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Table of Contents:

1.0 Introduction _____________________________________________________ 1

1.1 What is BIM? ________________________________________________ 2

1.2 BIM History _________________________________________________ 7

1.3 BIM in Malaysia ______________________________________________ 8

1.4 BIM in Singapore______________________________________________ 11

i. Public Sector ________________________________________________ 11

ii. Guidelines __________________________________________________ 12

2.0 Literature Review _______________________________________________ 12

2.1 BIM Impact __________________________________________________ 12

2.2 Advantages of BIM __________________________________________ 14

2.2.1 BIM in Construction Management ____________________________ 18

2.2.2 BIM in Facility Operation ___________________________________ 19

2.3 Disadvantages of BIM ________________________________________ 19

3.0 Discussion __________________________________________________ 21

References _______________________________________________________ 25

Table of Figures

Figure 1: Different Components of a Building Information Model (Courtsey of: PCL

Construction Services, Orlando, FL) _____________________________________ 3

Figure 2: Communication, collaboration and Visualization with BIM model (NIBS,

2008) ____________________________________________________________ 6

Figure 3: BIM adoption by several countries (McGraw Hill Construction, 2008, 2010

and 2012) _________________________________________________________ 9

Figure 4: Contractors experience in using BIM by region (McGraw Hill Construction,

2013) ___________________________________________________________ 10

Figure 5: BIM and the evolution _______________________________________ 11

Table of Tables

Table 1: BIM applications for project stakeholders _________________________ 15

Table 2: BIM applications in project design phase _________________________ 17

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Impact on Using Building Information Modelling (BIM) Have in Facility Management: A Literature Review.

1.0 Introduction

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has recently attained widespread attention

in the Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. BIM

represents the development and use of computer-generated n-dimensional (n-D)

models to simulate the planning, design, construction and operation of a facility. It

helps architects, engineers and constructors to visualize what is to be built in

simulated environment and to identify potential design, construction or

operational problems (Azhar, Hein, & Sketo, 2008).

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is now considered the ultimate in project

delivery within the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) Industry

(Azhar, Hein, & Sketo, 2008), and has the potential to revolutionize the industry

(Gerrard, Alex, Zuo, Zillante, & Skitmore, 2010). It is a process involving the

generation and management of digital representations of physical and functional

characteristics of a facility. The resulting model becomes shared knowledge-

resources to support decision-making about a facility from the earliest conceptual

stages, through design, construction, operational life and eventual demolition

(alliance, 2012). Thus it is a singular central system suitable for the entire project

process. It involves the co-ordinated efforts of all consultants being combined

within one highly detailed model with all elements required for a building project

(Azhar, Hein, & Sketo, 2008). This breakthrough technology is responsible for the

complex collaboration systems now in place within many organisations who have

integrated BIM as their preferred project delivery method.

Building Information Modelling has been under considerable scrutiny over this last

decade. A number of papers have been published outlining challenges and

limitations but it seems there has been little progress over the years as the same

concerns are repeatedly mentioned. These concerns include interoperability,

irrelevant data, integrated design, and legal issues around intellectual property

and data ownership (Gray, et al., 2013).

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1.1 What is BIM?

Building information modelling (BIM) is the process of creating and managing

parametric digital models of a building (or infrastructure) during its lifecycle (Lee,

Sacks, & Eastman, 2006). In both academia and industry, BIM has been

acknowledged as a new approach that can improve productivity and quality in the

construction industry (Smith & Tardif, 2009). ) It represents the process of

development and use of a computer generated model to simulate the planning,

design, construction and operation of a facility as shown in Figure 1. The resulting

model, a Building Information Model, is a data-rich, object-oriented, intelligent and

parametric digital representation of the facility, from which views and data

appropriate to various users needs can be extracted and analyzed to generate

information that can be used to make decisions and to improve the process of

delivering the facility (America, 2005).

