IMPROVING EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR THROUGH THE USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

Transcription

1 IMPROVING EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR THROUGH THE USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES SEPTEMBER 2011

2 CEFRIO is the centre that facilitates organizational research and innovation with the help of information and communication technologies (ICTs). It regroups over 150 members from universities, industries and government as well as 60 associate and guest researchers. Its mission is to create a digital society for Québec, using technologies as a lever for social and organizational innovation. CEFRIO, as liaison and transfer centre, works in partnership to carry out research-experimentation, survey and strategic watch projects on the appropriation of ICTs in Québec and Canada. These projects touch all sectors of the economy, both private and public. CEFRIO activities are funded at 64% by its own projects and at 36% by its main partner, the ministère du Développement économique, de l Innovation et de l Exportation. CEFRIO s Main Financial Partner COLLABORATION CEFRIO Project Team: Josée Beaudoin Vice President, Innovation & Transfer Montréal Youni Shabah Project Director Scientific Research: Daniel Forgues École de technologie supérieure Sheryl Staub French The University of British Columbia This project s main financial partner: National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) Collaboration: Centre d études et de recherche pour l avancement de la construction au Québec (CÉRACQ) For information concerning the project, please contact the CEFRIO at the following addresses: In Québec 888, Saint-Jean Street Suite 575 Québec (Québec) G1R 5H6 Canada Telephone: Fax: In Montréal 550, Sherbrooke Street West Suite 471, West Tower Montréal (Québec) H3A 1B9 Canada Telephone: Fax: Legal deposit: third quarter 2011 Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec Library and Archives Canada ISBN CEFRIO 2011, All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein may not be used or reproduced, in whole or in part, without obtaining the prior written consent of CEFRIO. 2 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

3 Table of Contents Executive Summary Introduction Phase One: Goal and findings Phase Two: Objectives and structure Methodology Research Strategy Methods of evaluation Sample of people interviewed Analysis of IT adoption among Canadian early adopters Overview of BIM adoption in Canada and the US Comparison with United States construction industry Discussion Analysis of BIM Adoption among Canadian Early Adopters Current BIM Experience BIM Challenges Benefits of BIM Training Issues Organizational and Procedural Issues Technical Issues Metrics Critical success factors for BIM implementation Conclusion References Appendixes Consent forms Questionnaire protocol IT Interview Protocol BIM Interview Protocol CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3

4 List of Figures and Tables Figure 1: Three Phases of the research, position of Phase II (shaded box) Figure 2: Alignment model (Venkatraman et al, 1993) Figure 3: Size of the companies surveyed (Canadian study) Figure 4: Distribution of interviewed persons according to their activity areas, Canadian study Figure 5: Levels of the current use of BIM tools on projects according to all Canadian respondents Figure 6: Growth in BIM Use on Project between (McGraw Hill 2008) Figure 7: Levels of the current use of BIM tools by professionals (Canadian study) Figure 8: Levels of use of BIM tools by professional (McGraw Hill 2008) Figure 9: BIM use by phase according to all Canadian respondents Figure 10: BIM use by phase, according to their involvement in the project (Canadian study) Figure 11: Perceived Value of BIM by Phase (McGraw Hill 2008) Figure 12: Use of BIM Analysis Tools (Canadian study) Figure 13: Use of BIM Analysis Tools (McGraw Hill 2008) Figure 14: BIM Analysis Tools according to project involvement (Canadian study) Figure 15: integration of scheduling and cost data with BIM (McGraw Hill 2008) Figure 16: Use of BIM Modeling Tools, Canadian respondents Figure 17: Awareness of BIM Related Tools (McGraw Hill 2008) Figure 18: Factors that limit the full use of BIM (Canadian study) Figure 19: Most Important Obstacles to BIM Adoption (McGraw Hill 2009) Figure 20: Obstacles to BIM adoption (Canadian study) Figure 21: Challenges to BIM Adoption (McGraw Hill 2008) Figure 22: BIM Impact Evaluation (Canadian study) Figure 23: Importance of Aspects for Measuring ROI (McGraw Hill 2008) Figure 24: Training Methods within Firms (Canadian study) Figure 25: Training Methods Within The Firm by professional category (Canadian study) Figure 26: BIM Training Methods (McGraw Hill 2008) Figure 27: Proportion of BIM Trained Employees (Canadian study) Figure 28: Regular BIM Users among Trained Employees (Canadian study) Figure 29: Level of BIM Training (McGraw Hill 2008) Figure 30: BIM Use Evaluation (Current darker colors and for the Next 5 Years lighter colors) (Canadian study) Figure 31: Perceived Value of BIM Five Years from Now (McGraw Hill 2009) Figure 32: Importance of BIM in 5 Years (Left: our data, Right: McGraw Hill 2009) Figure 33 : Technology Adoption Curve (Moore 1991) Figure 34 : Technology deployment curve (Gartner Group 2011) CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

5 Table 1: List of companies/personnel interviewed regarding IT use 15 Table 2: List of companies/personnel interviewed regarding BIM use; who also completed the questionnaire 15 Table 3: SWOT analysis of BIM adoption according to the companies selected, Canadian study 51 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 5

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7 Executive Summary Initiated in fall 2010, CEFRIO s project "Improving the efficiency and productivity of the construction sector through IT" was done in partnership with the National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) and the Centre d études et de recherches pour l avancement de la construction au Québec (CÉRACQ). The research part was conducted under the supervision of Professor Daniel Forgues of École de technologie supérieure and Sheryl Staub French professor at The University of British Columbia, in collaboration with their respective research teams. The project aimed at better understanding how information technologies have the potential to transform a construction project, in terms of processes and interactions between stakeholders. Phases 1 and 2 provided a better understanding of the issues in the use and adoption of information technology in the construction industry, to highlight the gaps between existing practice and literature and identify emerging practices in Canadian industry. Research findings highlighted that technologies and tools related to building information modeling (BIM) are the most promising in terms of improving the productivity of the construction industry. This technology, covering the entire life cycle of the building, can create, coordinate, document, manage and update information about a particular building as well as its components. This collaborative and integrated process, based on a powerful data modeling capability, is one of the most visible aspects of a deep and fundamental change in the process of transforming the construction industry worldwide. Our conclusion for Phase 1 of this project was that the Canadian industry was at a crossroad. Literature regarding the impact of the GSA BIM requirements on the US construction industry indicated that this initiative triggered a paradigm shift that is transforming the way buildings are planned, designed, built and managed. We expressed a strong concern that this shift was causing the Canadian industry to lose ground in terms of its ability to deliver value and maintain competitiveness. These concerns have been confirmed by our analysis of data gathered from early adopters of BIM, from discussions with building owners, design professionals and contractors in Canada and in the US, and from a parallel study conducted in Québec to measure design professionals level of understanding and adoption of Integrated Design and BIM. Our industry is seriously lagging behind, and the gap is widening. Drastic changes are required: rethinking how projects are procured and how work is organized within and among members of the project coalition. Highly qualified personnel who can generate and implement new knowledge practices are necessary to help the Canadian industry to make this move, and public clients in Canada have to take the lead by making BIM mandatory for all their projects. However, as opposed to the situation of research and professional education in the US, because of the high level of fragmentation, lack of resources and funding, Canadian universities are still not ready to train such highly qualified personnel nor to generate a new, integrated BIM body of knowledge and related professional curricula. Public clients in Canada do not seem to understand what BIM is about, or why they have to change and integrate the way they CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 7

8 manage projects and assets nor have they begun to understand the benefits that will accrue to them by doing so. CEFRIO and academic researchers will propose pilot projects that aim at building a strong business case demonstrating the value of BIM and providing a roadmap of changes within organizations implementing BIM. Collaborative BIM will be emphasized because of its value and because it raises the largest challenges regarding contractual arrangements and the paradigm shift of moving from a fragmented and functional based organization of work to an integrated management of workflow and dataflow. These pilot projects will also help to train the highly qualified personnel desperately needed by the construction industry. 8 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

9 1 Introduction 1.1 Phase One: Goal and findings Phase 1 of this project established the state of knowledge of IT in the construction industry, based on studies of current practices and on the literature. The main goal of this phase was to support theoretical and empirical efforts focused on understanding the barriers to IT implementation in current construction practices, with a focus on improving efficiency and productivity. This phase reviewed the literature, focusing on the relationships between three main areas: (1) Information Technologies, (2) the Construction Process, and (3) Productivity. The findings of Phase 1 showed that Building Information Modeling (BIM) related tools are considered the most promising technology to enhance construction productivity. However, to maximize the benefits of this technology, a variety of organizational, procedural and technical issues should be addressed. Consequently, BIM technologies should be combined with new processes that change the context and conditions in which construction projects are planned, designed, and constructed. This could be an essential factor to move forward to a higher level of maturity in terms of integrating IT in construction. Many studies (FIATECH 2005, NSCSC 2010, etc.) also showed that BIM Implementation is still a challenge for the North American construction industry. Although the US industry still has room for improvement, it is making significant progress in moving toward full implementation (McGraw Hill 2008, 2009). A key driver for this change was the General Services Agency s (GSA), as well as other public agencies, requirement that BIM be used on all federal building projects as of 2007 (GSA 2007). The Canadian construction industry, in contrast, is well behind that of the U.S. in its adoption rate. 1.2 Phase Two: Objectives and structure The primary objective of Phase 2 is to devise, with the collaboration of innovators and early adopters of BIM in the Canadian industry, pilot projects focused on improving productivity using the most promising BIM related tools. The secondary objectives are to: Identify emerging practices and information technologies to support planning, design, and construction; Assess current industry practices and uses of IT/BIM tools: o Assess the extent of BIM adoption; o Identify the benefits and challenges of BIM adoption; and o Identify changes that could address the organizational, procedural and technical issues observed. Identify relevant metrics for measuring the benefits of IT/BIM in construction. o Identify current metrics used by industry; o Compare metrics used with those found in the literature; and CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 9

10 o Propose a set of metrics for use on pilot projects. This report is divided into three parts. The first part presents the methodology adopted for Phase 2of our study. The second part presents an overview of BIM adoption in Canada and the US, which includes the positioning of BIM adoption in Canada. The third part presents an in depth analysis of current industry practices and uses of IT/BIM tools. 10 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

11 2 Methodology 2.1 Research Strategy A significant outcome of Phase 2 is the identification of a series of pilot projects that will implement some of the most promising BIM technologies we have identified. These projects will be analyzed to assess the impact of these technologies on project performance in a variety of contexts, with the ultimate goal of improving productivity. The challenge is that the level of productivity gains is dependent on the partners willingness to change their business practices. There are also time and budget constraints that limit our means to conduct a large in depth study across the full life cycle of a construction project. Our research strategy starts with a focus on innovators and early adopters for two reasons: these industrial partners acknowledge the value of IT to gain a competitive advantage and they will be the easiest to convince in participating to a pilot project. In fact, they have already identify what they consider the most promising tools and technologies. The figure below illustrates our approach to Phase 2, positioning this work in the context of the findings from Phase 1, and the follow up activities proposed for Phase 3 (Figure 1). CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 11

12 Phase I Finding 1: Promising technology (BIM related tools) Finding 2: Rethinking the process: organizational, procedural and technical issues Phase II Questionnaires Interviews Comparison of BIM adoption in Canada and in the US IT interviews BIM interviews Validation of Phase I Findings: BIM is most promising technology Understanding BIM adoption, implementation and impact Identify major gaps Phase II Findings: BIM adoption requires changes in business practices, alignment of IT and business strategy Identify benefits, challenges, and required changes Phase III Pilot Projects Improving productivity using the most promising BIM related tools and relevant metrics Figure 1: Three Phases of the research, position of Phase II (shaded box) 12 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

13 2.2 Methods of evaluation BIM related technologies are just emerging in Canada. Although the topic of BIM is quite broad, the number of early adopters in the provinces studied is quite small. For this reason, we adopted a mixed method approach combining quantitative and qualitative analysis to develop an overview of the issues, challenges and opportunities faced by practitioners, and of the work practices that either enhance or hinder successful implementation. We recognize that the results from the quantitative analysis are based on a small sample. However, this quantitative data in combination with the qualitative data provides significant insights on the current state of BIM adoption in Canada at an exploratory level, and highlights the factors that are limiting the adoption rate compared to the US. 1. Quantitative Analysis Questionnaires were administered online prior to all of the interviews. The purpose of collecting data through the questionnaire was to gather general information about the participating firms, to identify the current level of BIM experience, and to define the perceived value and future developments in BIM implementation. We developed our questionnaire based on two BIM Smart Market Reports published by McGraw Hill Construction in 2008 and This enabled us to more easily identify similarities and differences between the construction industry in Canada and that of the US, as well as providing a larger reference sample that may help confirm our observations. Because BIM adoption in Canada is slow and since we focused specifically on early adopters in two Canadian provinces, our sample of people who participated in the questionnaire is much smaller than the sample size of the McGraw Hill study (see Appendix 2). 2. Qualitative Analysis Semi structured interviews were conducted with industry representatives to better understand the impact of IT and BIM on their work practices and construction projects. Our research approach involved two levels of interviews: the first concentrates on the current use of information technology (IT) in construction to validate our phase one conclusions from the literature, and the second focuses on how and in which context BIM technologies are used by owners, design professionals, and contractors to improve the productivity of their processes and the quality of their output. The duration of the each interview was typically about one hour. Each interview commenced with an overview of the CEFRIO Project, and a consent form was reviewed and completed (see Appendix 1). In general, representatives were invited to talk about their current experiences in using these technologies, and to reflect on what they were considering in the near future regarding the implementation of IT and BIM (see Appendixes 3 and 4). The IT interviews focused on the current situation in construction. Data collection was structured according to three key issues that arose from Phase 1: organizational, procedural and technical issues. Each interview concluded with some perspectives on strategic planning for future implementation. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 13

