BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING (BIM) INVESTMENTS, RISKS AND RETURNS

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LITERATURE REVIEW

Analysing the risks as well as challenges associated with BIM execution in the present AEC sector

According to the office of national statistics, the current AEC industry of the United Kingdom is at boom but it is facing various issues when it comes to managing their data. The current output or turnover of this industry is 110 billion pounds which contribute approximately 7% of the total GDP of the nation. There are various subsections of this industry which includes commercial and social building constructions, residential building and infrastructure development. Apart from the financial point of view, this industry approximately employs 2030000 jobs in the area of contracting, 580000 jobs in servicing and 310000 jobs in developing infrastructure. This industry involves activities which have high risk, high cost and a long term activity due to which there is a separate governance department which overlooks the affairs of this industry. In the case of the AEC industry of UK, there various departments which control this industry including Government Construction Board and Major Projects Authority. This industry is currently facing various issues in handling their data and information due to majority of the organisations and individuals involved in this industry uses the BIM in order to effectively control their data which can further help in better scheduling and productivity. In this course of using the building information modelling, there are various issues, risks and challenges confront by the AEC sector (Current AEC industry of United Kingdom. 2019).

As per the views of Abdirad, (2015), there are majorly two types of risks which AEC industry face due to BIM which are technical and legal. The most influencing legal risk which is faced due to BIM is absence of determination of ownership of Building information modelling data. It must be noted that BIM is nothing else but the collection and analysis of the data which helps in the operations of construction. It is important to determine the ownership of the BIM data in order to be protected from the laws. BIM data is a matter of intellectual property right which must be only used when it is owned. The owner of the BIM data must protect this information through copyright laws and other legal channels. According to Blanco and Chen, (2014), the best solution to mitigate this risk is to own the BIM data with a suitable contract so that legal proceedings and penalties can be avoided.

According to the views of Blanco and Chen (2014), another legal issue arises in the context of using BIM data in the AEC industry is licensing. The data of BIM is not created by one individual, it involves the contribution of architect and engineers. In the case in which an architect or engineer contributes to BIM data then the issues of licensing arise for the owner. The activity of the designing and construction of a building is required to be conducted using valid licensing. The party or parties which are responsible for the construction of a building are licensed with the construction law. The owner of the BIM data is licensed under relevant law but in the case where any vendor of equipment asks to contribute in the design of the building which is better for the construction but it results into licensing issues as the design does not belong to the owner of licensed BIM data. This practice in which a vendor contributes in the design activity is good for the operation of construction but in any continent case where the constructed building causes any harm to people or native people, the license issue will arise (Neelamkavil and Ahamed, 2012).

From the information gathered from the article of Abubakar and et.al. (2014), another legal issues which are faced by AEC industry due to BIM data is the responsibility and controlling power of entering the data in building information model. As it is already cleared out that the BIM data is an asset and it must be properly maintained so that reliable decisions can be made for construction. In this case, it is a huge risk to provide the authority to some individual who is not responsible enough to enter valid data in BIM. In the situation, where the owner of BIM data let an individual enter the data into BIM can result in inaccuracies and complicated indemnities. This issue of data entry authority can easily be resolved if the BIM data is fully checked and validated before the usage of that data. Another risk which can be faced due to Building information modelling data is liability risk. As the modelling data is contributed by various individuals and parties, the risk of liability enhances. In a situation where the owner of building files suit against the engineer due to the default of building design but engineer disagrees to take the responsibility and try to make architect responsible. In such a case, the responsibility of the BIM data becomes blur and no specific party can be held as liable. All the legal issues which can arise due to BIM in the AEC industry are reviewed above which can result into failure of the project and liability of the defaulting BIM data (Walasek and Barszcz, 2017).

As per the views of Borrmann and et.al. (2015), apart from legal issues there are few technical issues as well which impacts the AEC industry due to usage of BIM data. The most influencing risk which can be faced by the AEC industry is the technological interface risk. Every building construction project has cost and time schedule which is used to maintain the time and cost expense limit. This data and schedules are programmed in BIM. Building construction contracting team has to hire subcontractors which can help them to ascertain critical path so that maximum time in their project can be ascertained. But in the case, if any data is not analysed properly then the project of construction can be delayed. The risk of technological interface can be avoided if the contractor and subcontractor use the same software and they work using sophisticated measures (Brewer and Gajendran, 2012).