The principal difference between BIM and 2D CAD is that the latter describes a

building by independent 2D views such as plans, sections and elevations. Editing

one of these views requires that all other views must be checked and updated, an

error-prone process that is one of the major causes of poor documentation. In

addition, data in these 2D drawings are graphical entities only, such as lines, arcs

and circles, in contrast to the intelligent contextual semantic of BIM models, where

objects are defined in terms of building elements and systems such as spaces,

walls, beams and columns. A BIM carries all information related to the building,

including its physical and functional characteristics and project life cycle

information, in a series of smart objects. For example, an air conditioning unit

within a BIM would also contain data about its supplier, operation and

maintenance procedures, flow rates and clearance requirements (Innovation,

2007).

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Figure 1: Different Components of a Building Information Model (Courtsey of:

PCL Construction Services, Orlando, FL)

A building information model characterizes the geometry, spatial relationships,

geographic information, quantities and properties of building elements, cost

estimates, material inventories and project schedule. This model can be used to

demonstrate the entire building life cycle (Bazjanac, 2006). As a result, quantities

and shared properties of materials can be readily extracted. Scopes of work can

be easily isolated and defined. Systems, assemblies, and sequences can be

shown in a relative scale with the entire facility or group of facilities. The

construction documents such as the drawings, procurement details, submittal

processes and other specifications can be easily interrelated (Khemlani,

Papamichael, & Harfmann, 2006). There had various of definition regarding

Building Information Modeling (BIM), (Heng, 2014) stated Building Information

Modeling (BIM ) is an Addition process which can include, but not limited to:

design co-ordination; micro-environment analysis, construction process

simulation. (Succar, 2014) define Building Information Modeling is a set of

technologies, process and policies enabling multiple stakeholders to

collaboratively design, construct and operate a facility. (Tune, 2014) specific BIM

as a;

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1. Collaborative Management of the design, construction and in use phase of

buildings via integrated ICT.

2. Effective management of asset information throughout the lifecycle.

The glossary of the BIM Handbook (Eastman, Teicholz, Sacks, & Liston, 2008)

defines BIM as a verb or adjective phrase to describe tools, processes and

technologies that are facilitated by digital, machine-readable documentation

about a building, its performance, its planning, its construction and later its

operation. The result of BIM activity is a building information model. BIM

software tools are characterized by the ability to compile virtual models of

buildings using machine- readable parametric objects that exhibit behaviour

commensurate with the need to design, analyse and test a building design

(Sacks, Eastman, & Lee, 2004). As such, 3D CAD models that are not

expressed as objects that exhibit form, function and behaviour cannot be

considered building information models. However, the BIM Handbook also

states in its introduction that BIM provides the basis for new construction

capabilities and changes in the roles and relationships among a project team.

When implemented appropriately, BIM facilitates a more integrated design and

construction process that results in better quality buildings at lower cost and

reduced project duration. In this sense, BIM is expected to provide the

foundation for some of the results that lean construction is expected to deliver

(Sacks, Dave, Koskela, & Owen, 2009).

While there are few definitions available for BIM in the literature, propose a

more comprehensive and operational definition, in order to give the reader a

clear understanding behind the real agenda of BIM. Consideration is also

given to the natural environment, user environment and owner satisfaction

throughout the lifecycle within this definition. (Arayici, Egbu, & Coates, 2012)

BIM is defined as the use of ICT technologies to streamline the building

lifecycle processes to provide a safer and more productive environment for its

occupants, to assert the least possible environmental impact from its

existence, and to be more operationally efficient for its owners throughout the

building lifecycle (Arayici & Aouad, 2010)

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BIM in most simple terms is the utilization of a database infrastructure to

encapsulate built facilities with specific viewpoints of stakeholders. It is a

methodology to integrate digital descriptions of all the building objects and

their relationships to others in a precise manner, so that stakeholders can

query, simulate and estimate activities and their effects on the building process

as a lifecycle entity. Therefore, BIM can help with providing the required value

judgments for creating a more sustainable infrastructure, which satisfy their

owners and occupants (Arayici, Egbu, & Coates, 2012).

BIM as a lifecycle evaluation concept seeks to integrate processes throughout

the entire lifecycle of a construction project. The focus is to create and reuse

consistent digital information by the stakeholders throughout the lifecycle

(Figure 2). BIM incorporates a methodology based around the notion of

collaboration between stakeholders using ICT to exchange valuable

information throughout the lifecycle. Such collaboration is seen as the answer

to the fragmentation that exists within the building industry, which has caused

various inefficiencies. Although BIM is not the salvation of the construction

industry, much effort has gone into addressing those issues that have

remained unattended for far too long (Jordani, 2008).

