PurposeThis paper aimed to identify critical success factors (CSFs) of building information modeling (BIM) implementation among architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) firms in Malaysia using quantitative statistical methods.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was conducted on the population of all AEC firms in Malaysia to rank the relative importance of 15 success factors (SFs) for BIM implementation in the firm on a 5-point Likert scale. The sampling frame consisted of all members registered with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) from which 184 responses were received. The distinction between SFs and CSFs was achieved by a normalized mean cutoff value. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine the relative groupings of the CSFs and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to examine the underlying relationships between the CSF groupings.FindingsResults of this study validated 11 previously identified CSFs for successful implementation of BIM among Malaysian AEC firms. Non-technical factors such as management, leadership and coordination were found to have higher relevance compared to technical factors such as software and hardware. Ranking analysis of the CSFs found internal coordination factors to have more importance compared to external coordination factors. PCA revealed 4 principal components (PCs) from the 11 CSFs. Together, these four PCs explain 74.3% of the variance in the data. Also, six hypothesized relationships between these groupings were supported using PLS-SEM.Research limitations/implicationsThis study found an interaction between internal and external coordination factors for the implementation of BIM. Future research could explore the dynamics of both intra- and inter-firm coordination, which may create an environment suitable for BIM implementation.Practical implicationsThis study provides Malaysian AEC firms with a general strategy on how to approach the implementation of BIM within the firm. In addition, government initiatives should focus on increasing BIM competency of graduates entering the workforce. This can be achieved through the development of a national BIM curriculum. Apart from that, the implementation of BIM requires a radical shift in the traditional building delivery process, not just simply acquiring new software and hardware.Originality/valueThis study revealed that the interactions between different firms at the industry level can influence successful implementation of BIM at the firm level. CSFs for BIM implementation at the firm level have been extensively studied. However, few studies exist which explore the inter-firm collaborations at the industry level that facilitate successful BIM implementation.

The purpose of this paper was to review the current state of building information modelling (BIM) literature in Malaysia. A detailed description of the history and definition of BIM was also presented. A literature search was carried out on the Web of Science Core Collection (WoS CC) on BIM research in Malaysia. Results showed that Malaysian output of BIM research peaked in 2016 and has shown a steady decline since. Most of the research from local affiliations were published in conference proceedings as opposed to academic journals. Also, a search among non-academic sources was conducted to reveal government efforts to promote BIM in Malaysia. Generally, the strategies used by the government to promote BIM include spreading awareness through roadshows, increasing competency through workshops and encouraging higher education institutes to include BIM in their curricula. Current focus should now be shifted to increasing collaboration among construction industry players using BIM as a medium for cooperation. Implications include the need for more peer-reviewed studies and a systematic nationwide study of BIM implementation in Malaysia to facilitate its growth on the national level.

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Concerns on the environmental impacts from use of concrete in the construction industry are becoming more widespread. Past and current research trends indicate that cement represents the bulk of emissions from concrete. Thus, its replacement significantly reduces negative impacts in concrete. Incorporation of industrial and agricultural waste products have shown to positively influence properties of concrete. Particularly, sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) has shown promising use as a cement replacement, but its environmental performance has not been thoroughly explored in the literature. This study investigates the environmental impacts of concrete with 10% cement replacement by SCBA using a life cycle assessment approach. The results were compared to normal concrete with compressive strength of 45 MPa. A school building was selected as a case study for LCA calculations. The total volume of concrete was obtained through a digital building model constructed using building information modelling (BIM) approach. The Ecoinvent database was used to construct the life cycle inventory while ReCiPe 2016 was used as the impact assessment method. Impacts were presented in the form of 17 midpoint categories. Results show that use of SCBA concrete reduced environmental impacts by an average of 5.5% in all but 3 impact categories. A small increase was observed for water use (1.6%) while significant increases in impacts were observed for ozone depletion (7.4%) and land use (58.4%). Furthermore, approximately 3% cost reductions were achieved when using SCBA concrete over normal concrete.