THE CHALLENGES AND ENABLING FACTOR OF ADOPTING BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING (BIM) AMONG CONTRACTORS IN SAUDI ARABIA

• Published in: Malaysian Construction Research Journal
• Main Author: Balfaqih A.M.S.; Hashim N.; Mohamed H.-A.; Nordin R.M.; Yusuwan N.M.; Shamsuddin S.M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Construction Research Institute of Malaysia 2023
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85194548942&partnerID=40&md5=3fae7cfb2f6036ca0f7b91e3ca481f70

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is well-known by most people involved in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operation (AECO) industry, due to the potential benefits that BIM can provide in all stages of construction. However, the adoption of BIM remains low in Saudi Arabia due to a lack of knowledge and understanding of BIM, a lack of skills, and a low number of local studies about BIM. This paper aims to study the BIM adoption in Saudi AECO industry and its influencing factors. A literature review was carried out to study the adoption of BIM and its significant benefits throughout a project’s lifecycle, in addition to its challenges and the influencing factors. A quantitative research approach was adopted using questionnaire surveys to collect data from G4 and G5 contractors in Saudi Arabia. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data obtained from the surveys. The findings show that stakeholders are generally aware of the potential benefits BIM can provide during pre-construction, construction, and post-construction phases, including accuracy of technical drawings and visualization, details of construction progress, and a sufficient database for the client and project team. However, several challenges were discovered which limit the implementation of BIM, such as a lack of BIM education and training, poor collaboration, cost and time, lack of available expertise, resistance to change, and lack of publicity. In order to push the construction players to implement BIM, external and internal factors have been found to influence them, including enhancing the publicity of potential BIM methods, providing standards and guidelines, training for staff, and securing the necessary resources to adopt BIM. The study concludes that the implementation of BIM in construction projects in Saudi Arabia has the potential to enhance project performance in terms of time, cost, and quality, and overcome common issues associated with these factors throughout all stages of a project. © 2023, Construction Research Institute of Malaysia. All rights reserved.