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Figure 2: Communication, collaboration and Visualization with BIM model

(NIBS, 2008)

Taking into consideration the design process solely within construction

lifecycle process, in the majority of the construction procurement systems,

design work needs to be completed in a multidisciplinary teamwork

environment. The design process is by nature illusive and iterative within the

same discipline, and between the other Architecture, Engineering and

Construction (AEC) disciplines. During the design development, severe

problems related to data acquisition and management, in addition to multi and

inter disciplinary collaboration arise. Often, design team members including

those from the same discipline, use different software tools and work in

parallel (Arayici & Aouad, 2010). For example, a building can be divided into

three different sections amongst three different architects to design. Architects

can be using a different software tool, needing to incorporate their work at the

end (Nour, 2007). When considering the whole construction lifecycle, including

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the design process, the complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity will increase

(Arayici, Egbu, & Coates, 2012).

1.2 BIM History

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a term that has become ubiquitous in

the design and construction fields over the past 20 years, but where did it

come from? The story is rich and complex with players from the United States,

Western Europe and the Soviet Block competing to create the perfect

architectural software solution to disrupt 2-Dimensional CAD work flows. The

conceptual underpinnings of the BIM system go back to the earliest days of

computing. As early as 1962, Douglas C. Englebart gives us an uncanny

vision of the future architect in his paper Augmenting Human Intellect. The

architect next begins to enter a series of specifications and dataa six-inch

slab floor, twelve-inch concrete walls eight feet high within the excavation, and

so on. When he has finished, the revised scene appears on the screen. A

structure is taking shape. He examines it, adjusts it These lists grow into an

ever more-detailed, interlinked structure, which represents the maturing

thought behind the actual design. Englebart suggests object based design,

parametric manipulation and a relational database; dreams that would become

reality several years later. There is a long list of design researchers whose

influence is considerable including Herbert Simon, Nicholas Negroponte and

Ian McHarg who was developing a parallel track with Geographic Information

Systems (GIS). The work of Christopher Alexander would certainly have had

an impact as it influenced an early school of object oriented programming

computer scientists with Notes on the Synthesis of Form. As thoughtful and

robust as these systems were, the conceptual frameworks could not be

realized without a graphical interface through which to interact with such a

Building Model (Quirk, 2012).

From the roots of the SAGE graphical interface and Ivan Sutherlands

Sketchpad program in 1963, solid modelling programs began to appear

building on developments in the computational representation of geometry.

The two main methods of displaying and recording shape information that

began to appear in the 1970s and 1980s were constructive solid

geometry (CSG) and boundary representation (brep). The CSG system uses a

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series of primitive shapes that can be either solids or voids, so that the shapes

can combine and intersect, subtract or combine to create the appearance of

more complex shapes. This development is especially important in

representing architecture as penetrations and subtractions are common

procedures in design, (windows, and doors) (Quirk, 2012).

The process of design requires a visceral connection to the medium that the

designer is working in. This posed another challenge as architects required a

way to tell the computer what to do that was less tedious than the punch cards

that were used on early computers. The development of light pens, head-

mounted displays and various contraptions in the early days of human-

computer interaction (HCI) are well documented elsewhere. A rigorous history

of HCI from an architectural perspective can be found in Nicholas

DeMonchauxs book, Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo. The text carves a

narrative of the precursors to BIM and CAD technology as they were entwined

in the Space Race and Cold War (Quirk, 2012).

1.3 BIM in Malaysia

Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia stated that BIM

adoption throughout the years has increased massively in the several

countries. Figure 3 shows several countries that had reported adopted BIM for

their construction projects. BIM adoption in the North America increased

drastically from year 2007 to 2012 with 43% growth despite economic

downturn (2009 to 2012). National BIM Report 2012 reported that 31% of the

professionals are using BIM compared to 13% in 2010 for their construction

projects. Based from the overall BIM adoption across the globe, it can be

deduced that other regions are poised to have similar trend adopting BIM for

their future projects.

