Mostafa, S; Kim, K P; Tam, V W Y and Rahnamayiezekavat, P (2020) Exploring the status, benefits, barriers and opportunities of using BIM for advancing prefabrication practice. International Journal of Construction Management, 20(2), pp. 146-156. ISSN 1562-3599
Abstract
Building information modelling (BIM) has significantly influenced the construction industry. However, the existing BIM tools and frameworks within prefabricated buildings are minimal. This research study aims to identify the opportunities and barriers of integrating BIM in the Australian prefabrication industry. The research was carried out using a mixed method of literature review and questionnaire survey with 30 indudstry professionals. The literature review identified the key challenges associated with prefabricated buildings including construction discipline-specific, fabrication-specific issues and communication-specific issues. The survey results proved that the most significant BIM opportunities are minimizing design errors and discrepancy of final product model between designers and manufacturers and increasing mass customization. The study revealed that seamless and timely information exchange among key project stakeholders via a BIM system was identified as the most critical success factor to adopt BIM in the prefabrication industry. This research provides practical insights into how to utilize BIM effectively for prefabrication in the housing sector. The survey results document the opportunities and barriers to BIM integration and provide professional insights on how BIM can benefit the prefabrication. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on enhancing the productivity/practice of prefabrication through BIM integration within the Australian housing context.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Australian building information modelling; construction technology; housing; prefabrication |
| Index terms: | construction technology, fabrication, mass customization, prefabricated building, prefabrication, construction industry, designer, productivity, design error, mixed method, building information modelling, housing, body of knowledge, critical success factor, questionnaire, project stakeholder, integration, information exchange, survey, literature review, product model, manufacturer |
| Subjects: | practitioner, control systems, data collection methods, profession, construction type, digital engineering, professional practice, data science, data analysis and analytics, knowledge management, modelling and simulation, manufacturing engineering, management, industry analysis, information systems, organizational analysis, building construction, sociology |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Design Practice, Digital Applications, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Construction Technology, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Project Management, Information Management, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here