14 The BIM interviews focused on two main topics: (1) The experiences of early adopters with respect to the implementation, development, and impact of BIM; and (2) The strategies of early adopters for expanding and enhancing BIM adoption in their firm and across their projects. Excerpts from discussions with clients, design professionals, contractors and manufacturers in conferences such as Ecobuild, Insight and Contech and in the RevitBIM user group in Montréal were added to provide a better context for analyzing these interviews. 2.3 Sample of people interviewed In order to better understand the extent of BIM adoption in Canada, the interviews were conducted with a variety of early adopters and innovators in the construction industry based in North America. The choice of the sample was not random; people were selected through BIM user groups, BIM events, and their previous experience on BIM projects. The purpose was to gather data from the key stakeholders (clients, design professionals, contractors) in order to identify their specific challenges and perspectives regarding BIM. The tables below show who was interviewed for both the IT and BIM interviews, including the types of firms, the role of the interviewed person, and the rationale for why that particular person was chosen to be interviewed. 14 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

15 Table 1: List of companies/personnel interviewed regarding IT use Company Field Role Activity Rationale ARUP Consulting Engineers Associate Principal, Aviation Planning Global Leader Regional, national, international Most advanced engineering firm in the use of IT. They are beyond BIM. Provides an insight of things to come Pomerleau Inc. Axor Group Inc. SNC Lavalin Inc. (IT support) Construction IT Director International Only construction firm in Québec that has implemented an ERP to manage their projects Construction, management Engineering, Procurement, Construction Project Manager Assistant Director, Corporate Design Systems Regional, national, international International Only construction firm in Québec that has implemented a collaborative environment, based on Lotus Notes and Domino Responsible for IT strategy for the second largest engineering firm in the world Table 2: List of companies/personnel interviewed regarding BIM use who also completed the questionnaire Company Field Role Activity Rationale Lemay associés Architecture BIM Director National Early adopters of BIM in the architectural field Canam Group Manufacturing BIM initiatives manager International Most advanced sub trade firm in the use of BIM in Canada Société immobilière du Québec Keith Plumbing and Heating Co. Ltd Busby Perkins + Will DPR Construction Ledcor Construction Limited Scott Construction Group ArchiData SNC Lavalin Inc. Governmental Property management Construction Architecture Construction Construction Construction Property management Software Engineering, Procurement, Construction Architect and Head of the Montréal Expertise General Superintendent Intermediate Architectural Staff Director of Virtual Building Manager of BIM & virtual construction 3D / 4D Modeling Coordinator Leader in property management Regional National Regional, national, international National, international Regional, national, international Regional, national Regional, national To determine the degree of BIM implementation in the governmental sector In early stages of adoption, working on a pharmaceutical sciences project that we are currently studying Architect uses BIM on all projects; firm has a good history of research collaboration Leader in BIM adoption in the United States Using BIM on a pharmaceutical sciences project that we are currently studying In early stages of adoption BIM solution for space and facilities management BIM Director International Using an integrated BIM process within the PPP contract holder of the CUSUM mega hospital project The next section describes IT adoption in Québec with a particular emphasis on the uses of IT, the benefits and challenges observed, and the work practices required for successful implementation. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 15

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17 3 Analysis of IT adoption among Canadian early adopters The findings of phase I of this research showed that, as opposed to other industries, the construction industry still exhibits a low maturity in the use of IT, since no significant changes in the traditional business model accompany the introduction of new tools. Therefore, the construction industry has not benefited, compared to other industries like manufacturing, from the dramatic increases in productivity related to new processes enabled or driven by the new technologies. One of the conditions for successful use of IT is moving from an operational to a strategic use of technology. The literature suggests that the condition for a mature use of IT is to align strategy and functional integration between the IT domain and the business domain (Venkatraman et al, 1993) (Figure 2). Figure 2: Alignment model (Venkatraman et al, 1993) IT can enable or drive new processes (Davenport, 1993) or even new business models (Kalakota and Robinson, 2001). For example, Amazon s business strategy is strongly aligned with its IT strategy and shows a strong functional integration. It used technology to redefine the way bookstores conduct their business. Our first set of interviews concentrates on a very small but rich sample that allows for interesting associations with this alignment model: IT driven versus IS enabled firms; and business versus IT perspectives within the firm. Two are from engineering and two are general contractors. The analysis of CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 17

18 the interviews is cross referenced with data from other interviews regarding BIM that confirm our findings. The following presents the analysis structured according to three issues: (1) organizational and procedural issues, (2) socio technical issues, and (3) vision. 1. Organizational and procedural issues ARUP is the Amazon of the construction industry. It is a fine example on how to use proper alignment of IT with business strategy for strategic advantage. This UK based firm began by being as consultants in building structure. They built their reputation on the innovative use of IT and highly integrated design and construction practices. They develop their own software, manage their resources with one of the most advanced knowledge management technologies in the world, and have used BIM since the 1980 s. IT is very much a part of their business culture and strategy. They have no need for a changemanagement policy to push the use of new technology. "There is a well known structure software, and it is used worldwide in structural design, it is a software that ARUP developed, and later sold the license for, because at a certain time, what existed on the market had not technically fulfilled our requirement, we had a complex project and the tools were not acceptable to be used in its design, we developed the tool, and now it has become a reference as software for structural design. (...) We work a lot with others to develop features, to improve and do software coupling, interfaces (...). It is often driven by the nature of projects, because they are often highly complex. (...) Often, we will develop what we need because the market doesn t provide it" (Business decision maker ARUP) 1 Another example of strategic fit is provided by Canam, a major sub trade specialized in steel structure that understood the strategic value of BIM to gain competitive advantage some years ago. They bought a consulting firm in Hong Kong to learn from their expertise how to better achieve a strategic fit and functional integration. ( ) But here, the North American market does not appear to be as quick to incorporate BIM as in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, we are gaining a lot 1 Il y a un software en structure qui est reconnu, et qui est utilisé mondialement en design de structure, c est un software que ARUP a développé, et on a vendu la licence après, parce que, à une certain époque, on est rendu ou, techniquement, ce qui est sur le marché ne répond pas à ce qu on avait besoin, on avait un projet complexe et les outils n était pas acceptables pour faire le design de ça, on a développé l outil et, maintenant, c est devenu une référence comme software en design de structure. ( ) On travaille beaucoup avec les autres pour développer les features, l amélioration et le coupling de software, les interfaces ( ). On est souvent poussés par la nature des projets, parce que souvent on fait des projets à haute complexité. ( ) Souvent on va développer ce qu on avait besoin parce que le marché le fournit pas. 18 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

19 of expertise that will help us when BIM increases here. (Knowledge transfer from their office in Hong Kong) (Manufacturer Canam Group) 2 One example of the implementation of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) within a construction firm shows a successful alignment at the functional integration level. Champions from each department spent a year with the IT personnel, planning the deployment of the platform, reassessing and optimizing the way they could better work together with the new technology. ERP is a living system, we want it to stay alive, and we nurture it to keep it growing, so that people continue to follow the technology at this level. (...) We took the best from each department for a year, we took them out from their regular framework, and we rented a place only for the ERP people. There, we had the system installed; then we tried everything for a year, with all the best from each department. I would say that by doing this, when we came back to launch the go live, I think their colleagues easily got on board, and everything went fine. (IT Director Pomerleau) 3 The business decision makers understood the functional value of diverting key resources from their dayto day tasks to make sure that this leap would be as smooth and as advantageous as possible. IT resources were dedicated to training and to gathering comments and suggestions from users. We find similar views about IT with US firms. DPR is a very progressive construction firm in the US that has been successful in its strategic planning and investment for IT, and in particular BIM. My responsibility within DPR is looking strategically at how BIM with construction and operation technologies could be used to deliver projects better. We spent quite a bit of time doing the strategic plan for how we want to roll out BIM. One of the things we did at the time was to decide that we are never going to outsource BIM, and we had a lot of temptation where you know people were coming to us and saying just give us your drawings and we will give you a model and then you can call it BIM, and I think we sort of moved away from that What we observed is that actually the act of, you know, getting engaged in producing a building information model is really a key aspect of the benefits that it 2 ( ) Mais ici le marché nord américain ne semble pas aussi rapide au niveau du BIM qu'on est à Hong Kong. À Hong Kong, on est en train de prendre beaucoup d'expertise qui va nous aider quand ça lèvera ici. (Transfert de connaissances de leur bureau à Hong Kong)» 3 ERP est un système vivant, on veut qu il reste en vie longtemps, on le nourrit pour qu il continue à avancer, pour que les gens continuent à suivre la technologie à ce niveau là. ( ) On a pris les meilleurs de chaque département, pendant un an, on les a sorti de leur cadre régulier, on s est loué un local ailleurs, uniquement pour les gens de EPR. Là, on avait le système qui était installé, puis on a tout essayé pendant un an, avec tous les meilleurs de chaque département. Je vous dirais qu en faisant ça, lorsque on est revenu pour répondre du go live, je pense que les gens qui ont suivi ont bien embarqué, et ça s est quand même bien passé.» CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 19

20 can bring. And the more we involve the builders in the process the better it is. So when we get involved and we don t have the builders involved the benefit that we see is lot less than when you actually have the superintendent, foreman and trades. (Virtual Design and Construction Coordinator, DPR Construction) Conversely, we see that Canadian engineering and construction firms do not have this sort of strategic perspective. Their work is still organized around functions and projects and not around processes. IT is considered merely as an add on to support activities (accounting and communications). We are more attached to the project, there is an overall strategy, and it is more of a budget strategy. (...) It (ERP) helps in all our projects, it improves them, and our payments are fast because the approvals are faster, it is one feature of ERP, but it has many components. At a project management level, our entire project s data are entered in the system for monitoring, dashboards, etc. (...). At the communication level, mobility now takes up much of our annual IT budget. We have nearly 700 wireless devices for all our users, so controlling all of that, etc. It requires a lot of time at that level. (IT Director Pomerleau) 4 Therefore, any efforts to modify traditional patterns of work are perceived as disruptive, generating additional work that requires resources and increases the risk of not meeting the objectives of the project. With the implementation of IT, the following summarizes the most common problems that have been confronted by the representatives interviewed: Communication problems. Lack of communication between disciplines: the information does not necessarily pass between the project team members. The temporary nature of teams. Teams change between different phases, therefore, modification of points of view, objectives, etc. Coordination problems between disciplines. Each discipline works to its own advantage and there is a lack of leadership in ensuring a good flow of information. A case in point is the lack of IT perspective within companies that only operate in Canada. Decision makers in construction firms seem to consider IT as a cost and not as an investment or something that can provide them with a competitive advantage. 4 On est plus attachés au projet, on a quand même une stratégie globale, c est plus une stratégie budgétaire. ( ) Ça aide dans tous nos projet. Ça les améliore. Tous nos paiements sont rapides parce que les approbations se font plus rapidement. C est une particularité de EPR mais il y a beaucoup de volets. Au niveau de la gestion de projet, toutes les données de nos projets sont entrées dans le système pour avoir le suivi, les dashboards, etc. ( ) Au niveau de la communication, aujourd hui, la mobilité prend une grande partie de notre budget TI annuellement. On a près de 700 appareils sans fil pour tous nos usagers, donc, c est le contrôle de tout ça, etc. Ça demande beaucoup de temps à ce niveau là.» 20 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

21 We don t want to be the first, when a technology appears. We wait until it is approved. (IT Director Pomerleau) 5 Another issue is the lack of recognition by public clients in Canada about the added value of technology to deliver a better product. We are a public organization, and there are political issues. There are obligations to results, deadlines and announced budgets. If we can demonstrate that the tool helps us to achieve better results, there will always be an opening. (Public Client SIQ) 6 Paradoxically, all interviewees consider that IT plays an important role in their companies. All representatives noted that the level of the use of IT is quite significant at their respective companies. Statistics indicate that the Canadian construction industry is lagging far behind others in terms of investing in IT. Construction company leaders see IT as operational systems to support projects and ensure quality control, as being useful for information management and communication between the parties of a project. However, the strategic role of IT in optimizing and improving the process of primary value added activities was still not well understood. The companies nonetheless recognize that IT may have an important impact on (1) transforming the internal philosophy, and (2) enhancing productivity and efficiency. 2. Socio technical issues This lack of a business perspective of IT has its toll. Attempts to introduce new technology have often faced stiff resistance. Professionals are reluctant to the use of new technologies because applying these technologies requires time and effort that sometimes does not match with project schedules and costs. They focus on production, so there is little time to update their knowledge and processes. "Frustration, a lot of frustration... and people are directly blaming technology and not themselves. It doesn t work... it is not good. While in reality, it is not the technology; it's how they work with technology. " (IT Director SNC Lavalin) 7 5 On ne veut pas être les premiers, quand une technologie sort. On attend jusqu'à ce qu elle soit approuvée.» 6 On est une organisation publique, et il y a des enjeux politiques. Il y a des obligations de faire, des résultats, des délais, et des budgets annoncés. Si on arrive à faire la preuve que l outil nous aide à mieux parvenir aux résultats, il va toujours y avoir une ouverture. 7 Frustration, beaucoup de frustration puis les gens vont directement blâmer la technologie, et non eux mêmes. Ça ne fonctionne pas Ce n est pas bon. Alors que la réalité, ce n est pas la technologie, c est la façon dont ils travaillent avec la technologie. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 21