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Figure 3: BIM adoption by several countries (McGraw Hill Construction, 2008,

2010 and 2012)

Currently, BIM adoption and growth are broadly adopted across the

construction industry with architect, engineers, contractors and owners utilising

the BIM tools at different levels. It is reported that the very heavy BIM users

increased from 35% to 45% from 2008 to 2009. BIM users expected to

significantly ramp up their investment in BIM in 2009. In term of BIM users,

architects are the heaviest users of BIM compared to contractors with 43%

using it more than 60% of their projects (McGraw Hill Construction, 2008).

Ever since 2009, contractors have significantly accelerated the use of BIM

compared with other users. It is expected that 2009 will be the year of the

contractors in BIM. The rapid rise of BIM among contractors has led to high

level of maturity as shown in Figure 4.

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Figure 4: Contractors experience in using BIM by region (McGraw Hill

Construction, 2013)

In Malaysia, the progress of BIM mainly driven by private sectors since 2009

and followed by the first government project announced using BIM

methodology in 2010, which is the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Understanding the importance of BIM in construction industry, CIDB will

complement the efforts by providing a sustainable environment where BIM will

survive and thrive. Early efforts includes providing awareness programs and

workshops with the industry to gather feedback and comment aimed at

charting the way forward for a wider and wiser implementation of BIM. CIDB is

also in the midst of establishing the National BIM Committee of Building

Information Modelling in construction Industry in order to coordinate the

movement of BIM in the country (CREAM, 2014).

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Figure 5: BIM and the evolution

Government as the biggest property holder perceived BIM as an important tool

for them in managing their property in the future. Thus the government of

Malaysia had set to implement BIM for their projects by the year 2016. It is

foreseen that the industry players are required to understand and able to use

BIM. Application of BIM is essential to drive the industry towards sustainable

construction which underlines long term affordability, quality and efficiency

(CREAM, 2014).

There is increasingly awareness and keenness among the consultants and

large construction companies on deployment of BIM. However the involvement

among the small, medium enterprise contractor (SMEs) in adopting BIM seem

to face problems and require attention from the government. The path in

implementing BIM must be planned comprehensively prior implementation.

The issues and challenges faced by SMEs sector needs to be identified,

addressed and solved (CREAM, 2014).

1.4 BIM in Singapore

i. Public Sector

In Singapore, Construction and Real Estate Network (CORENET) is the main

organization involved in the development and implementation of BIM for

government projects. It is a major IT initiative that was launched in 1995 by

Singapore's Ministry of National Development. CORENET provides

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information services which includes e-Information System such as eNPQS and

e-Catalog to its clients. It also offers integrated submission system in the form

of e-Submission and Integrated Plan Checking System. IT Standards are

being adopted in the Construction Industry of Singapore which has been

followed from the guidelines of International Alliance for Interoperability (wong,

Wong, & Nadeem, 2009).

ii. Guidelines

Singapore has since 1997 been promoting and later on also requiring the use

of BIM for various kinds of approvals like building plan approvals and fire

safety certifications (Khemlani L. , 2005). The CORENET e-Plan Check

defines Singapores Automated Code Checking System and several

authorities in Singapore are participating in the e-submission system, which

requires the use of BIM and IFC. The BIM Guideline called Integrated plan

checking has now been completed (wong, Wong, & Nadeem, 2009).

2.0 Literature Review

2.1 BIM Impact

The different phases of the project life cycle include planning, design,

construction, maintenance and decommissioning. The construction phase can

be divided into pre and post construction stages. The traditional media of

communication among various phases of life cycle is two dimensional (2D)

drawings. The introduction of object oriented computer aided design (CAD)

software facilitated three-dimensional (3D) models as media of communication

between the planning and design phases and introduced the concept of

Building Information Modelling (BIM). Some of the applications of these 3D

models in the preconstruction stage include resolving constructability

problems, space conflict problems, and site utilization (Koo & Fischer, 2000);

(Chua, Anson, & Zhang, 2004).The 3D models were proven useful during the

preconstruction stage for applications such as visualization, resource

allocation and hazard analysis (Tanyer & Aoudad, 2005); (Kim, Lee, Kim, Shin,

& Cho, 2005).