From the views of Chong and Wang, (2016), another technical risk in execution of BIM faced by construction management teams is the lack of interoperability. This is evident that the task of constructing a building or infrastructure is not an operation of single party, it involves various parties such as architects, engineers and many more. The risk of interoperability arises due to lack of software integration. In the situation, in which the architect has developed a design using BIM but due to lack of integration of their used software that design is not appropriately understood by the engineer will result in a risk of interoperability. 

According to the survey conducted by Dodge data and analytics, the largest restriction of using BIM data is the low interest of the team members and their low support and collaboration in the usage of BIM. This low collaboration is the result of another technical risk of BIM that is the complexity of data analysis. BIM is a complex procedure to be conducted and due to lack of training and knowledge regarding BIM in employees result in the financial burden of hiring highly skilled personnel. Also, the BIM follows the modern approach of classifying and analysing the data which is way different from the traditional approach due to which various old schooled employees does not agree to cooperate with the project team when it comes to the use of BIM. All these technical risks can restrict AEC from usage of BIM tool.

According to Ghaffarianhoseini and et.al, (2017), there are various future challenges which can be faced by the AEC industry due to the use of BIM. These challenges involve implementing a digital design data which is compatible and develop strategies which can eliminate interoperability issues. Another challenge which will be faced by the organisations operating in the AEC industry is the preparation of strategies which can result in the integration of BIM data so that information can be understood by all the involved parties.

As per the views of Rogers, Chong and Preece, (2015), a lot of challenges are faced with respect to the effective implementation of BIM. All these issues are arising from the side of management. There is the involvement of a large number of documents that provide information about its application and use. This will build lots of confusion with respect to the activities related to the performance of function and accomplishment of the working on time. This interface does not have the power with respect to the effective distribution of the cost. This will impact the performance of the activities related to the construction of building in appropriate and resultants into a hike in the costing of the different projects (Becerik-Gerber and Rice, 2010). The process which is commonly used for planning is not appropriate in nature. A large number of flows are persisting that have a negative impact on the designing and controlling process of construction activities. Lack in planning hinders the ability to complete the whole project on time also resultants into an increment of cost. Presence of low level of planning and flows diminishes the strong viability of base that negatively impacts over the base. One more issue associated with the application and usage of this interface is about the less providence of the visual nature of artefacts at an early stage. The direct impact is ascertained over the capacity of the other employees in the performance of the function as they don't have knowledge about the tasks and activities which are needed to perform in future for completion of the task.

Evaluating the anticipated returns by implementation of BIM and the way can they be developed

According to Lu and et. al. (2014), BIM is used by an organisation operating in the AEC industry to get the returns which are expected from the application of BIM. These returns can be further developed so that the project of construction can get effective. The primary return which expected from the usage of BIM is better communication and collaboration between the parties and team members involved in the project management team. A BIM is used by a project management team to ensure effective sharing of data which will be used for the completion of the project. Building information modelling is an interface which is based on cloud accessibility by which any individual can access the information from either the construction site or from their office. The data recorded in BIM can also be accessible on responsible individual’s all digital devices such as mobile phones and laptops (Azhar, Hein and Sketo, 2007). The facility of effective collaboration and communication is the most expected return of BIM which can even be developed. It is considered that engineers and architects are enabled to understand the data in BIM due to the variation in the software which they are using. A developed BIM interface can be developed which will be compatible with all the software by which parties included in a construction project like engineer and architect can easily access the data and can take viable decisions.

