Mahamadu, A M; Manu, P; Mahdjoubi, L; Booth, C; Aigbavboa, C and Abanda, F H (2020) The importance of BIM capability assessment: An evaluation of post-selection performance of organisations on construction projects. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 27(1), pp. 24-48. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
Purpose: The emergence of building information modelling (BIM) has led to the need for pre-qualification and selection of organisations capable of working within a BIM environment. Several criteria have been proposed for the assessment of an organisation’s BIM capability during the pre-qualification and selection phase of projects. However, no studies have sought to empirically establish whether organisations selected on the basis of such criteria have actually been the most successful at delivering BIM on projects. The purpose of this paper is to address the aforementioned gap through a comparison of predicted BIM capability and post-selection performance. Design/methodology/approach: BIM capability of firms in a case study was predicted using 28 BIM pre-qualification and selection criteria, prioritised based on their perceived contribution to BIM delivery success from a survey of practitioners on BIM-enabled projects. The comparison of predicted BIM capability and post-selection performance was, on the other hand, achieved through the application of the Technique to Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution and fuzzy sets theory (Fuzzy-TOPSIS). Findings: Findings underscore the reliability of the 28 BIM pre-qualification and selection criteria as well as the priority weightings proposed for their use in predicting BIM capability and likelihood of performance. The findings have highlighted the importance of criteria related as previous BIM use experience as well as information processing maturity as critical indicators of the capability of organisations, particularly design firms. Originality/value: Overall, the findings highlight the need for prioritisation of BIM pre-qualification and selection criteria on the basis of their actual contribution to delivery success from post-selection evaluation of performance.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | BIM; capability; case study; competence; performance |
| Index terms: | information processing, selection criteria, pre-qualification, topsis, fuzzy set, building information modelling, design firm, case study, preference, emergence, competence, construction project, methodology, practitioner, survey |
| Subjects: | tendering, research methods, decision-making and reasoning, production management, personnel development, decision-making and optimization, systems engineering, information systems, data collection methods, practitioner, data science |
| Topics: | Roles and Professions, Procurement, Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Project Management, Digital Applications, Human Resources |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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