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Construction and post construction phases continue to be accomplished using

2D representation. During the process of construction, project participants

exchange construction process documents such as request for information

(RFI), submittals, change orders, shop drawings, specifications, and site

photos. These are not linked to either the 2D or 3D models. Similarly during

post construction, the information such as warranties, maintenance schedules,

O&M manuals, operation guidelines, training manuals are also not linked to

the 2D or 3D models (Meadati, Irizarry, & Akhnoukh, 2011).

The principal difference between BIM and 2D CAD is that the latter describes

a building by 2D drawings such as plans, sections, and elevations. Editing one

of these views requires that all other views must be checked an updated, an

error-prone process that is one of the major causes of poor documentation

today. In addition, the data in these 2D drawings are graphical entities only

such as lines, arcs and circles, in contrast to the intelligent contextual semantic

of BIM models, elements and systems such as spaces, walls, beams and piles

(Ballesty, 2007).

The generic attributes of BIM are listed below:

a. Robust geometry: objects are described by faithful and accurate geometry

that is measurable.

b. Comprehensive and extensible object properties that expand the meaning

of the object. Objects in the model either have some predefined properties

or the IFC specification allows for the assignment of any number of user or

project specific properties are richly described with items such as a

manufacturers product code or cost or date of last service.

c. Semantic richness: the model provides for many types of relationships that

can be accessed for analysis and simulation.

d. Integrated information: the model holds all information in a single repository

ensuring consistency accuracy and accessibility of data.

e. Lifecycle support: the model definition supports data over the complete

facility lifecycle from conception to demolition, for example, client

requirements data such as room areas or environmental performance can

be compared with as designed, as built or as performing data

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The key benefits of BIM is its accurate geometrical representation of the parts

of a building in an integrated data environment are listed below (Ballesty,

2007)

a. Faster and more effective processes - information is more easily shared

can be value added and reused.

b. Better design building proposals can be rigorously analysed, simulations

can be performed quickly and performance benchmarked, enabling

improved and innovative solutions

c. Controlled whole life costs and environmental data environmental

performance is more predictable, lifecycle costs are understood.

d. Better production quality - documentation output is flexible and exploits

automation.

e. Automated assembly digital product data can be exploited in downstream

processes and manufacturing

f. Better customer service proposals are understood through accurate

visualisation

g. Lifecycle data requirements, design, construction and operational

information can be used for, for example, facilities management.

h. Integration of planning and implementation processes government,

industry, and manufacturers have a common data protocol

i. Ultimately, a more effective and competitive industry and long term

sustainable regeneration projects

Interoperability is defined as the seamless sharing of building data between

multiple applications over any or all applications (or disciplines) over any or all

lifecycle phases of a buildings development. Although BIM may be considered

as an independent concept, in practice, the business benefits of BIM are

dependent on the shared utilisation and value added creation of integrated

model data (Y.Arayici & J.Tah, 2008).

2.2 Advantages of BIM

i. BIM Benefits for Project Stakeholders

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Before discussing benefits of BIM for project owners, designers, constructors

and facility managers, it is useful to summarize BIM applications for these

stakeholders. Table 1 provides this summary. The individual benefits of BIM

for each stakeholder are discussed in the following sections.

ii. Project Owners

Owners can achieve significant benefits on projects where BIM technology and

processes are applied. (Eastman, 2011) and (Reddy, 2011) summarized the

following benefits of BIM for project owners:

1. Early design assessment to ensure project requirements are met

2. Operations simulation to evaluate building performance and maintainability

3. Low financial risk because of reliable cost estimates and reduced number

of change orders

4. Better marketing of project by making effective use of 3D renderings and

walk-though animations

5. Complete information about building and its systems in a single file. Due to

these and other tangible and intangible benefits of BIM, large project

owners in the USA (such as the General Services Administration (GSA),

the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), etc.) are increasingly requiring

designers and contractors to utilize BIM in all projects (Ku, K. and Taiebat,

2011)

Table 1: BIM applications for project stakeholders

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iii. Project Designers

The project architects and engineers can take advantage of BIM in schematic

and detailed design and construction detailing phases as summarized in Table

2. Following are some of the main benefits of BIM for project designers:

1. Better design by rigorously analyzing digital models and visual simulations

and receiving more valuable input from project owners.