22 Change is stressful, and it makes learning hard and slow. This can make the transition to new technology difficult, and a loss of productivity will result. "( ) There is no intellectual learning agility" (Business decision maker Axor Group) 8 With no strategy, the implementation of new technology is often done with no change management approach, i.e. with no proper training or rethinking on how the technology could facilitate or improve the work process. "In general, the percentage of time using the software to its fullest potentials does not exceed 10 % (example: MS Office). Using new software depends on the (Name dropping) concept or on marketing"(business decision maker Axor Group) 9 Consequently, technology is used in the wrong place, without any knowledge of the potential uses of the software, or if the process itself is well adapted to this technology. The perception from the business domain is that IT is expensive and does not provide the expected results. 3. Vision The respondents recognized the important role of IT in improving productivity and enhancing competitiveness. "(...) The new technology, it makes us more productive, more competitive, and it opens a new market for us." (IT Director SNC Lavalin) 10 "( ) If people use these tools at full efficiency, this will reduce time and improve performance and efficiency." (Business decision maker Axor Group) 11 They declared that changes in the process are firstly related to the wish and the role of their clients, then to the higher management of the company. "(...) The best way for a technology to be accepted is when the client imposes it, because that is not negotiable. The client has an important role to play here, because if it is based on a voluntary basis, it will be 8 il n y a pas une agilité intellectuelle d apprentissage.» 9 En général, le pourcentage d utilisation des logiciels d une manière complète ne dépasse pas les 10 % (exemple : MS Office). L utilisation d un nouveau logiciel dépend de la notion (Name dropping) ou du marketing. 10 Les nouvelles technologies, ça nous rend plus productifs, plus compétitifs, et ça nous ouvre de nouveau marché 11 SI les gens utilisent ces outils à pleine efficacité, ceci va réduire le temps et améliorer la performance et l efficacité. 22 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

23 much more difficult than if it is imposed by the client." (IT Director SNC Lavalin) 12 Despite this need for a client based approach, the government still does not play a big role in IT implementation. Its role should be in setting standards, and assessing the use of technology at the academic level (universities and colleges). In identifying the most promising technologies, the interviewees considered BIM technologies (Example: Revit, Intergraph, SmartPlant, etc.) to have the most potential to improve productivity in the near future. Integrated systems (Example: virtual environments) were also mentioned as one of the promising technologies. "In a software like Revit, where all disciplines that work on a model are integrated, there is much less inconsistency. Everything was already integrated from the beginning, all was designed to fit together well." (IT Director SNC Lavalin) 13 However, at the moment, BIM is not fully used in integrated way. It is totally separated from the process, and this is completely related to the level of client awareness. "The process is the most important, the tool (the deliverable) could be changed, but we cannot disassociate the two elements (processes and deliverables). (...) A question of knowledge, of having an educated client that understands the value added." (Business decision maker ARUP) 14 The full implementation of IT is not only related to decision makers, but also to the parties and partners of the projects, especially the client. Companies still see IT as a support tool for projects (project management, reducing cost, better scheduling, etc.) rather than an approach to transform the process, which is the most important element to enhance productivity. Consequently, to maximise the benefits of IT, and to implement BIM related tools require an implication and willingness on the part of clients and of business decision makers to invest in the means to change practices and process thinking. The next section focuses on BIM implementation, and identifies the degree of BIM use among early Canadian adapters. 12 Le mieux, pour qu une technologie passe, c est que le client l impose. Parce que là, ce n est pas négociable. Le client a un rôle important à jouer au dessus, parce que, si c est sur une base volontaire, ça va être beaucoup plus difficile que si c est imposé par le client. 13 Dans un logiciel comme Revit où toutes les disciplines d un modèle sont intégrées, des inconsistances, il y a beaucoup moins d inconsistances puisque tout était déjà intégré dès le début, Tout était prévu pour que ça se tienne bien ensemble. 14 «Le processus est le plus important, l outil (le livrable) peut changer, mais on ne peut pas désassocier les deux éléments (processus et livrable). ( ) Une question de connaissances, d avoir un client éduqué qui comprenne la valeur ajoutée.» CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 23

24

25 4 Overview of BIM adoption in Canada and the U.S. The quantitative data collected from early adopters allowed us to assess the extent of BIM adoption in Canada relative to our U.S. counterparts. As mentioned earlier, the sample of Canadian early adopters is much smaller than the samples in the McGraw Hill studies for the U.S. construction industry. Moreover, it is skewed in that our sample represents the pioneers in the Canadian industry while the McGraw Hill samples cover the full spectrum of users. This section presents the results of this comparison, including the current levels of BIM adoption, and the similarities and differences in the use of BIM. This helps to highlight the gap between the U.S. and Canadian construction industries in different aspects of BIM practice. The questionnaire data was collected from January to March 2011 from a sample of ten companies, which included four contractors, two architects, a work provider (client) from the public sector, and a manufacturer (Table 2). Figure 3: Size of the companies surveyed (Canadian study) Our survey was carried out in small, medium and large sized companies. Figure 3 presents the percentage of people interviewed based on the size of the firm. It shows that 50% of our selected companies are large companies (more than 500 employees). Our choice of companies is also varied according to the geographic area of activities. Figure 4 presents the zones of activity of the selected companies, illustrating that the main activities are at the national level. However, the contractors and architects interviewed are involved in different projects at the regional, national and international levels. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 25

26 Figure 4: Distribution of interviewed persons according to their activity areas, Canadian study 4.1 Comparison with the United States construction industry This section will compare the results of our questionnaire with the McGraw Hill studies along twelve different parameters that address: current BIM experience; BIM implementation challenges and benefits; BIM training; and BIM value. The McGraw Hill research from 2008 was conducted through a survey of 82 architects, 101 engineers, 80 contractors, and 39 owners (total sample size of 302) between June 18 and August 8, The McGraw Hill research from 2009 was conducted through an Internet survey of industry professionals between May 28 and July 2, That survey had 2,228 complete responses. The total category displayed throughout the report includes 598 architects (27%), 326 engineers (15%), 817 contractors (37%), 118 owners (5%), 73 building product manufacturers (3%) and 296 other industry respondents, representing a compilation of the two McGraw Hill studies. For each comparison of the twelve parameters, we will show figures from our data (these have a white background) alongside figures from the McGraw Hill studies (these have a light yellow background with headings outlined in blue). a) Levels of the Current Use Of BIM Tools on Projects We asked respondents to evaluate their level of BIM use on projects (Figure 5). 26 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

27 Our data shows that the current experience of using BIM is still low). We observed that 75% of the professionals use BIM tools, 25% or less on their projects. 37% of these professionals use BIM tools less than 10% on their projects. Figure 5: Levels of the current use of BIM tools on projects, according to all Canadian respondents However, the 2008 McGraw Hill report shows a total of 72% heavy and very heavy BIM use in the U.S. industry. The study also indicates an expected rise, in 2009, in the number of light users, medium users and very heavy users (Figure 6). Figure 6: Growth in BIM Use on Project between (McGraw Hill 2008) In comparing our data with that of the McGraw Hill studies, we can see a significant difference in BIM use on projects between the U.S. and the Canadian samples. b) Levels of the Current Use of BIM tools by the industry Figure 7 is only indicative of the level of BIM use for our sample and its distribution is not representative of the industry. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 27

28 For our sample, only two respondents indicated that their level of BIM use was more than 25%. For one contractor, BIM use corresponded to 50% and for one of the architects the number was 100%. Figure 7: Levels of the current use of BIM tools by professionals (Canadian study) In contrast, the McGraw Hill study (2008) showed that all professionals were very heavy users on a significant percentage of projects: 43% of the architects, 35% of the engineers, 23% of the contractors and 41% of the owners (Figure 8). Figure 8: Levels of use of BIM tools by professionals (McGraw Hill 2008) To better understand this very large difference, we further analyzed the data to see if any of the factors were correlated. We found that the level of BIM use could be correlated to the activity areas according to our sample, BIM use increases when a firm s activities are more national or international than regional. In other words, the degree of BIM use can be related to the extent of the market share. 28 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

29 c) BIM Use by Phases Compared with Perceived Value of BIM by Phases The current level of BIM use is not only related to the degree of involvement in the project, but also to the project phases (Figure 9, Figure 10). As shown in Figure 9, BIM tools are not currently employed in all project phases; they seem to be more used in the design phase, regardless of the speciality of the user (Figure 10). Figure 9: BIM use by phase according to all Canadian respondents According to 75% of users, the planning and construction phases rank as the next highest in BIM use, after designers). Considering these findings, the use of BIM, at these two phases, might interest contractors more than other users. Meanwhile, we can observe that architects and contractors are generally the users that are most concerned with using BIM, in all phases. Figure 10: BIM use by Phase, according to their Involvement in the Project (Canadian study) CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 29

30 Data from the 2008 McGraw Hill report about the perceived value of BIM by phases (Figure 11), shows that the design and construction related phases have been perceived as having comparably very high value. Figure 11: Perceived Value of BIM by Phase (McGraw Hill 2008) When we compared our data to the data from McGraw Hill 2008, we also found that BIM is being used in phases that have more perceived value (design and construction/construction documents phases). However, our data shows that the design phase seems to be the most important phase, which could be because the general understanding, on the part of our participants, is that BIM is primarily a modeling tool. d) The Use of BIM Analysis Tools Our sample of BIM users seems to be aware of the potential use of BIM tools, but these tools are still under utilized. The following figures show tasks where BIM is employed, both from our study (Figure 12) and the McGraw Hill 2008 report (Figure 13), ranked by task importance. 30 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

31 Figure 12: Use of BIM Analysis Tools (Canadian study) Figure 13: Use of BIM Analysis Tools (McGraw Hill 2008) Our questionnaire data indicates that quantity takeoff and conflict detection are the main uses of BIM analysis tools. Quantity takeoff is also the usage with the highest percentage in the 2008 McGraw Hill report. Conflict detection was not explicitly included in the McGraw Hill study, probably because it can also be classified as a modeling tool. The use of BIM for scheduling tasks is considered important in both studies. Estimating is not yet evaluated as a priority for our respondents, in comparison to the McGraw Hill data, where it is considered as important as scheduling. The use of BIM analysis tools for energy analyzes, LEED or other Green Analyzes are also included in the McGraw Hill survey, with significant responses from participants, whereas, in our study, these uses did not rate highly with our respondents. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 31

32 e) The Use of BIM Analysis Tools According to Project Involvement We classified the evaluation of BIM analysis tools according to project involvement to determine which team member on the project is most likely to use BIM for different tasks (Figure 14). Figure 14: BIM Analysis Tools according to project involvement (Canadian study) Our data in Figure 14 shows that contractors benefit the most from the use of BIM analysis tools, and that they applied it for different tasks. Only one construction firm fully employed BIM, whereas. for other professionals. the use of BIM analysis tools is limited to some specific tasks, such as with architects who use BIM data for quantity takeoff, conflict detection, MEP coordination and scheduling. On the other hand, according to the McGraw Hill 2008 study, only one third of contractors use BIM data for tasks like quantity takeoff, scheduling and estimating. Half of the architects use energy analysis or other tools related to sustainability rating, and a large portion of owners use BIM data with project management software. Figure 15 shows the McGraw Hill data according to the use of BIM for integrating scheduling and cost data by different team members. 32 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

33 Figure 15: integration of scheduling and cost data with BIM (McGraw Hill 2008) Our data also shows the contractors interest in, and use of BIM as quantity takeoff and scheduling tools, and to a similar degree as indicated by the McGraw Hill data. Even though the McGraw Hill 2008 report states that Engineers (82%) and architects (85%) are least likely to use estimating in BIM, our data shows that architects use quantity take off tools to support cost estimating, more than other BIM analysis tools. In contrast to the McGraw Hill data, the architects in our study did not report any use of energy analysis tools. f) The Use of BIM Modeling Tools To better understand the use of BIM in the selected companies, we asked the representatives to specify the main purpose of BIM use at their company, and which software they usually use. The responses showed that the main use of BIM is to create and analyze models, as reported by 62% of respondents. Among this 62%, all of the architects use BIM for that purpose, as well as 50% of the contractors. However, by crossing these results with preceding results concerning the use of BIM by phases and by tasks, we concluded that, until now, BIM has been used more for modelling than for analysis. 100% of respondents use BIM at the design phase and less than 37.5% use BIM for full analysis. We also asked respondents to identify the software most used for BIM modeling; these results are shown in Figure 16. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 33

