Author(s)

SAUD ALHUMAYN, EZEKIEL CHINYIO, ISSAKA NDEKUGRI

Abstract

Fundamentally a technology-driven concept, Building Information Modelling (BIM) fosters a more reliable and timely exchange of information among project stakeholders about all the different phases of a construction project. It has the potential to significantly impact the Saudi construction industry by dealing with issues pertaining to estimating, scheduling and design coordination. The advantages of implementing BIM include the visual coordination of the building systems such as Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing systems and it also identifies the possible conflicts between these. By detecting the conflicts, problems can be resolved before actual construction which in turn saves project time and cost. This article presents the preliminary results of an ongoing research. One of the objectives of this research is studying the barriers of BIM adoption and strategies for its greater implementation in Saudi Arabia. Primary data was collected by means of a questionnaire survey, where 342 people in total were approached to complete the questionnaire. Data was collected in full from 224 persons in Saudi Arabia signifying the response rate of 65%. The data was analysed by means of descriptive statistics. The results show that, the adoption of BIM has seen a slow but gradual upward trend within Saudi Arabia in recent years. However, the lack of knowledge of the BIM adoption process, lack of support from managers to accept changing current practices, and lack of practical standards and guidelines as well as the lack of attention by policy makers and the government were identified as some of the barriers to the adoption of BIM in Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, a majority of the respondents are convinced that BIM delivers the benefits of savings in time and significant improvement in the final quality of buildings. The strategies suggested for implementing BIM fully in Saudi Arabia include an enabling legislation and a supportive regulatory environment, financial assistance by the government, more education for the actors involved and benchmarking against other countries.

Keywords

adoption, barriers, Building Information Modelling (BIM), questionnaire survey, Saudi Arabia, strategies