Drivers and Impediments of Building Information Modelling from a Social Network Perspective

While Building Information Modelling (BIM) is considered to be highly beneficial for managing construction projects over initiation to completion phases, the perception among the professionals is quite diverse especially in the Australian Construction context. Such a diverse viewpoint is due to lack of objective analysis of cost versus benefits and as a result the decision on up taking the BIM interface among the multitude of stakeholders becomes quite fuzzy. While the consultants in most projects are quite pushing the move for BIM enabled project management, other key players such as tier 2 and 3 contractors and numerous sub-contractors often consider the investment in BIM as somewhat wasteful. In an attempt to understand the drivers and impediments of BIM uptake especially among the tier 2 and 3 contractors in Australian construction industry, this research focuses on the social network theory to investigate the impediments associated against the BIM functionalities within the project. Based on the social network theory, the finding of the research will highlight the key impediments and their relative influence on the drivers hindering the BIM integration in construction projects. The findings are expected to provide a methodological advancement in visualising the impacts of driving and impeding factors and assist in greater understanding of the risks associated in achieving the true benefits of BIM being implemented in construction projects.