34 Both our data and the McGraw Hill Survey data (Figure 17) indicate Autodesk Revit and Autodesk Navisworks as the most commonly used BIM tools. According to our data, 100% of respondents use Revit, and 60% use Navisworks. Figure 16: Use of BIM Modeling Tools, Canadian respondents Figure 17: Awareness of BIM Related Tools (McGraw Hill 2008) Two arguments influence the choice of using Revit rather than other tools: 1) the software is less expensive than others, so the firm does not need to invest heavily in buying and updating the software, especially when the use of BIM tools is less than 10%. 2) The training for Revit is more available and less expensive, which facilitates involving employees in BIM. Navisworks is the second most popular because it helps in the integration of models and is used for conflict detection. 34 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

35 g) Obstacles to BIM Adoption The implementation of every new technology faces different obstacles before full acceptance. The advantages provided by the new technology are the key to its full implementation. In our questionnaire, we asked respondents to evaluate the use of BIM, to identify factors that prevent the full use of BIM, to identify the barriers encountered, and to assess the impact of BIM implementation on projects (Figure 18). Figure 18: Factors that limit the full use of BIM (Canadian study) The factors that limit the full use of BIM vary among respondents, based on their experience. This is reflected in our data wherein the majority of respondents (50%) provided factors other than those proposed on the questionnaire. Among these other factors, they listed: People need to understand this is a process and not technology. General awareness of what it can do for you ; Consultants are not up to speed yet ; Lack of information and trained employees ; Lack of internal resources. Figure 18 shows that the two factors that have the most influence on the full use of BIM are: (1) not enough demand for BIM from clients or others firms (37.5% of respondents) and (2) inexperienced users (25% of respondents). CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 35

36 In comparison with the McGraw Hill 2009 data (Figure 19), we found that in both studies participants rated Not enough demand from clients and/or other firms on projects very highly. Lack of demand seems to be a very important obstacle to BIM adoption. Figure 19: Most Important Obstacles to BIM Adoption (McGraw Hill 2009) The full use of BIM could be based on the maturity of the parties involved in a project: client and partners, and the maturity/experience of employees (BIM users). Thus, as one respondent said, it is a matter of awareness: People need to understand that this is a process and not technology. General awareness of what it can do for you. Since the major obstacle is a lack of client demand, the other obstacles to BIM adoption, according to our findings, were evaluated on a five level scale, from most important to least important (Figure 20). Figure 20: Obstacles to BIM adoption (Canadian study) 36 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

37 Financial resources appear to have an important impact on BIM adoption, especially when they are variable. Figure 20 shows that according to 57% of respondents (50% of whom are contractors), the ongoing cost of training and software are seen as posing very important challenges, followed by the initial cost of training. The initial cost of software does not seem to be an important hindrance to BIM adoption. However, the respondents evaluations of the disruption to implement new processes were divided between most important to important, so we should consider this factor as an important obstacle, in addition to the ongoing cost of software and training as well as the initial cost of staff training. Figure 21: Challenges to BIM Adoption (McGraw Hill 2008) The McGraw Hill 2008 data (Figure 21) indicates adequate training, buy in from management, costs associated with the software and hardware and lack of external incentives as the most important challenges to BIM adoption. Cost related obstacles and disruption to implement new processes are listed as important obstacles to BIM adoption in our data. As we can see, the industry faces similar concerns in BIM adoption in both countries. h) BIM Benefits The evaluation of BIM impact on a firm s work shows that many respondents believe that BIM provides multiple benefits. Our data shows how respondents classified which benefits currently have the most value for a project, and which benefits have the least value (Figure 22). CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 37

38 Figure 22: BIM Impact Evaluation (Canadian study) As shown in Figure 22, the role of BIM in the improvement of project outcomes is the highest ranked benefit: 50% of respondents (most of them are contractors) reported it as the most important aspect, while 25% (all architects) recognized it as more important. Better communication ranks in second place, followed by improvement of personnel productivity. The life cycle value of BIM is important for 50% of respondents, while the respondents judgments were split as to their evaluation of the capacity of BIM to secure plan approval and construction permits faster. The McGraw Hill 2008 study also showed that BIM can provide wide ranging benefits, and it presents the evaluation of some important key aspects for measuring ROI (return on investment) when using BIM (Figure 23). 38 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

39 Figure 23: Importance of Aspects for Measuring ROI (McGraw Hill 2008) From McGraw Hill 2008 data (Figure 23), contractors and architects place the highest emphasis on improved project outcomes as these are the areas that impact them more directly for example, the cost savings associated with clash avoidance. Contractors and owners place the highest emphasis on better communication because of 3D visualisation. BIM is key to keeping owners informed and bringing workers in the field up to speed on construction tasks. Savings can also be identified during the planning stage. Architects and engineers place the highest emphasis on the productivity improvement of personnel. Once input, BIM data is available to be used for multiple purposes, offering more opportunities to design rather than draft. Contractors can also utilize BIM onsite to adjust personnel to changing schedules due to site conditions. Contractors and engineers place the highest emphasis on winning projects. They consider that BIM can give them a competitive advantage. Architects and engineers place the highest emphasis on the life cycle value of BIM. The data created during their early involvement in BIM projects can live on long after their work is complete. Energy modeling can be used during design with the results analyzed after completion. For both studies, the productivity related benefits of using BIM are as follows: Reduced rework is the highest rated business benefit among experts. Four in five experts say this aspect rates a high to very high value, compared to 23% of beginners. The potential of BIM to improve productivity is ranked by architects as the top way to improve their return on investment in the technology. Reduced conflicts and changes during construction are among the top rated ways engineers say BIM adds value to a project. Clash detection and avoiding rework are the top rated ways owners believe BIM saves time and money. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 39

40 i) Training Methods within Firms Training is an important issue that has to be addressed for full BIM implementation. This was illustrated both when respondents rated inexperienced end users as a factor that limits BIM implementation, as well as their ranking of the high cost of training as a major obstacle. In order to go in depth with this topic, we asked respondents to evaluate their level of training, the methods used, and to indicate the audience of the training (Figure 24). Figure 24: Training Methods within Firms (Canadian study) Two training methods are by far the methods used the most for BIM: internal training, and outside locations (Figure 24), as taken together, they comprise 62.5%. Our data shows that internal training is the most common BIM training model (37.5%). Training at outside locations received the second highest response rate followed by outsourcing of BIM, self learning, and external visits, all with same response rates of 12.5%. Some professionals seem to combine many methods of training (Figure 25). 40 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

41 Figure 25: Training Methods Within The Firm by professional category (Canadian study) The data presented in Figure 25 shows that contractors adopt many methods of training, especially the outside location option; architects are more focused on internal and self taught means, while outsourcing BIM is the frequent option for the client. Data from the McGraw Hill 2008 report indicates that, for architects and engineers, the initial cost of staff training is the main issue. The initial costs of BIM can be onerous for some of these users, particularly for smaller firms. Their data shows a further breakdown for respondents according to their professions (Figure 26). Although the percentage of different training methods seem to be close to each other for each profession, it is important to note that outsourcing BIM is an option that only appears for the owners. Training by internal trainers has a significant percentage of 40% amongst contractors. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 41

42 Figure 26: BIM Training Methods (McGraw Hill 2008) When data from McGraw Hill and Canadian early adopters are compared, we see that the percentage for self taught employees is higher and that it is a common training method for all disciplines in the U.S. However, in Canada, internal training methods are more often preferred. In an industry where BIM is more commonly used, as it is the case in the U.S., employees might feel more obligated to equip themselves with knowledge about the current tools, while, in an industry in which BIM use is less widespread, employees naturally have less incentives for self learning. j) Employees Involvement in BIM training When the project participants level of training is compared between the McGraw Hill study and our data, we see that project participants in the U.S. are more adequately trained than their Canadian colleagues. Our data shows that some firms are aware of the importance of training to better implement BIM, indicated by their attempts to offer internal training for their employees, or when they offer the possibility to attend an external training. Although firms have made some effort in terms of BIM training and plan to improve their employees skills to increase their competitive advantage, the number of people involved in training is still low. Our data shows a very low number of BIM trained employees (Figure 27), and amongst these few, only a very small percent are actually regular BIM users (Figure 28). 42 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

43 Figure 27: Proportion of BIM trained employees (Canadian study) The percentage of trained employees in BIM is still less than 10% for 62.5% of the respondents. Moreover, the frequency of the trained employees using BIM tools in their daily work is also low. The figure below shows that only 37.5% of respondents indicated that trained employees in their firms are considered as regular users, meaning that they use BIM 50 to 100% of their time, while for 50% of the trained employees, their regular use of BIM is less than 10%. And remember that these numbers concern the firms that are considered early adopters of BIM. Figure 28: Regular BIM users among trained employees (Canadian study) CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 43

44 As a marked contrast with the situation in Canada, the combined percentages of adequately and more adequately BIM trained professionals in the U.S. are listed in McGraw Hill 2008 data as 90% of architects, 81% of engineers, 86% of contractors and 60% of owners. The McGraw Hill data (Figure 29) indicates higher average levels of training for contractors and architects. Owners have, by far, the biggest less adequately trained percentage of all. Figure 29: Level of BIM Training (McGraw Hill 2008) Previous analysis shows that efforts in enhancing BIM learning do not automatically lead to relevant consequences, such as more BIM use. BIM training still faces several problems. The top ranked problem mentioned by respondents is that the training cost sometimes cannot be justified because of their low use of BIM. The second rank was given to user resistance and peoples hesitation to learn, especially resistance and hesitation observed from the older staff. Finally, although the majority of BIM users are professionals (architects, engineer, etc.), lack of skills was judged as a significant factor that prevents training. Training problems are also related to the methods of training: insufficient methods, training not being of equal quality, and training time available (insufficient for in depth learning or the BIM skills take too long time to learn). k) BIM Value: Current and in Five Years To better understand the benefits that can be gained from BIM use, we asked respondents to evaluate BIM in their current practices and to list what benefits they think they would gain for the next five years (Figure 30). 44 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

45 Figure 30: BIM Use Evaluation (Current = darker colors / The next five years = lighter colors) (Canadian study) Applying BIM tools provides many potential advantages for project tasks. The users estimation of the most valuable BIM uses TODAY is summarized below (Figure 30): User s judgements on 4D scheduling were divided into the most valuable (37.5%), and the least valuable (37.5%) classification. This contradiction of judgement could be related to the fact that using BIM on this task is not yet well identified by users; CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 45

46 The use of BIM is considered more valuable for quantity takeoff 62% of respondents see high value there; and For both 3D presentation/visualisation, and spatial coordination, 50% of respondents see high value, and 25% see very high value. Documentation also had very solid ratings on high/very high value (37/25%). Improving BIM tools is expected to have a very real impact on several project tasks for the next five years, according to the respondents (Figur 30): BIM use on spatial coordination and 3D visualization tasks will remain the most valuable impact areas in five years; Using BIM technologies for 4D sheduling and 5D estimating tasks are seen as among the most valuable potential areas for BIM in the future (50% of respondents predict important value); BIM uses for energy analysis, shop drawings and documentation tasks are also seen as valuable and that these will increase in value. McGraw Hill 2009 data shows that the U.S. industry sees the most perceived value in better designed projects five years from now (Figure 31). Lower risk and better predictability of project outcomes, followed by prefabrication of larger, more complex parts, of projects are the second and third ranked areas with the most perceived value from using BIM in five years. 46 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

47 Figure 31: Perceived value of BIM Five years from now (McGraw Hill 2009) According to the U.S. experts consulted, the main trends emerging in BIM development are (McGraw Hill 2009): Client engagement (72% of experts) Drive shop fabrication equipment (54% of experts) Quantity takeoff (52% of experts) Less time documenting, more time designing (45% of experts) Shop drawing process (50% of experts) Cost estimation (41% of experts) CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 47

48 l) BIM importance in five years Our data analysis shows that, overall, our respondents rate BIM as having between moderate and very high importance in five years (Figure 32). Figure 32: Importance of BIM in five years (Left: our data, Right: McGraw Hill 2009) 50% of respondents in our study indicated that BIM will have a high importance, while 37.5% indicated that BIM will have a very high importance for the construction industry. In the McGraw Hill 2009 report, 81% of respondents rated the importance of BIM in five years as either very high, high, or moderate. In our sample, 100% of the respondents rated the importance of BIM very high, high or moderate in five years. Our data analysis combined with that of the McGraw Hill 2009 data, clearly show both the U.S. and Canadian industries interest and belief in the benefits of BIM. These numbers indicate that BIM is going to be more incorporated into industry practice in the future. 4.2 Discussion Even though our sample for this study is quite small in comparison to those of the McGraw Hill studies ( ), the comparison presented here has helped position the BIM use of early adopters from Canadian industry in relation to US industry data. Some similarities and differences were identified. Both studies show that BIM is recognized for the high value and improved performance it can bring and the willingness, in both industries, to implement BIM more in practice. BIM adoption in the U.S. industry appears to be more mature, in terms of the balanced use of BIM in all project phases, and by all disciplines; the employment of a variety of BIM analysis tools, and the demand for and incorporation of BIM training. Clients surveyed in the McGraw Hill studies are more involved in BIM adoption than the clients in our study, where client involvement appears to require a significant amount of effort. 48 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