2. Early incorporation of sustainability features in building design to predicts

its environmental performance

3. Better code compliance via visual and analytical checks

4. Early forensic analysis to graphically assess potential failures, leaks,

evacuation plans and so forth

5. Quick production of shop or fabrication drawings (Kymmell, 2008).

The early design and preconstruction stages of a building are the most critical

phases to make decisions on its sustainability features (Azhar,

2009).Traditional Computer-Aided Design (CAD) planning environments

typically lack the capability to perform sustainability analyses in the early

stages of design development. Building performance analyses are typically

performed after the architectural design and construction documents have

been produced. This failure to analyze sustainability continually during the

design process results in an inefficient process of retroactive modification to

the design to achieve a set of performance criteria (Schueter, A. and

Thessling, F, 2008). To assess building performance in the early design and

preconstruction phases realistically, access to a comprehensive set of data

regarding a buildings form, materials, context and systems is required. Since

BIM allows for multi-disciplinary information to be superimposed within one

model, it creates an opportunity for sustainability measures to be incorporated

throughout the design process (Autodesk, 2008). Azhar et al. (2011) found

that information for up to 17 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental

Design, a green building rating system used in the USA) credits can be

obtained in the design phase by performing BIM-based sustainability analyses.

It means a building information model can be used as a by-product for LEED

analysis thereby saving substantial time and resources.

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Table 2: BIM applications in project design phase

iv. Project Constructors

In the United States general contractors are the early adopters of BIM among

all stakeholders (Azhar, S., Hein, M. , and Sketo, B, 2008). The contractors

and subcontractors can use BIM for the following applications (Hardin, 2009):

1. Quantity takeoff and cost estimation

2. Early identification of design errors through clash detections

3. Construction planning and constructability analysis

4. Onsite verification, guidance and tracking of construction activities

5. Offsite prefabrication and modularization

6. Site safety planning

7. Value engineering and implementation of lean construction concepts

8. Better communication with project owner, designer, subcontractors and

workers on site.

Through these applications constructors can achieve the following benefits:

1. High profitability

2. Better customer service

3. Cost and schedule compression

4. Better production quality

5. More informed decision making

6. Better safety planning and management.

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i. A report commissioned by the department for Business, Innovation and Skills

(BIS) and the Cabinet Office in 2008 suggested that a BIM approach to asset

life cycle management, if extended to all major projects, would account for

between 1-2.5 billion per annum savings in the construction phase alone.

However, BIM will potentially deliver greater value in the post construction

phase through improved ongoing management of assets not only at individual,

but at portfolio and national level allowing for the modelling of infrastructure

resilience, optimization of running costs and identification of the most effective

opportunities for improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon

emissions.(Mike Chrimes, 2012)

2.2.1 BIM in Construction Management

Participants in the building process are constantly challenged to deliver

successful projects despite tight budgets, limited manpower, accelerated

schedules, and limited or conflicting information. The significant disciplines

such as architectural, structural and MEP designs should be well coordinated,

as two things cant take place at the same place and time. Building Information

Modeling aids in collision detection at the initial stage, identifying the exact

location of discrepancies.

The BIM concept envisages virtual construction of a facility prior to its actual

physical construction, in order to reduce uncertainty, improve safety, work out

problems, and simulate and analyze potential impacts. Sub-contractors from

every trade can input critical information into the model before beginning

construction, with opportunities to pre-fabricate or pre-assemble some

systems off-site. Waste can be minimised on-site and products delivered on a

just-in-time basis rather than being stock-piled on-site (Smith, Deke, 2007).

Quantities and shared properties of materials can be extracted easily. Scopes

of work can be isolated and defined. Systems, assemblies and sequences can

be shown in a relative scale with the entire facility or group of facilities. BIM

also prevents errors by enabling conflict or 'clash detection' whereby the

computer model visually highlights to the team where parts of the building

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(e.g.: structural frame and building services pipes or ducts) may wrongly

intersect.

2.2.2 BIM in Facility Operation

BIM can bridge the information loss associated with handing a project from

design team, to construction team and to building owner/operator, by allowing

each group to add to and reference back to all information they acquire during

their period of contribution to the BIM model. This can yield benefits to the

facility owner or operator.

For example, a building owner may find evidence of a leak in his building.

