The construction industry has often been described as stagnant and out-of-date due to the lack of innovation and innovative work methods to improve the industry (WEF, 2016; Ostravik, 2015). The adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) within the construction industry has been relatively slow (Cao et al., 2017), particularly in the South African Construction and Built Environment (CBE) (Allen, Smallwood & Emuze, 2012). The purpose of this study was to determine the critical factors influencing the adoption of BIM in the South African CBE, specifically from a quantity surveyor’s perspective, including the practical implications. The study used a qualitative research approach grounded in a theoretical framework. A survey questionnaire was applied to correlate the interpretation of the theory with the data collected (Naoum, 2007). The study was limited to professionals within the South African CBE. The study highlighted that the slow adoption of BIM within the South African CBE was mainly due to a lack of incentives and subsequent lack of investment towards the BIM adoption. The study concluded that the South African CBE operated mainly in silos without centralised coordination. The BIM adoption was only organic. Project teams were mostly project orientated, seeking immediate solutions, and adopted the most appropriate technologies for the team’s composition. The study implies that the South African CBE, particularly the Quantity Surveying profession, still depends heavily on other role-players in producing information-rich 3D models. Without a centralised effort, the South African Quantity Surveying professionals will continue to adopt BIM technology linearly to the demand-risk ratio as BIM maturity is realised in the South African CBE.
This article reviews construction project manage ment and building contracts in South Africa. It introduces general information and findings on the topic, forming part of a broader indepth study,
This article reviews the depth to which the South African suites of contracts may facilitate the effective implementation of construction project management practices. The hypothesis states that the standard South African forms of contract for building work have evolved to promote control through construction project management processes. The South African suites of contracts are reviewed against the project management office's (PMO) main focus areas for best practices. This endeavours to establish the conduciveness to facilitate good project management functions on building projects. The main clauses of each contract are compared to the construction project management knowledge areas. Two contracts are reviewed, and it is established that both contracts (General Conditions of Contract for
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.