Sila, N.; Agumba, J. N. and Adebowale, O. J. (2026) BIM adoption predictors for health and safety management among construction SMEs. Construction Innovation, 26(4), pp. 961-983. ISSN 1471-4175
Abstract
Purpose – Health and safety (H&S) management remains a significant global challenge in the construction industry. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) particularly struggle to comply with H&S regulations, resulting in high accident records. To address this poor performance, experts suggest that SMEs adopt H&S management technologies, particularly building information modeling (BIM), due to their potential to improve H&S practices. This study aims to determine the key predictors of construction SMEs' intentions to adopt BIM for H&S management. The study also explores the potential impact of selected demographic variables on construction SMEs' adoption intentions. Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative research was used using a questionnaire distributed to 357 randomly sampled SMEs. The questionnaire collected data regarding SMEs' intention to adopt BIM for H&S management. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the research data. Findings – The findings reveal specific "relative advantages", which include "BIM for H&S management will be preferable to the manual use of the H&S file" and "BIM for H&S management will make it easier to comply with H&S regulations" as significant predictors of the intention to adopt BIM for H&S management. The study also underscores the significance of educational qualifications and professional affiliation as predictors of BIM adoption. Research limitations/implications – The study's sample population consisted of SMEs registered with the Construction Industry Development Board register of contractors in Gauteng province, South Africa. This regional focus limits the generalizability of the findings to the entire country. Further research is recommended to investigate the adoption of BIM for H&S management among SMEs in other South African provinces. Additionally, a comparative study exploring BIM adoption for H&S between large construction enterprises and SMEs within the South African context could provide valuable insights. Practical implications – This study presents a novel approach, leveraging the diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory and demographic analysis, to determine the key predictors of SMEs' intentions to adopt BIM for H&S management. Social implications – Socially, the study promotes the adoption of BIM for H&S. Digital technology is advancing and upgrades social standard, it is crucial for the society to adopt BIM for H&S. Originality/value – Existing BIM for H&S management research has neglected SMEs' adoption intentions, focusing instead on broader adoption enablers. This study presents a novel approach, leveraging the DOI theory and demographic analysis, to determine the key predictors of SMEs' intentions to adopt BIM for H&S management.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | building information modeling;digitalization; health and safety; small and medium-sized enterprises |
| Index terms: | digital technology, South Africa, questionnaire, regulation, population, methodology, demographic variable, digitalization, health and safety, society, management research, diffusion of innovation, health and safety management, construction industry, logistic regression analysis, comparative study, construction industry development, qualification, quantitative research, building information modelling, relative advantage |
| Subjects: | professional development, statistical analysis, political science, information systems, industry analysis, research design and methodology, data collection methods, computing systems, data analysis and analytics, educational resources, research methods, development economics, health safety and environment, Geography, demography, communities and social development, innovation studies, digital technology |
| Topics: | Education, Geographical Context, Health and Safety, International Construction, Digital Applications, Urban Studies, Information Management, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Governance, Stakeholder Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
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