49 The strong leadership of public clients in the US might partly explain the significant gap in BIM adoption that exists between the US and the Canadian industries. However, the situation could be much more serious. It is the domain in which research on change management was born. Two theories describe the process in which a technology is adopted within a population sample: Rogers (Rogers, 1995) describes this process as a normal curve (Figure 33) that divides into five groups: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and the "laggards." Moore and Dainty (2001) adds to this theory the notion of a "Chasm" (adoption gap), which is a gap that needs to be crossed for successful adoption of a new technology. Figure 33: Technology adoption curve (Moore 1991) The comparison of our investigation with the U.S. survey revealed some disturbing facts about the widening gap between our industry and our american neighbors and our ability to catch up. As shown in Figure 34, the introduction of new technologies, particularly technologies that are configurational and require significant changes in practices and relationships between actors, follows a roller coaster cycle (Gartner, 2011). In contrast to our industry, our neighbors have crossed this adoption gap (Figure 34) with a degree of adoption of nearly 50% in 2009, viewing the adoption of BIM as an excellent return on investment. In addition, these studies indicate that the rate of BIM adoption is accelerating. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 49

50 Figure 34: Technology deployment curve (Gartner Group 2011) New technology raises high expectations by first promising improvements that justify the cost. We see, in recent times, a substantial increase in events extolling the benefits of BIM. However, their successful implementation often requires drastic changes in the organizational structure and functions in addition to having a significant learning curve. In addition, these technologies are generic in nature and have serious limitations when used in certain organizational contexts. For example, the BIM software preferred by the industry has significant limitations in the size of the project it can manipulate. In addition, the various components have not reached the same level of maturity. For example, with Revit (the most popular BIM software in North America) for MEP systems, which are the least mature, users, are faced with many problems of integration. The requested accommodation is not smooth and there is a dip in confidence to achieve the expected results. It is in this context that we see the emerging «technological chasm." Industry or organizations must have sufficient momentum to clear this Chasm, adjust its practices and control technology, thereby removing the barriers to adoption. However, the conditions required to ensure sufficient momentum for our industry to cross the chasm do not appear together in Canada. Three drivers of change seem to have been decisive in the U.S. to overcome the inertia of the industry: (1) the imposition of BIM by large public clients, (2) the reaction of the players in the supply chain who have chosen to drop their differences to support a new organization of work focused on integrated practices and (3) the research support which helped develop and transfer new knowledge to clients and the industry. In summary, while BIM has been successfully adopted in the U.S., there is a risk in Canada that the industry will not be able to cross this chasm, if it doesn t get the proper endorsement from public clients, and support from research and professional associations. BIM implementation still needs a focused effort to maximise its benefits. Table 3 presents several key findings based on the analysis of the questionnaire data from our study. This data is presented according to the analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT analysis) that influence BIM use. 50 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

51 Table 3: SWOT analysis of BIM adoption according to the companies selected, Canadian study Strengths Weaknesses Activity areas influence the degree of BIM adoption, especially international activities The use of BIM still low; it does not exceed 25% of projects The majority of professionals agree that the current use of BIM is primary for some tasks, such as: quantity takeoff and conflict detection BIM is still used only for one or two tasks; it is not yet used for all project phases BIM is still considered as a modelling tool BIM offers better coordination and communication for projects Training investment is essential firms emphasize BIM training (37.5% offer internal training) Professionals still work in silos General training is not enough to implement BIM the time, budget, and content is not yet well identified. Training methods should be clearly identified at the early stages, in accordance with a firm s needs to make efficient use of time and money Inexperienced end users are still a significant challenge; users should have the motivation, commitment and the ability to learn Opportunities Threats Professionals are aware of problems facing BIM implementation Professionals see high value in using BIM Professionals recognize the important role of BIM to improve performance in the near future (ranked BIM with 50% high importance/37% very high importance) BIM implementation is related to the market demand, and to the will of the client. The client has an essential role in encouraging the full use of BIM by using BIM as a selection criterion. This would increase the demand for BIM users, and increase the availability of BIM training BIM is still perceived as more of a tool and not as a process CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 51

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53 5 Analysis of BIM Adoption among Canadian Early Adopters This section describes the results of the qualitative analysis of the research, based on semi structured interviews with early adopters. These interviews focused on these innovative firms experiences with BIM implementation and their strategies for enhancing BIM adoption within their firm and on their projects. Specifically, the interviews were analyzed to assess: (1) current BIM experience in each discipline; (2) BIM challenges and benefits; (3) BIM training; (4) Organizational and procedural issues; (5) Technical issues and (6) Metrics. 5.1 Current BIM Experience Most of the companies interviewed have been using BIM technologies for the past two to four years. In some cases this has been accompanied with the creation or the development of some new positions related to this technology, such as BIM Director or BIM Manager. All the firms interviewed started their experience with BIM on selected projects rather than setting up a long term strategic implementation plan. Although the BIM experience varies from one firm to another, we observed that achieving maturity in BIM use depends first on the owner/client (private or public sector), then on the type of contract, the selection of consultants and contractors and the involvement of the supply chain in the model creation process. All the firms we interviewed had different levels of experience with BIM and different views for enabling BIM adoption in their firm, influenced in large part by the specific role they play in the supply chain. The rest of this section will describe the experience of each of the key disciplines in the supply chain with using BIM on their projects. The Owner/Client s Perspective According to the McGraw Hill report (2009), the owners are the ones lagging behind in the adoption of BIM. Conversely, according to the NIST report (Gallaher and Chapman 2004) on the cost of interoperability, they are the ones that should benefit the most from BIM. Errors and accuracy issues concern owners far more than other users. Errors can result in significant future costs and possible safety issues for owners. The top uses of BIM among owners include (McGraw Hill 2009): Routinely using BIM s 3D visualization capabilities to communicate with all parties; Using BIM reviews in collaborative environments with multiple parties and Meeting with key disciplines for clash detection analysis. The owner/client obviously has a significant impact on the adoption of BIM in their projects. In the U.S., when numerous governmental agencies started mandating BIM, the adoption rate increased significantly. Our interviews with a range of consultants and contractors confirmed the important role of the owner, particularly in terms of semi public agencies, as well as the private sector. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 53

54 Maturity of BIM use depends on the client, selections of consultants, contracts, and experience. (Architect Busby Perkins + Will) We found that the experience of BIM in the private sector or semi public (educational and health) sector is more advanced than in the public sector. The decision makers in the private sector are starting to recognize the crucial role of the technology in responding to construction market demands. The private sector has more flexibility in the process and can more easily adapt to changes. There are clients (semi public sector), that are very advanced now in thinking about how to integrate BIM in their projects. They have had pilot projects that failed. So we already have had some disappointments with BIM (Software Developer ArchiData) 15 On the other hand, the public sector is more focused on administrative decision making, where using BIM is not their first priority but only one of many responsibilities. Its implementation requires a long process, more personnel, and a lot of effort. What is missing for us is the government itself, which acts as a roadblock. They are absolutely not receptive to outsourcing. They have their in house solutions and are very resistant to change. (Software Developer ArchiData) 16 BIM implementation is one among many other concerns for It requires significant logistical (performing hardware) and personnel efforts and, especially, it means making important administrative decisions. (Client from public sector SIQ) 17 Some of the downstream disciplines emphasized that part of their motivation for adopting BIM was due to owner mandates. First, if you are not able to use BIM in a project, you will not be selected. If you are not able to prove that you control the technology, they (U.S. contractors) will say "There is a BIM requirement", then they will also tell you "You must be able to provide it in a particular format. If you cannot, then forget it. (Manufacturer Canam Group) Il y a des clients comme, est très avancée en ce moment à réfléchir sur comment ils vont intégrer le BIM dans leurs projets. Ils ont fait déjà des projets pilote qui ont échoué. Donc, on est déjà confrontés à certains écueils avec le BIM». 16 Ce qui nous manque c'est le gouvernement lui même et ça, c'est très fermé. Ils ne sont absolument pas ouverts à l'impartition de services. Ils ont des solutions «maison» et sont très réfractaires au changement.» 17 L implantation BIM est une préoccupation parmi plusieurs pour... Ça demande beaucoup d efforts personnels et logistiques (des machines plus performantes), surtout des décisions administratives à prendre.» 18 Premièrement, si vous n êtes pas capables de passer du BIM dans un projet comme ça, vous ne serez pas sélectionnés. Si vous n êtes pas capables de prouver que vous maitrisez la technologie, ils vont vous dire "il y a un BIM requirement" et ils vont aussi ajouter "Il faut que vous soyez capables de fournir ça, ça et ça, en tel ou tel format. Puis, si tu n es pas capable, oublie ça...» 54 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

55 The Architect/Engineer s Perspective According to the McGraw Hill reports, architects are the heaviest users of BIM. Engineers are less inclined to adopt BIM. They see a lack of external incentives or directives motivating them to use BIM. Architects and engineers are challenged both by the potential risks of losing intellectual property and by liability issues. Ownership of the model after distribution and taking responsibility for changes made by others are bigger concerns to architects and engineers. The debate over who owns a project model has been particularly heated among these users in recent years. Firms that silo their BIM work in house, not sharing data with others, largely avoid these issues. However, as teams become more integrated, there is the potential to open up more liability questions. The top uses of BIM among architects include (McGraw Hill 2009): Routinely using BIM s 3D visualization capabilities to communicate with all parties; Increasing time spent on design; Reducing time spent on contract documentation. The top uses of BIM among engineers include (McGraw Hill 2009): Routinely using BIM s 3D visualization capabilities to communicate with all parties; Increasing time spent on design; BIM reviewing in collaborative environments with multiple parties. The architects and engineers we interviewed were fully committed to BIM, although the level of detail and extent of BIM modeling did vary from project to project. In some cases, the level of complexity of a project can limit the full use of BIM. In other situations, the fast track nature of projects may also have an impact. In general however, architects would prefer to work in BIM on all their projects, and they recognize that this process would be accelerated, if the rest of the supply chain was also on board. Architects love to get 3D. We want to go 3D right from the get go. (Architect Busby Perkins & Will) Busby Perkins & Will have a unique perspective because their firm decided to fully adopt BIM on all their projects about four years ago (in 2006). This transition was initiated by the U.S. head office and was seen as a strategic decision that would give them a competitive advantage. They have reached the point where they feel it is more productive to work this way (with Revit and BIM), even if the other consultants are not modeling in BIM. They have been feeling comfortable with and confident about using the tools and knowledge for about one year. They attribute their success to the fact that this was a mandate defined at the highest levels of the organization, as well as a well defined process within the firm. The architects interviewed also noted the shifting of responsibilities, workload, and timing of decision making. In a successful BIM process, more people are brought into the design process at an earlier stage, requiring more time and effort at the front end of a project. Leveraging BIM meant spending more time on the front end; workload is shifting to earlier in the process more coordinated work. However, CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 55

56 you should be spending less time at the end of the project. (Architect Busby Perkins & Will, summary from the interview) Lemay is the largest architecture firm in Québec. They hired a BIM manager to implement BIM in their firm. From this interview, we can see the difference of perspective from the IT and the business domains. Business owners see BIM as a cost. They are making the move because they know the market is changing and that they have to make the move. Meanwhile, they do not fully realize that they have to change the way work is managed, which results in tensions and discrepancies between departments within a firm. It was when I came to Lemay. Right away, I began to identify who were the decision makers in the firm (...). It was long, but I also had to bring some construction credibility, because if you come with IT credibility and computer language, it will not connect. So I had to immediately bring together the concrete and the IT. (...) We can build whatever you want, the only thing that we are limited by is the tools, and then I found that this tool (BIM) allows us to explore and to have better control on our constructions. So that was the only point on which I attached. We have to find the best design and this tool allowed it. I said, Well, it will be a long haul before people realize that we need a tool that allows us to explore greater horizons. Over time, I had to find who takes care of investment in the office infrastructure... because we had to buy the software to get started. (BIM manager Lemay associés) 19 SNC Lavalin s CUSUM project is one of the rare examples of collaborative BIM within an integrated practices environment. It is currently the largest BIM project in the world. Architects, engineers and contractors are collocated in a project office and share a common BIM model. The challenges they faced were both with technology and work organization: At the beginning of the project, there was one model for the entire project, which is usual for a Revit project. The first step was to divide the Revit model into pieces that reflect the phases of the project. But that was not enough to have a workable model for users. We would have too many users per file. Even if we could limit the modeling to the minimum, the model size would be too large even at an early stage. Apart from being impossible for users to work on the models, each discipline wants to be the owners of their models. (BIM Manager) Canadian architects and engineers pioneering BIM expressed concerns about client and colleagues attitudes. According to them, clients do not understand the added value of receiving a BIM model instead of Autocad drawings. The client does not want to pay more for a given service. They also do not 19 C est là que je suis arrivé chez Lemay. Tout de suite là, je commençais à cerner qui étaient les décideurs dans les entreprises. ( ). Ça a été long, mais il fallait aussi que j arrive avec une crédibilité de construction, parce que, si tu arrives avec une crédibilité informatique et un langage informatique, ça ne se connecte pas. Il fallait donc tout de suite amener le concret et l informatique en même temps. ( ) On peut construire ce qu on veut, la seule affaire c est qu on se fait limiter par les outils, puis, je trouvais que cet outil là nous permettait de faire de l exploration et d avoir un meilleur contrôle sur nos constructions. Donc, c était le seul point sur lequel je m arrimais. Il faut qu on trouve du meilleur design et c est un outil qui le permettait. J ai dit «Bon, ça va être une longue traversée pour amener le monde à réaliser que ça nous prenait un outil qui nous permette d explorer de plus grands horizons. Avec le temps, trouver qui s occupait des investissements dans les infrastructures du bureau parce qu il fallait acheter des logiciels pour commencer. 56 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