Rather than exploring the physical building, he may turn to the model and see

that a watervalve is located in the suspect location. He could also have in the

model the specific valve size, manufacturer, part number, and any other

information ever researched in the past, pending adequate computing power.

Such problems were initially addressed by Leite and Akinci when developing a

vulnerability representation of facility contents and threats for supporting the

identification of vulnerabilities in building emergencies (Leite, Fernanda:

Akinci, Burcu, 2012).

Dynamic information about the building, such as sensor measurements and

control signals from the building systems, can also be incorporated within BIM

to support analysis of building operation and maintenance (Liu, Xuesong;

Akinci, Burcu, 2009).

2.3 Disadvantages of BIM

Parametric modeling as the design and construction database is a difficult one

to examine from practice and insurance-coverage perspectives. Firms will

have increasing challenges as they realize that they are moving from a

physical model and hard-copy plans and specifications to the primary

information generators for a digital database (Guidelines for Improving

Practice 2007). Some problems with BIM will be related to liability. With the

open access to the model from all aspects, (anyone involved in the

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construction project) how can engineers or architects be expected to sign a set

of drawings, placing their liability on the line? This major issue could have

potentially huge detrimental effects on productivity.

As A/E firms move from an analog system, where original construction

documents are easy to identify and monitor, through our present semi-

integrated system, to what could be called a super-integrated future, those

firms will have to deal with new business rules and possibly unknown liability

exposures. This happens because owners, CM, sub-contractors, and suppliers

are supplying information to the BIM; and has all been done in a collaborative

effort to streamline the design and construction process. Desired results are

focused on a project that takes less time, is more economical, and less costly.

The driving theory behind BIM is the elimination of change orders and RFIs

that occur because of missing information in the construction documents since

all the parties involved in creating the completed BIM will check for all possible

conflicts and problems. Problems exist, not in the coordination of the BIM, but

in the coordination of all parties involved with access to the BIM. Typically,

design elements consist of (but are not limited to): surveying, architecture, civil

engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, structural

engineering, landscape architecture, fire/alarm engineering, communications,

interior designs, owners, tenants, construction managers, commissioning, etc.

These professionals will have input to the BIM before, up until, and after,

construction begins. Once construction begins a secondary group of people

are necessary, these are (but are not limited to): general trades,

site/excavation, steel construction, mechanical construction, electrical

construction, fire sprinkler construction, concrete construction, roofing,

masonry, glazing, elevator controls, finishes, technology, and landscaping.

This is a large group of people to get together and coordinate to use a BIM

model for all construction information. Combine that with the fact that, the

relationships between the involved parties are all connected to the model and

they are also connected to each other. With such a complicated relationship,

the biggest problem will be how to control who puts what into the system, and

what kind of problems will that generate (Seaman 2006).

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3.0 Discussion

3.1 The Barriers in Implementing BIM

These variables are compiled under the four heading of barriers in BIM

implementation. These are cost, system requirements, lack of knowledge

and readiness to change.

i. Cost

The cost is main barriers for construction industries to adopt in BIM . To

realise the BIM application, there are required to invest in the following:

Providing hardware and software for BIM

Enrolled staff for training

Employ BIM capable personnel

Obtain certifications and licences

Additional overhead costs

Having invested for BIM application there is still no assurance that

the could secure for a job. The possibility of recovering ROI is uncertain

since the initial capital outlay to implement BIM is high and could affect the

project cash flows.

ii. System Requirements (IT)

The technology (hardware and software) and capability to implement

BIM in construction is a another barrier has been identified . Being a

small business and have limited resources to invest in high IT

equipments, the notion of adopting BIM in construction projects is

sceptical. The issues of compatibility of the equipment and software

has been raised that enable communication and data inter-operability

between contractors, sub-contractors and other parties. Further to that

they appealed of not having expertise to implement BIM. They

emphasised that initiatives and supports from the government are crucial.

The government of Malaysia need to be ready in terms of

infrastructure, data, guidelines and procedures prior enforcing the to

implementing BIM for government projects.

22

iii. Lack of Knowledge in BIM

BIM is a new tool that many have little or no knowledge about it. They was

claimed that they have no basic knowledge on BIM. They have

experienced manager on work process and information required but lack

of IT skill particularly BIM.

