Stringent Regulations for the Adoption of BIM in Construction Sector

Building Information Modeling (BIM) refer to the process of creating multi-dimensional image of a building or a construction project. BIM technology is being used in planning, design, construction and operational phases of a construction project and has been receiving an increasing attention in the AEC (Architecture, Engineering & Construction) industry owing to the increasing emphasis to reduce the construction costs. BIM is being widely adopted in the developed economies when compared to the developing economies owing to the various challenges including technology awareness, high price of BIM software, lack of skilled labor and various others in developing economies.

BIM application process can be used during design and architecture process in creating the comprehensive image of building or project and is being widely adopted for efficient design. Implementation of stringent regulations by state and central governments of various economies along with the regulatory bodies has been playing a pivotal role in the BIM adoption. U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) formulated the National 3D-4D-BIM Program in 2003. This program has established policy mandating BIM adoption for all public buildings & service projects. Since April 2016, as a part of Government’s Construction Strategy which was primarily initiated to attain 20% savings in construction procurement costs in construction projects in U.K. started adopting BIM. The NBS’ sixth National BIM Report 2016 published that, BIM adoption in the U.K. had reached 54% in 2016, up from 48% in 2015. 

Singapore is the pioneer for the BIM from APAC region. The government has created a central policy for building codes, regulations and circulars published by various building and construction regulatory agencies in Singapore which are eventually promoting the adoption of BIM in the construction projects. Moreover, one of the early adopters of BIM processes, the South Korean government has been working systematically to increase the scope of BIM-mandated projects in the South Korea since 2010. Since 2016, Public Procurement Service mandated BIM adoption for all public sector projects over $50 million.

 

Additionally, emergence of 3D printing technology coupled with the AR & VR (Augmented & Virtual Reality) technology is projected to be the significant emerging opportunities for the BIM over the next decade which assist in better designing of a construction project. Owing to increasing advancements in these emerging technologies coupled with the increasing need to reduce operational costs in construction projects, the BIM adoption is anticipated to witness healthy growth rate in terms of adoption & market value over the next decade.