformation, storing it, utilizing it and sharing it in a structured manner and ensuring the quality in a project. BIM allows a worker to design not only the parts for construction by themselves, but also model the functionalities and possible variations with respect to time for the future. The procedure consists of utilization of the computer models that present the overall information gathered for the particular project. The process also consists of the utilization of the tools and networks to maintain an efficient communication and collaboration for the organizations. Such type of processes is termed as Information Technology and Communication Technology. In practical cases, the implementation of building information modelling framework is integrated among every phase of the production or construction including the life support for the buildings or structures i.e., Collection of data, Designing, Construction, Machinery, Operation, Maintenance work as well as the demolition. All such necessary information is situated in the computer models i.e., construction, economic, architectural, technological, etc.

The outcome obtained from the building information modelling is nothing but a model that is digital and object-oriented which is of both the object as well as the procedure of the construction. The major benefit attained from the BIM framework is the complete and combined independence in all kinds of information, in which each information is automatically updated based on any single variation introduced in the system, and the information model developed can be a computer model of any building existing or existed in real life throughout the life-cycle of that building and project all the variations and additions of the present as well as future state of existence (Nguyen et al. 2018).

The building information modelling has a major competitive advantage which is optimum utilization and saving of the costs of the project, this happens primarily due to the enhanced designing speed. The entire procedure of building information modelling is divided into two phases i.e., establishing a design for the primary design components which includes the construction material like floor slabs, wall types, roof types, etc, as well as the other elements or systems like ventilation, heating, water supply, electricity, etc. The findings of the statistical data analysis of this investigation shows that implementation of building information modelling currently requires a specialist for the company, but this framework has the potential to maintain an efficient production including an enhanced communication channel for collaboration. Due to the feasible transfer or reuse of information about the project, the entire operation will be achieved in a faster pace because of BIM.

The entire cost of life-cycle can be easily predictable as well as interpreted. Also, the data of life-cycle regarding the design, operational information, requirements construction will be able to be utilized even after the completion of the project. Shortening the phase of design is not much beneficial for the project; however, it is possible and feasible to reduce the time consumed in the phase of production or construction. Out of both the phases in building information modelling i.e., Design and construction, the design phases will be most possibly be more expensive, but the overall cost will be reduced due to the reduction of cost in the construction or production phase. The purpose of implementing building information model in the companies is not for the reduction in time of construction; instead, it is implemented to maintain an effective and efficient procedure which also includes utilization of the time in collaboration and exchange of information based on the indicated outcomes. Building information modelling is already implemented in numerous projects of construction in the world. In the industry of construction, architecture and engineering, the digital technologies are increasingly implemented for the design, construction as well as the operation of buildings and structural assets. The planning as well as realization of the construction projects involves a complicated operation which involves a broad spectrum of stakeholders belonging to various areas of expertise. In order to attain a successful construction project, a constant reproachment as well as the exchange of information within these stakeholders is highly crucial. And in the current scenario, this type of information exchange consists of handing over the data regarding the technical designs of the project of construction in a graphical way which is kept in the form of vertical as well as horizontal sections, detailed designs and views of the project.

The building information modelling mostly corresponds to the team of designers. The construction managers may not seem to be involved in the design phase but, they have a crucial responsibility of ensuring the key parameters required to obtain a successful construction project are relevant and delivered to the team. Systems of information technology in the organization belonging to an industry of construction which is operating within the idea of information modelling needs considerable expenses for introducing latest and updated approaches regarding the design process and supporting the process of construction. The fundamental principle of operation of building information modelling is none other than the collaboration, and working in a team with proper collaboration raises the requirement of various ways that must be developed to make them more efficient and beneficial in working to attain the shared goals.

Collaboration in BIM renders various advantages for the structural engineering companies or other construction organizations which involves enhanced communication medium leading to enhanced productivity, firmness in cost and quality. In the long run for the companies, a collaborative environment achieved by the building information modelling will generate highly beneficial outcomes. However, establishment of a proper workflow of collaboration demands the accountability of work culture of the organization, operations, machinery, digital technologies as well as the contracts in the right forms. A relevant and necessary training which involves the enhancement of work experience of employees with BIM is highly preferred to compensate the gap of expertise as well as the awareness regarding this methodology and this should be done prior to the implementation of Building Information Modelling in the respective structural engineering company or other organization regarding the construction of buildings0.