As per the views of Rogers, Chong and Preece, (2015), another expected return of applying BIM is model-based cost estimation. The main reason behind investing in the BIM is that it helps in identifying and classifying the costs which will be required for completion of the project. Various AEC firms estimate the cost which will be included in the construction. This return can even be developed by the use of BIM 360 docs which is an upgraded version of BIM which allows to automate the time-consuming tasks into higher value factors so that factoring risk can be minimised and finances of the organisation will be retrieved. Visualization of the pre-constructed project is also an expected return of BIM. Any AEC organisation using the BIM data expects to visualise the pre-construct site of their project so that an estimate can be analysed by them. These expected return can, even more, be developed by using 3-dimensional visualisations and simulations from which its users can experience the exact image of their future construction site.

From the point of view of Shou and et.al. (2015), it is observed that clash detection is also an expected return of execution of BIM. A construction project management team when uses BIM, they expect that the application of this interface will detect the clashes even before the commencement of the construction. These clashes can include misunderstanding between team workers, engineers and architects. By this return, contingencies are avoided and a proper communication network is built. This expected return can even be developed by developing multiple disciplines so that there will be an opportunity to plan the clash resolution before the commencement of the project.

From the findings of the article of Takim, Harris and Nawawi, (2013), increased productivity and prefabrication is also an expected return of usage of BIM. Organisations engaged in the AEC industry uses the interface of BIM with an expectation of generating instant databases so that the productivity of their team can be enhanced. This expected return can also be developed by the use of modular construction technology. This technology can help in detailing and building a controlled environment so that waste can be minimised and labour efficiency can be enhanced.

As per the point of view of Travaglini, Radujković and Mancini, (2014), a safer construction site is another expected return of BIM which AEC organisation expects with the application of this interface. Companies engaged in this industry expect that by using BIM, they can identify hazards before the commencement of the construction so that contingencies of damages will be avoided. The base of the construction depends upon the skilled labours and heavy machinery and this equipment can cause harm to the labour. With visualising the plans and strategies for all the operation of construction including logistics etc., an organisation expects safer construction sites. This expected return can be developed by using risk analysis and safety evaluations so that risks can be classified according to their likelihood to occur and their impact so that relevant prevention measures can be taken. Another basic expected return from the application of BIM is better builds. When a construction project team invest their money and time in BIM, they expect that the result of their building will be effective and their build sites will be safer and of high quality. This expected return can even be developed by using reality capture technology.

According to Volk, Stengel and Schultmann, (2014), there are various advantages or expected returns of BIM within the construction industry. This includes better communication and collaboration, enhanced coordination and clash sensing, improved scheduling, decreased cost and mitigated risk, maximised productivity and prefabrication, stronger facility management, better builds and building handover etc., all these are the main outcomes that are gained by the AEC industry by using BIM. The ACE (architecture, engineering, and construction) sector has long sought technology or techniques to minimise cost of project, gain quality and productivity and decrease delivery time of project. BIM is the main technology which helps the construction industry to enhance the quality and productivity of the project. With this technique, an effectual virtual model or framework of a building is constructed digitally. According to the previous study, approximately 75% of business are adopted BIM technology which helps them by providing positive returns. One of the main advantage of this technique as it saves money of ACE industry in a myriad of ways. Along with this, closer cooperation with contractors can lead to decrease in tender risk premiums, fewer opportunities for claims, fewer overall variations and lower insurance costs (Arayici and et al., 2013). Along with this BIM also help an industry by saving its time by reducing project time cycle and reducing constriction schedule setbacks. In this, schedules can be planned in accurately and communicate in exactly as well as enhanced coordination that supports industry to complete project on-time or early. This technique can be also applied to instantly create databases for manufacturing purpose or production drawings, allowing for maximised use of prefabrication as well as modular construction technology. Therefore, BIM is the best technology that helps in the reduction of time and cost and also assist them in the completion of the project within the given time period. By planning, detailing and making offsite within a controlled environment, an enterprise or industry can diminish waste, maximise efficiency and decrease material and labour costs.

CONCLUSION

From the above literature review, it has been analysed that BIM is an interface which is used by the AEC sector to enhance their operations and buildings. Even after various benefits, there are ample risks and challenges which can be faced by this construction project teams due to their usage of BIM. Apart from this, it is also observed from the above review that organisation and teams applying BIM expect various returns which can even be developed by strategies and plans.

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