Dowsett, R M and Harty, C F (2014) The wider implementation issues of BIM within a multifaceted property and real estate consultancy. In: Raiden, A and Aboagye-Nimo, E (eds.) Proceedings of 30th Annual ARCOM Conference, 1-3 September 2014, Portsmouth, UK.
Abstract
The purported benefits of Building Information Modelling (BIM) have resulted in its widespread advocacy across the industry. However, the realities of its implementation are often misunderstood and overlooked. BIM is a complex and unbounded technology, therefore trying to apply it to a project without consideration of the associated organisational changes is likely to end in failure or lower than predicted returns. Factors such as professional development and technical support, the technology learning curve, positive and negative feelings towards the technology, and strategy effectiveness can all help and hinder implementation. This paper draws on a set of interviews with members of a BIM implementation board within a large multifaceted construction company. The purpose of the interviews was to establish the Ôas-isÕ position of the organisation in terms of BIM use, focussing on current practices and cases studies of previous and on-going projects and their utilisation of both BIM processes and sustainable design activities. However, thematic analysis highlighted significant barriers to the successful implementation of BIM within the organisation: lack of top-level support, misunderstanding across the organisation over BIM capabilities, regional differences in implementation support, and a predominant focus on the bottom-line preventing effective resource allocation. It is therefore argued that the organisational context and conditions of technology, process, and actor interaction are a necessary precursor to successful BIM implementation and should be taken into account when assessing performance on a BIM-enabled project, in order to comprehensively inform and support change management initiatives.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | BIM; implementation barriers; performance measurement |
| Index terms: | resource allocation, organizational change, interview, building information modelling, performance measurement, professional development, sustainable design, change management, strategy, construction company, real estate, thematic analysis, effectiveness, interaction, implementation, consultancy |
| Subjects: | organization, business, data collection methods, resource management, contractual arrangements, real estate economics, design process, professional development, methods and analysis, performance management, performance measurement, management, behavioral psychology, information systems |
| Topics: | Site Management, Organizational Design, Design Practice, Digital Applications, Urban Studies, Quality Management, Procurement, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Information Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
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