There are two options of implementing BIM in their organisations. The

first option is to train the existing staff, while the second is to employ

external expertise. The earlier may require some times for the related

staff to undergo training and obtain certifications and licences.

Furthermore, the learning curve and time taken of the staff to

understand, apprehend and hands-on of BIM is of the companys

concerned. In addition, the staff behaviour of resists changing from

normal working procedure to BIM technology could be another possible

obstacle. On the other hand, by employing the external expertise could

expedite the implementation of BIM. Nevertheless, this option will incur

addition overhead to SMEs, for the fact that the scarcity of BIM expertise is

currently expensive in the market.

iv. Readiness to Change

Readiness to change from traditional to BIM requires high cost of

investment, clear consensus as how to implement and use BIM. The

resistance to change both at the managerial and operational levels

are slow. These could be due to the lack of standardise BIM

process and the absent of guidelines for its implementation.

On the other hand, the usability and complexity of the software also

contribute to the acceptance of BIM among the contractors. Another

contentious issue among the industry stakeholders, is who should

develop and operate the BIM and how should the developmental and

operational costs be distributed. Despite the productivity and economic

benefits of BIM to the industries, the in-house technical staff are not

ready to be trained, not IT savvy and SMEs organisations are facing

shortage of reliable work forces. To a certain extent, there is a

shortage of competent building information modellers in the

construction industry. The role of CIDB and other related Government

bodies such as Public Work Department (JKR) to provide valuable

support in the form of seminars, workshop and hands-on training

frequently until the industry is conversant with BIM.

23

3.2 Potential solution

The potential solutions can be categories into two: the initiatives and

incentives. The majority of the respondents perceived that government

and its agencies need to play the biggest roles as the driving force in

ensuring BIM technology will be successfully implemented in industry.

i. The Initiatives

Awareness and motivation programme

Provide Training Programmes

Preparing for a BIM Standard / Guideline

Certification and Accreditation/ Licences

Setting out a BIM Technology Centre

CIDB Portal

ii. The Incentives

It is undeniable that majority of SMEs companies have limited

resources and thus, they anticipate few incentives could be given

to them by the Government to release them from financial

burden. The participants suggested that financial aids such as

tax reduction and reduce/ or exempted from CIDB levy for BIM

implementers are sought.

Other forms of incentives (i.e., recognition to companys

implemented BIM; yearly rewards; and special awards) could

motivate SMEs to be committed in adopting BIM for their projects. All

of these rewards, awards, and certifications would give merit to

SMEs contractors and will be further recognized by Government

and other professional bodies. These recognitions could help them

to secure for future projects following what has been implemented for

IBS score or GBI index.

24

4.0 Conclusion

BIM adoption and implementation within a remote construction project context has

been presented and discussed. In doing so, it helped to raise an awareness of

the remote construction projects and related key challenges faced by

stakeholders situated in different locations. The study reported in the paper

adopted an action research approach for the BIM adoption process. From ours

discussion, the paper provided some evidence of how BIM can help to

mitigate some of the key challenges of remote construction projects such

as effective communication, procurement management, accurate building

scheduling and quantity take-off, and establishing shared understanding between

the stakeholders located at discrete locations but involved in the same remote

construction project.

In addition, as a result of improved understanding and learning in the

action research process of BIM implementation, knowledge management was

also considered as a complementary initiative to BIM in order to help with

streamlining the processes not only at the project level but also at the

organisational level with regards to information management in the conduct of

those five themes of architectural practice.

The BIM implementation serves as a useful alternative to addressing key

construction sector issues, and offer solutions to these in order to increase

productivity, efficiency, quality;

The government initiatives to introduce the BIM to AEC industry with

several additional programmes will accelerate the transformation and learning

curve of BIM. Encouraging construction industry towards BIM implementation is

crucial as this sector can lead the way in this transformation process. Based from

the incentive and initiatives provided by government, the contractors should take

the opportunities and accelerate their learning curves in BIM technologies as most

of the supply chain is poised of industry.

25

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Group Name:

Azmi Bin Che Leh (2013295536)

Mohd Firdaus Bin Paiman (2013859296)

Kamarul Effendi Kasim (2013815532)