57 take into account the related learning curve and costs. Client Project Managers often push to go back to 2D drawings in order to meet a project s schedule. Also, because BIM is not a mandatory requirement as it is in the U.S., the level of BIM maturity between firms varies considerably. Firms that are at the preliminary stage of adopting BIM often abandon the use of the tools in the middle of the process because they cannot manage the technology deployment with a project s time constraints, or they will push the client to abandon the requirement of having the project designed on BIM. Just as their U.S. colleagues have, some architect/engineer respondents indicated their concern about liabilities and intellectual rights. And again, the proposed solutions are related to changing procurement arrangements from traditional to integrated project delivery. The Contractor s Perspective According to the McGraw Hill report (2009), the contractors are the fastest movers in the adoption of BIM, especially for design build and Integrated Process Design (IPD). Early adopters use metrics for project performance, maturity and return on investment. For example, PCL, a Canadian based contractor doing extensive business in the US, considers that their ROI with BIM is 5 to 1. Approximately three in five contractors create BIM on a majority of their 2D designed jobs with one third doing so on nearly all 2D projects (80% or more), but 44% rarely create BIM when the project was originally designed in 2D. It can be assumed that this group receives model files from design professionals and are not authoring models themselves (McGraw Hill 2009). The top uses of BIM among contractors include (McGraw Hill 2009): Routinely using BIM s 3D visualization capabilities to communicate with all parties; Meeting with key disciplines for clash detection analysis and BIM reviewing in collaborative environments with multiple parties. Contractors are in a unique role in the supply chain because they are usually more the consumers of these models rather than the creators. However, the early adopters we interviewed would often create their own models, if the design consultants were not doing it or refused to provide them to the contractor 20. Ledcor commented that they currently create their own models about 50% of the time. The important thing to note here is that contractors are finding value in creating BIM models, even when the consultants do not understand their value. However, they also noted that this is incredibly time consuming and far from ideal. Many experts have noted the importance of getting the contractor involved in the early stages of the project. They recognize that the involvement of construction professionals will maximize the benefits of BIM use. Then, with the contractors, when they are integrated into the project it gets better. But if the contractor is not integrated in the project, BIM has no 20 Contractors and cost estimators that we met during industry conferences on BIM complain that architects and engineers, in traditional design bid build delivery processes, refuse to give their model to them, protesting it is a matter of professional responsibility. This confirms that traditional procurement models may be a serious hindrance to collaborative BIM. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 57

58 power. But as long as the contractor is involved in the design of the project, then we can have effective information sharing. ( ) Because in a type of contract (Design Build), the contractor chooses the architect. So if the contractor sees that there is an architectural firm with BIM opportunities, perhaps he may choose not use his own BIM capabilities (Architect Lemay associés) 21 In some cases, manufacturers viewed contractors as the parties mostly responsible for implementing BIM, especially in the private or semi public sectors. Firms are sometimes selected by contractors according to their experience in using BIM. This illustrates the potential power of general contractors in driving BIM adoption into downstream disciplines, such as suppliers and subcontractors. 5.2 BIM Challenges We're a manufacturer, a big manufacturer that wants to help smaller businesses, like small architecture firms, and we would like to share our expertise with them so that they will use BIM, but most of the time, it (BIM) is imposed on them by the client or the general contractor. (Manufacturer Canam Group) 22 The representatives highlighted several challenges and issues related to BIM implementation, ranging from technical issues to the more human factors, which are critical for BIM adoption. A critical factor emphasized by all of the companies interviewed was the level of involvement of the key disciplines in the supply chain. This relates to an important issue brought up earlier the drive towards collaborative BIM. With collaborative BIM, all the key members of the supply chain, from design through construction, are contributing to the development of the BIM model. If you don t get everybody on board, it (BIM) can be a waste of time. If everyone is on board it can be of great value. Not having all systems modeled in BIM kind of defeats the whole purpose of coordination. (Contractor Keith Plumbing and Heating, commenting on the problems of not having the plumbing system modeled) If the other team members are not doing BIM, they don t get much benefit anyway. (Contractor Scott Construction Group) There are studios that have adopted it (BIM), and then there are studios that have not adopted it. Except that, here, we have a problem of 21 Puis, avec les entrepreneurs, quand ils sont intégrés au projet, ça va mieux. Mais si l entrepreneur n est pas intégré au projet, le BIM n a pas de force. Mais du moment que l entrepreneur est impliqué dans la conception du projet, là on a un partage d informations efficace. ( ) Parce que dans un type de contrat design build, c est l entrepreneur qui choisit l architecte. Donc l entrepreneur, s il voit qu il y a un bureau d architecture avec des possibilités de BIM, il va peut être plus utiliser ses capacités BIM». 22 Nous, on est un fabricant, qui est un gros fabricant qui veut aider les plus petits, comme les petits architectes, à qui on aimerait donner une partie de notre expertise pour qu'ils utilisent le BIM mais, la plupart du temps, c'est imposé par un client ou par le contracteur général. 58 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

59 inter studio work, then there is friction and this friction will generate discussions... Because it is a culture shock (Architect Lemay associés) 23 What often happens is that projects tend to be more of a selective BIM process, where only certain systems or areas are modeled, which limits the impact of BIM and often leads to false impressions about the value of BIM. About selective BIM: It is BIM à la carte. That s what I call it. You cannot do pick and choose. You either take the full course or you do not. And it just needs to happen that way in order to succeed otherwise, it is not going to work. (Contractor Ledcor Construction Limited) Another key issue is the level of maturity with the software. The business network needs a balanced level of maturity to achieve effective collaboration. Currently, the level of BIM experience is still uneven, which can affect the whole process and limit the potential impact. I have seen it (BIM being dropped or felt to be sort of tenuous during the project) on almost every project. People get overworked and they realize that... first, there are too many unknowns at the beginning of design, and then, adding a new tool to this, people get discouraged. Like I could have done this much faster, easier, using just a 2D tool. That has always been the case, but I have seen it on other projects that I know, once they start to see the benefits... for four or five months now, they actually become strong believers in this process and they would not go back to... Because I keep saying, what is the alternative? If you can find me a better alternative than what we are doing, then, I will go for it. (Contractor Ledcor Construction Limited) The lack of resources is also impacting BIM adoption, especially the availability of BIM users with good quality BIM skills. This requires a training program, as well as the creation of new positions within the firm for those with BIM expertise. It is the lack of personnel who have BIM experience... That is the biggest problem... With the lack of resources, we ended up with a phase shift at the level of coordination... So because we don t have enough people, we started the project with Revit but, at any given time, the onsite work can go so fast... We don t have enough people to think about projects while using BIM at the same time. If we had more BIM users, we could say "OK, you take care of stairs, you take care of the foundation, and you take care of coordinating the mechanical (Architect - Lemay associés) Il y a des studios qui l ont adopté, puis il y a des studios qui ne l ont pas adopté. Sauf que là, on a un problème de travaux interstudios, puis, il y a de la friction et, ces frictions là, elles vont devenir discussions... Fait que c est un choc de culture. 24 C est le manque de personnel ayant les capacités BIM C est le plus gros problème À cause du manque de ressources, on s est retrouvés avec un déphasage au niveau de la coordination Donc à cause qu on n a pas assez de monde, on commence le projet en Revit, mais à un moment donné le chantier va tellement vite On n a pas assez de monde pour réfléchir dans les projets, en utilisant le BIM en même temps. Si on avait plus de personnes BIM, là on dirait «OK, toi, tu t occupes des escaliers, toi, tu t occupes de la fondation, toi, tu t occupes de la coordination de la mécanique» CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 59

60 Many of the firms interviewed noted resistance to change within their firms. This is also a training issue, but it presents a big challenge to enhancing the level of maturity in working with these tools. People will naturally resist change, but creating interest and success stories can help in influencing people on the use of BIM.There is a need for getting over the hump of fear by giving training. (Contractor Ledcor Construction Limited) The lack of a coordinated effort is also considered a significant challenge, particularly for the architect. All key disciplines need to engage in the design process and contribute to model development to optimize the use of these tools. However, this requires constant updating of the models which, for some companies, is still quite a challenge. often our consultants, they love to wait to the very last minute. They want to wait till we are done before they start plugging their stuff in, before they do anything so they like to wait before you have worked it out before they start doing the bulk of the work. And that can be difficult. I think ideally that work is being done at the same rate as your work, so that you can be really visualising the systems as you are doing the design so that you can really design, not necessarily just to be coordinated but also to be integrated. So, the more you understand about the systems that are involved in the building that you are working on, the more you can work with them architecturally rather than trying to hide them, for example, or trying to mask them or something. ( ) We were 50% coordination set 50% CDs, the mechanical and plumbing they showed the main plumbing lines and that is it. Everything else was on sketch paper still in 50% CD. And now we have the 75% and we emphasize that we need to see a Revit model to get the coordination going and they finally provided it. But it is always when it comes to crunch time they always go back to CAD and present us with 2D drawings. They always say that it (the model) will come in two weeks because they have to update their Revit model and that is the big problem. (Architect Busby Perkins + Will) For some clients, especially those of the public sector, the added value of BIM is not clear. Owners often: (1) do not understand what BIM is and how it could be used to better manage their facility, (2) think that the market is not ready and are afraid to increase project costs by limiting competition, and (3) do not understand that they have to make the first move. The main focus is on construction management they don t get paid for the BIM... It is hard to have all the required BIM infrastructure and manpower ready, and waiting for a BIM project. (Contractor Scott Construction Group) We have a project, of which I would not mention the name, but designers, everybody on board, were doing it in BIM and were very excited about it and doing a superb job. The owner did not see the value because they knew that it might cost them more money, as an added service, because that is probably how it was presented to the designers. 60 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

61 So they said no, we do not want it. (Contractor Ledcor Construction Limited) The amount of value added is related to the project complexity; in this case, BIM has benefits in terms of cost and risk management. However, using BIM for small projects is still considered expensive. Then, the client often does not see the added value. He says "I pay more for nothing". We should understand that, if you want to have a BIM project if it is only a small warehouse then you will not get that much added value. If you have something more complex, the more complex it is, the more problems there are to treat, the more it pays to address these problems at the design level (Manufacturer Canam Group) 25 There are also some misunderstandings about what BIM is a technology, a process, or a specific piece of software. This lack of clarity makes it more difficult to establish BIM protocols and processes. 5.3 Benefits of BIM ( ) and then people do not understand the difference between BIM and Revit. In fact, there is a lot of propaganda at this time that Revit is BIM. Revit is actually the most recent BIM tool and moreover, addition, it is not IFC, which is really where the field is heading now and which has been taken up by the big american clients in particular (Software Developer ArchiData) 26 When we say that we are working in BIM, that means Revit, you know... the BIM word is still taboo for the others. When will they understand what it is? For now, they have Revit because it is more tangible. (BIM manager Lemay associés) 27 According to experts interviewed in the McGraw Hill reports, the top benefits of BIM are: Easier coordination of different software and project personnel; Improved productivity; Improved communication; Improved quality control. Although the full use of BIM has not yet taken hold in Canada, representatives have mentioned a number of opportunities and benefits from using BIM. We observed that BIM has changed the way of working in a project which makes the process easier. The benefits of BIM have been observed in 25 Puis, le client, souvent, ne voit pas de valeur ajoutée. Il dit "je paie plus cher pour rien". Il faut comprendre aussi que si vous voulez avoir un projet BIM, si vous faites juste un petit entrepôt... Vous n aurez pas grand valeur ajoutée d'être BIM. Si vous avez quelque chose de complexe, plus c'est complexe, plus il y a de risques de problèmes, plus que c'est payant de traiter les problèmes au niveau du design.» 26 ( ) et puis les gens ne comprennent pas la différence entre le BIM et Revit. En fait, il y a beaucoup de propagande en ce moment comme quoi Revit c'est le BIM. En fait, Revit c'est le dernier arrivé dans le BIM et, en plus, il n est pas IFC ce qui est vraiment la mouvance en ce moment qui essaie d'être prise par les grands donneurs d'ouvrage américains notamment. 27 Quand on dit qu on travaille en BIM et en Revit tu sais Le BIM, c est encore tabou ce mot là pour eux autres. Quand réaliseront ils ce que c est? Pour l instant, ils n en ont que pour Revit parce que c est plus tangible. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 61

