In recent years, many public and private sector owners have started to require a building information modeling (BIM) component in new construction projects. Although there has been a significant increase in industry-wide acceptance of BIM, it is still not a standard practice in the educational facility sector. This research aimed at exploring the use of BIM in educational facility projects by the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) disciplines. A survey that investigated BIM adoption at the company level, BIM implementation in projects, benefits of using BIM, and obstacles to using BIM was distributed to architects, site engineers, structural engineers, mechanical engineers, and contractors across the United States. The survey results showed that a majority of the respondents from all five disciplines used BIM. BIM was most commonly used for 3D visualization, automation of documentation, and clash detection. The most important benefits of BIM included better marketing and clearer understanding of projects which is crucial for clients such as school students, teachers, and principals. Lack of expertise and need for training seemed to be main obstacles to BIM use. The research contributes to the body of knowledge by showing prevalence of BIM use on educational facility projects and indicating how BIM could help improve collaborative knowledge sharing among designers, contractors, and clients, resulting in better quality educational buildings. These research findings can be used to assist AEC companies that are interested in implementing BIM in the educational facility projects.

Building information modeling (BIM) is one of the most recent technologies introduced to the design and construction industry. Currently, some educational institutions are requiring a BIM component for new construction. The aim of this research was to investigate the current extent of BIM use on educational facilities projects. A survey inquiring about the current use of BIM, BIM benefits, perceived obstacles to using BIM, and the importance of particular BIM procedures was distributed to architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professionals that have experience with educational facilities projects. The survey responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The survey results showed that the majority of the companies were using BIM. Many of the professionals who do not use BIM claimed to have no interest in using BIM. The largest proportion of the respondents perceived clients to be the driving force behind the use of BIM on educational facilities projects. Most respondents agreed that BIM was useful for increasing client engagement by providing clearer understanding of the projects through 3D visualizations. While most of the respondents believed that design-build was the best method to deliver educational facilities projects using BIM, the majority of the respondents still used the design-bid-build method. This research helped gain insight into the general opinions of BIM users across the different disciplines involved in designing and constructing educational facilities. These research findings can be used to assist AEC companies that are interested in implementing BIM on the educational facilities projects.