Conclusion and Recommendation

This investigation gave a descriptive emphasis on assessing the role of building information modelling for the structural engineering companies. Based on the entire qualitative analysis of the survey conducted for 50 participants from different backgrounds, the performance indicators and attributes of the construction companies were identified and concluded to be relevant. And the analysis has also proved that it is possible to implement building information modelling in the phase of production in the works of civil engineering considering the case in which BIM is utilized depending on the significance and the operations of working with this framework.

There is a considerably high requirement to put efforts in increasing the satisfactory responses of building information modelling methodology’s implementation in the structural engineering companies comprising of contractors, architects, structural engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers. From the statistical point of view from the qualitative survey data analysis, the lack of essential training regarding working with BIM has been found to be an interlinked cause of lack of expertise in working with it and increased dependency on external support i.e., specialists for error detection and mitigation, handling complex projects of construction, etc. The reduction in time as well as cost required to carry out a construction project has been reduced with the implementation of building information modelling, and statistically, this has shown an interlinked behaviour with the enhancement of benefits delivered to the end-user of the respective construction project.

It is possible that one of the main reasons showing the unsatisfactory responses of the participants regarding BIM’s implementation can be due to the fact that those participants as an employee in their companies are not able to properly fulfil the expectations of the corresponding members i.e., peers, colleagues or senior managers. This creates a belief of their unstable positions in the work environment in that company. There is a gradual enhancement of workers’ experience and productivity by utilization of building information modelling, however, this can be further improved by enhancing the practical capabilities and expertise of the employees in using BIM in the respective construction companies. The conceptual awareness regarding the methodology of building information modelling must be increased as there are a greater number of people defining BIM as a tool while the of various literatures beg to differ as they define it as a practice or process in the construction and designing of buildings or structures.

Hence, the training programme must primarily include the element of raising the awareness on the concept of building information modelling and that awareness needs to be deployed in the industry of structural engineering companies. Even though there is not much significant return on investments from the construction projects done by the companies of structural engineering or other construction organizations, the building information modelling plays a crucial role in the reduction of the cost of the construction project which compensates for very few increases in the return on investments for the company.

The implementation of building information modelling methodology in the companies can help the managers in maintaining a proper functioning of the strategies made for the construction of the project. The recent enhancements in the digital technologies provided various new opportunities to various structural engineering companies which help them in a transformation towards an environment of digital functioning i.e., Collaborative environment. Hence, for attaining an effective implementation of building information modelling framework in the companies, the officials must render a framework of policies with an additional focus on the capacity of developing the concepts of strategies, processes and digital business regarding the sector of construction of buildings.

In order to account for the obstacles or complications regarding building information modelling, the information of the construction project must be increasingly made available to access among the professional boundaries or departments of the structural engineering companies. Utilizing the exchange of information through cross boundary transactions can be applied in the company which involves the boundaries within the organizations among the operational specialism and among various professions. Hence, a proper administration of information is highly important for a beneficial implementation of BIM methodology. The question regarding the induction of a specialist for implementation of building information modelling tilted most of the participants in the favour of having a specialist for this task, this dependency is again based on the fact that there is a lack of proper expertise of professionals regarding the use of BIM framework and must be improved.

The benefits from its implementation and the awareness of the team can be increased in the cases where the construction company performs tasks of designing and construction by practicing building information modelling on a frequent basis and the training programmes will be left passive if such practices are not applied practically. Implementation of building information modelling in the construction companies delivers the optimum functionalities of BIM as a concept of project management. The elements i.e., Communication, Collaboration, Collation, Coordination and Exchange were found to be delivered by the implementation of building information modelling. It is a genuine fact that the concept of implementing a collaborative environment has been gaining an upper hand in the organizations, which is why every stakeholder in the industry of construction should be aware of the various maturity levels of building information modelling.

The adoption as well as utilization of this framework or methodology’s concept within the structural engineering companies or other construction companies showcased a considerable impact to the productivity and management skills of the officials in the company. This investigation highly recommends that effective workshops must be introduced to illustrate the functioning of implementing building information modelling instead of just promoting the advantages and benefits of its implementation in the company.

The building information modelling methodology holds a true potential to enhance the growth of the construction companies and more specifically for the professionals like architects, engineers and contractors from the framework’s agility in handling the construction projects regardless of the complexity, huge reduction in the cost as well as the deadlines for the project of construction and most importantly, addition of benefits to the end-user of the project from the implementation of building information modelling as it is surely a digital approach carrying numerous advantages for any company involving in the industry of designing or construction of buildings or structures.

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