62 different tasks: coordination (less RFI, conflict detection), estimating (cost analysis, reducing cost), quantity takeoff, management (quality of design, problems avoided). The ideal is that your work is ultimately more coordinated than perhaps it used to be when you were just working in 2D. ( ) In general, like I have said before, the coordination aspect of it (BIM) is important and, also, I think that ties directly in to the level of design that you can give a particular I really think it does help you elevate design in general. It is often thought of as reducing conflict but it is more than that. It is trying to work in some kind of harmony. ( ) BIM can generate some amazing things. I like to think of it in that way. I tend to think from a very design perspective but, of course, there are more benefits than that. Even doing things, like cost analyzes for example, I think it can be leveraged a lot in that way. There are a lot of times there is geometry that is very hard to read in 2D. I think, from a costing perspective, it is beneficial as well. ( ) We have got our numbers from the cost consultant back, and we were off by a million dollars. And then, we went in and just used our Revit numbers, and easily found out that we could save six hundred thousand It helps a lot because now we have the ammunition to go back and say this is wrong and you have to check your numbers again. (Architect Busby Perkins & Will) Using BIM has also changed the way parties are involved in a project or in the creation process; in other words, it enhances the integration in the project. What we observed is that, actually, the act of you know getting engaged in producing a building information model is really the key aspect of the benefits that it can bring. And the more we involve the builders in the process the better it is. So when we get involved and do not have the builders involved, the benefit that we see is a lot less than when you actually have the superintendent, foremen and trades. (Contractor DPR Construction) BIM technologies have facilitated and enhanced the communication with stakeholders and clients. BIM models are used for representation and visualization, which help clients to better understand a project. The communication aspect of the BIM model: we used trans model in meeting with the city to try getting access to a back lane on Georgia Street. They wanted us to use it partially along with access for the public. We were able to use the model to demonstrate that that was going to be unsafe and that it has had an impact for our site operation. The construction process was made simpler and safer, because we were able to use that model to demonstrate (Contractor Scott Construction Group) (A) digital model facilitates the communication of design (Contractor Keith Plumbing and Heating) 62 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

63 Having an experience in BIM increases the possibility for the firm to be selected to be involved in large projects. But actually, as to who benefits the most, unfortunately it is us, because if you do not use it (BIM), we could not participate in large american projects. So we will lose the U.S. side. ( ) If we did not have the technology, we would be put aside ( ) (Manufacturer Canam Group) 28 The major benefit for design professional is in the productivity. BIM is not a drafting tool but a design tool. It shortens the design process by a few steps and reduces the risks of errors and misinterpretations between the designers and the drafters. However, it does require a major restructuring in the organization of work. Proper training is essential to reap this benefit. (...) Instead of keeping it too wide, I think that we should work more at the individual level to develop these BIM skills. Because I think that, in that case, the individual becomes more important and produces more than three people in CAD, you know I think there's attention to the capabilities of the individual. We are moving in this direction training is more focused on the person. (Architect Lemay associés) 29 However, associates in architecture firms told us that they are reluctant to invest in BIM training because they fear losing their employees to other firms that pay better after they receive their training, which is another demonstration of a lack of strategic thinking. 5.4 Training Issues As the quantitative analysis showed, the training issue has a big impact on BIM implementation. It is also a strategic issue, since a successful implementation requires rethinking a firm s organization of work, and training is the key element in the management of these changes. There are probably about 30 people across the 18 offices that are solely dedicated to bringing BIM to that regional office in the project delivery process. These 30 people can be doing anything from coordination to training, to working on self performed tasks like concrete and drywall or working on the aspects of implementing BIM model based estimating to 4D scheduling. These 30 people are utilized to train other people in various aspects of BIM. We created a curriculum internally that basically goes through, depending on your role within the company, what BIM classes you need to take. (People like project executives, schedulers, and estimators are trained according to their specific area.) We are using these 30 people who are sort of what you call BIM engineers, BIM managers to educate others on projects. And there are about 250 plus people whose titles are really not 28 Mais, à l'heure actuelle, qui en profite le plus? Malheureusement c'est nous parce que, si on ne le fait pas (BIM), on ne pourrait pas participer à de gros projets américains. Donc, on va perdre le côté américain. Si on n a pas la technologie, on est mis de côté. 29 ( ) Au lieu de garder ça trop large, je pense qu'en travaillant plus au niveau de l'individu pour développer ses capacités BIM, parce que je pense que l'individu devient plus important et produit plus que trois personnes en CAD, tu sais. Je pense qu'il y a une attention à porter sur les capacités de la personne. On s'en va dans cette direction là, une formation plus ciblée sur la personne.» CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 63

64 BIM, but who could be project managers, project executives, estimators that can do a fairly good level of BIM implementation on their own with the help of these other guys. And then, there is a smaller group of five people that are dedicated to sort of looking into a little bit more of the future to say what else do we want to do; all the vendor relations, managing all the deployments and you know all the IT side of things, also looking forward to R&D, where should we invest, what training should we develop, developing metrics and that kind of stuff. (Contractor DPR) We distinguished that some companies are more advanced in introducing training strategies than others. For some, BIM training is not well set up yet; training is based on self training, and when it exists, it is not related to a real situation. So, a project is the best training. Sometimes the training has led us to places that are too far or too wide and, nearly 90% of the time, it was not specific to a real project situation. So, you are more certain of the success of the training in a real project than in external training. (Architect Lemay associés) 30 Other companies introduced an internal training process, and have a focus group or BIM user group to exchange ideas related to BIM or even to Revit. There is this focus group there that has always been interested. They are not proficient. BIM was a hobby for them. (Contractor Ledcor Construction Limited) For many organizations and individuals, migration to BIM is not easy to achieve. Practitioners might be hesitant, afraid or insecure, limiting the ability of firms to train a full range of employees. Some firms are addressing this by providing in house training for all levels in project management. They (users in the company) are still fearful of the tools and we are getting over that hump by giving them the training. Because we are targeting project managers, superintendents, and project coordinators, so all different tiers in the hierarchy of project management. So the idea is to get all these guys comfortable with these BIM tools. (Contractor Ledcor Construction Limited) The challenge is that real training for a project is not specific to one company s employees. It needs to cover all the stakeholders, including general contractors, subcontractors, owners, etc. This is why reaching full BIM implementation on a project is still a challenge. 5.5 Organizational and Procedural Issues Many representatives agreed on the benefits that BIM can offer. In certain cases, the use of BIM starts to change their work process and company structure. It is necessary, as outlined earlier, to make sure that 30 Donc, la meilleure formation, c est le projet. La formation nous amène parfois trop loin et sous un aspect trop large et, quasiment 90% du temps, ce n est pas spécifique à une situation réelle d un projet. Donc tu es plus certain de réussir une formation dans une vraie situation de projet qu à l externe. 64 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

65 there is a fit between strategic and functional integration. BIM is significantly changing the way companies work internally. BIM facilitates a greater exchange of project data between team members, which can impact on how the teams work together. This can result in a rethinking of roles, workflow and, in some cases, creating new positions tailored to virtual design and construction BIM is (also) changing how team members interact with each other. Among BIM s strongest advocates, it represents a paradigm shift in processes for design and construction...new ways of using project data coupled with the opportunities to share that data with other team members can create more integrated teams than traditionally seen. (McGraw Hill 2009) The organizational and procedural issues regarding BIM are complex since this fit has to be done both at the firm and at the supply chain level. This is a major concerns with experts interviewed in the McGraw Hil reports. Because BIM is an emerging technology, levels of expertise can vary greatly within a project team as well as within one s own company Because data can be frequently exchanged among team members using BIM, there is a perceived risk that the weakest link in the chain could jeopardize the project as a whole. As BIM allows the exchange of data between team members for their common use on projects, there is often a concern among these users about the reliability of this data. An integrated environment offers considerable advantages to productivity, but team members must hold a greater level of trust in each other. Resolving liability issues early is a key to a successfully integrated project team. At the firm level, it is recognized that changes are necessary to move from work that is organized around work packages (for example, (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, civil) to work based on processes. We are aware that there is a procedure to make. We know it, but we are not there yet. As I said, this integration is due for 2012 in our office; we know it is there. We have to do it. (Architect Lemay associés) 31 One trend is to hire a BIM manager who will be responsible for the BIM implementation. From discussions with several BIM managers, there are a lot of issues regarding this approach: first there is no specific training for BIM managers in Canada, second, the firms do not know exactly what a BIM manager should do, as there is no job description. For the successful implementation of BIM, the technology has to become part of the business culture. Q: What is it that makes it better now? A: I would say it is likely the adoption throughout the firm. I think it is no longer that you necessarily need to have a strict BIM person that is doing the BIM. Right now, we have a knowledge base that, I think, is spread throughout the firm, and even within the office, that you can draw on. There was a time when, if you had an issue, you were going on line and you were trying to find some forum or some user that would help you out. You would Google it like crazy, whereas I do not think that we are doing that as much anymore. I think that there is a much greater knowledge base within our firm, even within our office and you can talk to the person beside you, if you have a problem doing something. I think 31 On est au courant qu il y a une procédure à faire. On le sait, sauf qu on n est pas encore rendus là. Comme je vous dis, cette intégration là est due pour 2012 dans notre bureau, sauf qu on sait qu elle est là. Il faut la faire.» CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 65

66 that really enabled us to work more efficiently within the software. That really is the biggest thing that has changed. At the supply chain level, the problem is more complex. First there is the question of the homogeneity of the coalition of firms and client, knowledge and expertise with the technology. It (main challenges to BIM implementation on a project) really depends on the key players in the team and that is really what makes a project successful. There are some projects where I feel BIM is implemented on demand. So: oops we can t resolve this, let s push the BIM button and it is going to solve it. These are projects I try to stay away from, because they are definitely set out for failure. If you want to do BIM, you have to look at the full picture, you cannot do bits and pieces. (Contractor Ledcor Construction Limited) Second, the coalition has to agree on a BIM execution plan. BIM can facilitate (the work process), if everybody is willing to play by the same rules. (Contractor Ledcor Construction Limited) In an integrated practice context such as the CUSUM, SNC Lavalin is the concessionaire. With the help of Autodesk, SNC Lavalin has defined the business rules for managing the workflow and the dataflow. There was a BIM execution plan that went over all of that (for process definitions like naming of files, level of detail etc.). We don t reference to it anymore because we are in construction... And we put as much level of detail (as we could). It was good to have that discussion when the load was light so the people keep that in mind. At the same time, I don t think that you have to be too much doing that policing them because it is like people do not like rules. Too many rules they are not going to follow it. So you have to do it really... especially for first timers, which most of the people in this room were, so I think now they can come to their own conclusions (about) what really worked and what did not. (Contractor Ledcor Construction Limited) In addition, BIM integration has to be planned at the project s front end. The challenge has been: getting involved sooner in the design process and the use of BIM, towards the specific goal. (Contractor DPR Construction) There is better and efficient communication between all parties. Now, subs and consultants can have more direct communication which reduces response time. Everybody is talking among we are all talking more than we ever used to or you just write an RFI and wait for an answer and it could take three weeks or it could take more. (Contractor Keith Plumbing and Heating) 66 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

67 5.6 Technical Issues We mentioned previously that many factors limit the use of BIM, the most important are the human factors. Technical issues can also have a big influence on BIM adoption. For some companies, the increasing maturity of the software could help with BIM adoption. I would say that, perhaps it is some maturity in the tools, in the tool sets that are available. Perhaps complexity in learning the tools to really utilize BIM effectively, I would say that is pretty much the key. Even in early versions of Revit, it was difficult to generate or think (how) to generate certain things. You had to use the floor tool when you were building a soffit or something like that. It was not very intuitive. That was the early days. So, I think that has matured a lot and it has allowed people to really embrace it and be able to not feel frightened about it. It is my impression that there are still consultants out there that feel similarly, or the tools have not matured in their fields enough to get adopted completely. That is how I feel about the software packages in general. If it is simple, easy to use, people will cheer and people will adopt it easily. But as soon as it gets complex and it is not as intuitive, it makes a big difference. (Architect Busby Perkins & Will) Interoperability is still considered a big challenge in BIM adoption as well, although some companies try to establish standards to deal with this problem. Interoperability remains a big challenge. (Contractor DPR Construction) It is worth noting, however, that technical issues were not a significant issue for the practitioners we interviewed. 5.7 Metrics Surprisingly, few of the firms interviewed measure the impact of BIM on project performance, or even identify metrics to track the impact of BIM. The office has not thought about tracking or measuring the benefits of BIM. Right now, all they see is the initial start up cost (for hardware, software, training etc.)... with BIM, there should be less conflicts, there should be better productivity (RFIs). (Contractor Keith Plumbing and Heating) We are still improvising... When we look at numbers, we say a good ratio", we look at who has worked on projects, and how the project has been done, then it is clear, we see a distinction. (Architect Lemay associés) 32 However, there have been some small efforts on this subject. A comparison between a BIM project and a traditional project could be a good method to figure out metrics, but this is very difficult to do in practice. At the company level, some have evaluated the value of BIM between projects with and without BIM, and found interesting results: less time at the work site, less RFI s, more cost savings. Others were successful at conducting pilot projects for this purpose. 32 «On est encore au feeling. On y va au feeling... Quand on regarde les chiffres on dit "un bon ratio", on regarde qui a travaillé sur les projets et comment le projet a été travaillé, puis, c'est clair, on voit une distinction.» CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 67

