Lindblad, H (2016) Translating building information modelling: A study of the BIM implementation process at a large Swedish client organisation. In: Chan, P W and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 32nd Annual ARCOM Conference, 5-7 September 2016, Manchester, UK.
Abstract
Building Information modelling (BIM) is frequently brought forward as a way of addressing problems in the construction industry. For many years the industry has been described as fragmented with low increase in productivity. BIM supposedly provides several large benefits, addressing these issues. Simultaneously, the adoption of BIM has been tentative and there is a view that BIM has not jet shown its promised benefits. Governments are argued to be a needed driving force towards wider BIM-use; their role has been described as critical for successful implementation. There is also a view that the industry has to be convinced of the importance and usefulness of BIM in order to achieve widespread BIM-use. Currently there are many BIM implementation initiatives in various countries, such initiatives can be found in USA, Finland, and Singapore, to name a few. The Swedish Transport Administration, the largest Swedish client for infrastructure projects, finished their first BIM implementation project early 2015. With the expressed goal of increasing productivity and drive development in the industry they are aiming to use BIM in all their newly started projects.The purpose of this paper is to explore how projects managers are influenced by these BIM implementation initiatives. In order to reach this objective, project managers, currently conducting projects at the Swedish Transport Administration are interviewed. Inspiration is drawn from the theory for sociology in translation (Callon 1986) to describe how project managers use BIM in their projects. These interviews, together with text analysis of related guidance documents, present an empirical example for current BIM-use at a public client organisation striving to increase BIM-use in the construction industry.Callon, M. (1986). Some elements of a sociology of translation: domestication of the scallops and the fishermen of St. Brieuc Bay. Power, action, and belief: A new sociology of knowledge, 32, 196-223.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | building information modelling; BIM; sociology of translation; implementation |
| Index terms: | building information modelling, interview, Singapore, manager, project manager, Finland, sociology, productivity, text analysis, client organization, documents, infrastructure project, implementation, construction industry, public client, domestication |
| Subjects: | social theory, Geography, professional development, management, communities and social development, industry analysis, infrastructure and transport systems, information systems, sociology, practitioner, data collection methods, profession, client relations, contractual arrangements, analytical methods |
| Topics: | Digital Applications, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Procurement, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Engineering Principles, Information Management |
| 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