Building Information Modeling (BIM) in Iran: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

BIM has received considerable attention from academics and innovative construction companies in recent years within the Iranian context. However, there is a conspicuous lack of studies, which give a picture of the current state of BIM in Iran. To address this gap in the body of the knowledge, this study intends to present an account on the current state of BIM with a focus on barriers and drivers associated with its adoption in Iran based on the perceptions of Iranian construction practitioners. Drawing upon a questionnaire survey completed by 44 construction practitioners and through deploying data visualization alongside statistical analyses, it came to light that industry practitioners in Iran are inexperienced as to BIM's use and the level of BIM implementation in the country is at the lowest level of BIM maturity. That is, 29.5% of construction companies are involved in some level of BIM adoption whereas 56.8% have had no exposure to BIM and 36.4% do not even have any plans to adopt BIM in the near future. The findings also showed that the highest ranked barriers to adoption of BIM in Iran are almost entirely associated with the structure of the Iranian market, the nature of the construction industry and the predominant business environment in the country as well as lack of attention by policy makers and the government. On the other hand, major drivers were found to be associated with monetary gains and enhancing competitiveness in the market. The clear message is that widespread adoption of BIM in Iran will not occur in the absence of a supportive regulatory environment and financial assistance by policy makers. The paper contributes to the field by sharing the preliminary findings of the first study conducted on BIM adoption in Iran, which provides a sound basis for further inquiries on the topic.

Influence of Building Information Modelling (BIM) on Engineering Contract Management in Nairobi, Kenya

“…Developing countries such as Kenya are generally struggling with lack of BIM awareness, lack of standard, little or no government support, unclear legal status of BIM, lack of skills, limited financial, unclear benefits of BIM [25], software, hardware and internet issues [26]. In Kenya, the private sector is leading adoption, though at a slow pace [27] [28].…”

Building information modelling for building services engineering: benefits, barriers and conducive measures

“…Worldwide many studies have proved that the adoption of BIM can bring multiple benefits to the AECO industry. Such benefits include: facilitate interdisciplinary communication and coordination, improve productivity and business outcomes, enhance customer service and enable stakeholder and public engagement (Azhar, 2011; Boktor et al , 2014; Chan, 2014; Demian and Walters, 2014; Farnsworth et al , 2014; Hosseini et al , 2016; Rogers et al , 2015).…”

“…In both the design and construction stages, the use of BIM can achieve cost reduction or monetary gain (Azhar, 2011; Hanna et al , 2013, 2014; Hosseini et al , 2016; Rogers et al , 2015), reduction in project duration, improvements in information exchange and management, improved design quality and outcomes, improved interoperability and better visualization of information, better decision making, efficient assembly of data and information and creation of a forward thinking platform (Chen and Luo, 2014; Demian and Walters, 2014; Doumbouya et al , 2016; Eastman et al , 2011; Gerges et al , 2016; Love et al , 2014; Matarneh and Hamed, 2017; Rogers et al , 2015; Soon et al , 2015). Additionally, different project stakeholders are also beneficial from BIM adoption in these stages.…”

“…The cost category contains factors such as high software service charge and training cost (Chan, 2014). The management category covers organization-related limiting factors such as lack of customized collaboration systems and data liability problem (Boktor et al , 2014; Hosseini et al , 2016; Porwal and Hewage, 2013; Matarneh and Hamed, 2017). The personnel category refers to the professional-related obstacles such as lack of knowledge, lack of skilled personnel and lack of education and training (Bin Zakaria et al , 2013; Bernstein and Pittman, 2004; Suprun and Stewart, 2015; Volk et al , 2014).…”

"Building Information Modelling Execution in Administrative and Commercial Spaces in Iran – A Fuzzy-Delphi Criteria Prioritization "

“…It is of high importance to analyze the reasons, causing these countries to apply this technique less, thus, more research is required in this regard. In Iran, the lack of attention to BIM is noted and traditional techniques are still popular in the construction industry (Hosseini et al, 2016).…”