68 We are avoiding a lot of problems and that has always been the benefit of BIM. One of the challenges is how can you compare that to another lab building that we did probably five years ago. It is really hard. We have a building that we built maybe at the end of this project. We can compare the number of RFIs and change orders to that one. But that one was actually a very good one, so they had very low RFIs, but... It would be good to make a comparison between the traditional construction and using BIM for that. I cannot really tell you but I can tell you for a fact that, if we go back to all the clash reports that we generated over the year, our numbers are just going down, the number of clashes. So, definitely, we are seeing the benefit. (Contractor Ledcor Construction Limited) Without necessarily measuring two projects because we do not have two similar projects side by side to measure but just with the ratio, we can see. What is the most surprising is that there are very interesting ratios. The projects are finished in advance, and then we have some savings in the client's budgets. We realized that everything that BIM can do, it does it for real. (...) So, we do find a saving on our efforts. Precisely, we have a project that is a strong project, where we have performed better from the Revit perspective, the Quartier Général de Mascouche project. It won some prizes from the SIQ for the quality of the project realisation. There were almost zero addenda, maybe 40RFIs that were just some missed cuts, and it was a $ 40M project. (BIM manager Lemay associés) Critical success factors for BIM implementation BIM has the potential to improve productivity and work processes, but to obtain the full benefit of BIM firms must have the necessary maturity level. The client should be well informed so they can follow the transformation through the process; project managers should be well trained and react during the whole process, not only at the end, and the integrated process and the common commitment should be adopted by professionals (architects, engineers, contractors, etc.). There must be investment in training to develop BIM skills, and to build up autonomous BIM users (BIM Champions). Attitudes must also change, along with a revision of the know how in terms of the process, then, the tools will follow the process. The various resistances to change should be addressed as well. People will naturally resist change and my approach to it was to select half a dozen projects across Canada and the U.S. and do pilot projects. So we could work with a smaller team and create these interest and success stories. So we tested 4D on one project, take off on another and virtual mock up. And then, we went on a roadshow and presented that 33 Sans nécessairement mesurer deux projets parce qu'on n a pas deux projets pareils, côte à côte, pour les mesurer mais juste avec le ratio, on voit que qu'est ce qui est le plus surprenant c'est qu'il y a des ratios qui sont comme très intéressants. Les chantiers sont finis d'avance puis les budgets du client, on a des économies. Donc c'est tout ce que le BIM doit faire, il le fait pour de vrai. On s'est rendu compte de ça. ( ) Donc il y a une économie sur nos efforts à nous. Justement, comme on a un projet là qui est notre projet fort, on a mieux performé, au point de vue Revit, c'est le projet du quartier général de Mascouche. Donc il a gagné quelques prix au niveau de la SIQ, pour la qualité de la réalisation du projet. Donc il y a zéro addenda presque, peut être une quarantaine de manques d'information qui étaient juste des coûts qu'il manquait (ph 47:10), puis c'était un projet de 40M$. 68 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

69 for the whole company. So, that initiated a lot more interest than coming and dictating people you need to learn this software. (Contractor Ledcor Construction Limited). From the analysis above, several barriers to successful implementation of collaborative BIM can be identified. These key issues will be approached in detail in our next phase through pilot projects. The following points highlight a few of the major issues. Client involvement in the project. The client has an important role in driving BIM adoption for project construction, as well as for property management. Some clients still do not perceive the full value of BIM, or they face obstacles, such as budgetary considerations and rigid bureaucracies (in the public sector). Contrastingly, we have seen how governmental initiatives in the U.S. have accelerated the BIM adoption rate. Documented costs and benefits of BIM. We found that some clients were not clear about the costs and benefits of BIM. At the same time, the practitioners we interviewed lacked any sort of systematic tracking of their BIM investment beyond the typical assessment of project performance in terms of cost and scheduling requirements. It is important to better understand the costs and benefits so that clients can make more informed decisions, and so that consultants and contractors can optimize their investment in this technology. Integrated and collaborative process. The literature and our own studies confirm that to reap the full benefits of BIM requires deep collaboration within the whole supply chain. To enable this level of collaboration, however, requires a significant shift in the way we organize and deliver our projects. The most advanced firms in the U.S. deliver BIM projects using an Integrated Project Delivery process that enables the sharing of risks and rewards. BIM is a process, not a tool. Companies that have successfully implemented BIM have changed their work practices and formalized new methods to establish a BIM development process. They have also carefully considered the maturity levels of all the involved parties. There are now many templates available to help companies and project teams to establish these procedures, but this still requires significant efforts. BIM integration and analysis. We identified several uses of BIM on current projects including quantity takeoff, 4D modeling, coordination and communication. However, BIM offers much more potential, as noted in the McGraw Hill studies, such as cost estimating (5D BIM), energy analysis, etc. Case studies that explore these extended uses would help to facilitate adoption. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 69

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71 6 Conclusion In Phase 1, we analyzed the link between processes, technology and productivity in the construction industry based on the available literature. We highlighted: That problems with the adoption of technology in construction were related to the fact that it was mainly aimed at automating outdated practices; That it is possible to measure the real contribution of IT on productivity for specific tasks, but it is very difficult to measure the contribution of IT on productivity, since there are too many variables, and That BIM, because of its configurational nature, requires to rethink practices in order to fully realize its potential. In Phase II, we looked in more detail at the impact of BIM on existing practices from the industry perspective, focusing on trends, problems and challenges in the adoption of BIM. Interviews were conducted with early adopters (clients, design professionals and contractors) of IT and BIM in Canada, first, to discover possible gaps between existing practices and the literature, second, to identify the directions of emerging practices in the Canadian industry, third, to assess any discrepancies in the level of adoption of BIM between the actors of the construction process and the canadian and american industries and, fourth, to articulate pilot projects that may help to address these gaps. There is some emerging literature regarding BIM adoption in other countries. However, our analysis confirms the important roles of context and work restructuring in the successful adoption of BIM, a dimension that has not been properly addressed. Collaborative BIM is the objective in order to reap the benefits of its related technologies. The challenge is to move from a fragmented organization of large work packages divided between specialties to an integrated management of workflow and dataflow. From an industry perspective, important gaps were observed between the canadian and american industries that can be easily explained by the fact that BIM has been required for most public projects in the U.S. since Gaps were also observed between companies operating locally and companies doing business at an international level. The core issue in Canada is that public clients, with the exception of Infrastructure Alberta, are reluctant to request the use of BIM; a serious barrier to BIM adoption, as indicated by design professional firms. One of the core problems that were mentioned is the lack of information about the costs and benefits of BIM to document business cases within the industry. Another finding is the difficulty to identify relevant metrics to measure the impact of these technologies on productivity. Maturity grids, return on investment, increased predictability regarding cost/schedule targets and a reduction of RFI and change orders are those most cited by the industry and in the literature. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 71

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73 References Davenport, TH Process innovation: reengineering work through information technology. Boston: Harvard Business Press. Gallaher, M. P., Chapman, R. E Cost analysis of inadequate interoperability in the US capital facilities industry: US Dept. of Commerce, Technology Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology. Kalakota, R., & Robinson, M E Business 2.0: Roadmap for Success: Addison Wesley Professional. NIBS National Building Information Modeling Standard Version 1.0 Part 1:Overview, Principles, and Methodologies. National Institute of Building Sciences, Facility Information Council. NSCSC ICI Functional Information Technology Phase 1: Detailed Analysis (FIT). Overview Report. Prepared for the NSCSC ICI by CEM, (Construction Engineering and Management Group). Venkatraman, N., and J.C., Henderson Strategic alignment: Leveraging information technology for transforming organizations. IBM systems journal 32 (1):4 16. Wood, C., and M. Alvarez Emerging Construction Technologies: A FIATECH Catalogue. Young, Norbert, Steve Jones, and Harvey M. Bernstein Building Information Modeling (BIM): Transforming Design and Construction to Achieve Greater Industry Productivity. In SmartMarket Report. New York: NY: McGraw Hill Construction. Young, Norbert, Steve Jones, Harvey M. Bernstein, John Gudgel The Business Value of BIM: Getting Building Information to the Bottom Line. In SmartMarket Report. New York: NY: McGraw Hill Construction. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 73

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84 3. IT Interview Protocol The respondent will be informed from the beginning that the duration of the interview is about one hour, and that the interview contains two (or three) sections: general information (in case we do not have this information from questionnaires), the current situation (organizational and procedural issues and technical issues), and perspectives. I. General information Organization name Contact person (field/role and responsibilities/professional title) Size of organization (number of employees, departments) Type of organization (architecture, construction, management, etc.) Location(s) Activity areas (local, national, international) IT department (If yes, how important? what is its role?) II. Current situation (Current practices) The findings of Phase one highlighted the necessity of reconsidering the organizational, procedural, and technological issues to improve construction performance. This section gathers information about the current situation and problems that the representatives face in their construction work. SENTENCES IN ITALIC CAN HELP TO DIRECT THE INTERVIEW a. Organizational and procedural issues Q1. What is the present structure in your organization? (To be more specific, for example, the organizational structure for a specific project.) This question helps to focus on understanding the current structure of the company. How they work. How their teams are structured. If there is any specific division for tasks. If there is a communication strategy and if this structure is fixed for all projects or can it be changed in relation to the nature or the phase of a project. Q2. In regards to project phases, can you identify any problems that you have encountered? And if so, in which phase? This question provides information about the problems that can be faced during the project phases (e.g. management problems, IT problems, etc.) Q3. How would you describe the relationship between project teams during the project phases? This question can be complementary to the previous one. It will help to assemble information about how stakeholders communicate and collaborate during a project. Are there any integration efforts? For example, interaction with clients, that is, meeting the client s requirements: before, during, and after the project, with suppliers, and/or with subcontractors (integration in the process), etc.? 84 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

85 Q4. Has your company set up a programme to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the work process? Have any changes been made based on this evaluation? If not, how would you improve your process? The responses to these questions will help to assess how innovative the company is in terms of R&D, training, work reviewing, and introducing new technologies, as well as how the company intends to improve the process. b. Technical issues Q5. How would you describe the level of technology use in your company? This question is asked in order to be able to evaluate the company s level of maturity with technology. Is it seen as an important part of its business, or it is perceived as a completely separate entity? Is there any investment in this area? The responses in the questionnaires help to determine the type of technology used in each company. Q6. What are the main challenges that face IT (technology) implementation in your company? This is perhaps our most crucial question in this section. The responses will indicate the most important barriers for IT implementation. These barriers might be related to different risks: management, financial, technological, cultural, etc. Q7. What is the actual impact of IT on your company s goals and employees? This question can identify the role of IT in the company. Does it have no impact or a positive impact? Is it considered to be a supporting tool merely to improve business and reduce cost or is it crucial for innovation and business improvement? III. Perspectives This section collects information about the representatives vision and knowledge in implementing new business models and technology (e.g. BIM, IPD, etc.), and records what they think about this new transformation in business. Q8. What are the technologies, in your opinion, that will be used in the Canadian construction industry over the next five years? This question helps to identify promising technologies that will likely be implemented in construction projects in the near future. Q1. What impact do you think these technologies would have on current business model (practices)? And what would be the role of government in this case? This question is brought up to determine how the construction business model would be changed by implementing these promising technologies. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 85

86 4. BIM Interview Protocol I. General Information Organization Name Contact person (field/role and responsibility/professional title) Date Hour II. BIM Implementation 34 This section allows gathering information about the actual situation and problems that face the respondents in their construction work using BIM. A. BIM Experience Q1. How many BIM projects have you (your firm) been involved in? Q2. Do you work on one model? Or with many models serving various purposes? How you do collaborate? o Kind of model o How do you work with this or these models? o Collaboration methods This question allows knowing the degree of collaboration in the process, if there are any problems in exchanging data, and what are the sources of these problems, etc. Q3. What kind of problems do you think you would be avoiding by using BIM? Q4. Can you describe the process that your firm has gone through to integrate BIM into your work practices? o How did you first get started? o What has been your progression, in terms of learning from project to project? o Have you set up guidelines or procedures for project implementation? o How have you set up training with your firm? B. BIM Advantages/Challenges Q5. What are the benefits of using BIM tools on your projects? Or how do you measure the impact of BIM on your projects? o Fewer RFI s o Fewer CO s 34 Sentences in italic can help to direct the interview. 86 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

87 o Less cost growth o Shorter project duration o Less rework o Increased productivity o Less project administration time Q6. Who benefits the most from using BIM tools? Why? o Client o Specialist (Architect, engineer (structural, MEP), etc.) o Construction manager o Contractor/subcontractor Q7. What challenges have you encountered within your firm in implementing BIM? o Financial o Management o Cultural o Technical o Collaboration o Training o Other Q8. What challenges have you encountered in your projects when implementing BIM? Q9. What is the actual impact of BIM on your work practices? o Employees o Business model o Process o Organizational structure o Deliverables o Internal collaboration o External collaboration This question allows identifying if there are specific plans that have been set for BIM uses in the firms, and if there is a BIM manager, BIM (IT) department, that can make the coordination between BIM users, etc. CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 87

88 III. Perspectives This section allows gathering information about the respondents vision and knowledge in implementing the new technology (BIM), and what they think about this new transformation in business. Q10. What the firm s strategy in using BIM? o BIM Manager o BIM protocol/plans o BIM consultant o Hiring more BIM users (senior, intermediate, junior) Q11. What have you learned from the project that you worked on by using BIM? Q12. How do you think you will be investing in BIM during the next 5 years? o ROI Q13. What do you think will be the impact of BIM on the business model in five years? IV. Pilot project This section is an invitation for the respondents to participate in our next phase: Focus group and pilot project. Q14. Are you interested in participating in focus group session for BIM development? Q15. Are you interested be a part of our pilot project? 88 CEFRIO 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED