This study's objective was to evaluate the status of building information modelling (BIM) implementation within the Dutch construction industry by means of a developed BIM maturity tool that could be applied within the construction industry's various disciplines. Existing BIM maturity models tend to focus on technological aspects and have often been developed for specific disciplines. This paper first describes the development of a maturity model that enables the assessment of both technological and organizational aspects of BIM and enables comparison of all the disciplines in the construction supply chain. Second, the applicability of the proposed BIM maturity model is explored by using the model in in-depth interviews at 53 Dutch firms that represent the various disciplines within the construction industry. The output of the testing of the BIM maturity model shed light on the current implementation status of individual companies and, when aggregated, of the subsectors present. The latter information is valuable for sectoral associations because it identifies differences and similarities in BIM implementation across subsectors. The main finding is of strong strategic support for BIM among the leading companies evaluated. However, the formalization of BIM-related processes, tasks, and responsibilities is lagging behind BIM developments. Notably, respondents emphasized aspects related to people and culture when it came to implementing BIM, with awareness, education, and training regarded as essential elements in stimulating BIM maturity growth. Based on these findings, priorities have been identified to stimulate the BIM implementation process that can be included in sector-specific or industry-wide policies.

This multiple case study of a contracting firm contributes to understanding the barriers that organizations face during the implementation of building information modeling (BIM) by providing insights into the impact of these barriers across different organizational levels (i.e., from top management to project teams) and by relating these barriers to different degrees of BIM maturity. First, we observe the dominance of barriers related to the motivation, competence, and time capacity of people across all levels of an organization. Second, the cluster of barriers at the middle-management level highlights the important role of this level in reducing these barriers. Third, only those cases with a low level of BIM maturity have struggled with lack of top management support, thereby highlighting the importance of such support in achieving BIM maturity growth. High BIM maturity situations are more prone to externally oriented barriers in attempting to further leverage the benefits of BIM. Our study provides insights on where to focus BIM implementation measures and how to enhance organizational BIM maturity.

In most design projects, the documentation of design decisions is considered important. Among others, documentation of design decisions contributes to the traceability of decisions that shape a project’s development process, helps deal with changes in the project and prevents the recurrence of old discussions. Yet, little attention is given to documenting design decisions in the engineering literature. In this study, a theoretical framework for the key elements of this documentation process was developed. Four infrastructure projects were studied and compared to this framework by means of pattern matching. This method compares theoretical and empirical patterns and determines whether they match or do not match. The findings demonstrate that accessibility of documentation for all involved project parties and the division of documentation tasks are in accordance with the literature. However, the documentation of design decisions and their rationale is not done as completely as is recommended in theory. Literature states that the documentation of interrelations and context of decisions should be described thoroughly, but that is barely done in practice. In addition, the findings show that neither immediate documentation nor periodical monitoring of documentation is applied. Based on these findings, this research proposes a strategy for improving the documentation of design decisions.

This main objective highlights the interdependencies across the multiple levels: inter-organizational BIM use in projects cannot be understood without considering the individual participating organizations and their subsector-specific aims and contributions to a project. From a practical perspective, the industry can utilize the gathered insights on the effects of variations in BIM maturity on different levels of analysis to overcome challenges and reap the benefits of inter-organizational BIM use. Sub-aims and research questionsExistent research gaps are identified in the assessment of BIM maturity variations, the analysis of consequences stemming from BIM maturity variations on different levels of analysis, and the understanding of how to cope with consequences of variations in BIM maturity, so to enhance a project's performance. Following, five sub-aims have been derived for this thesis:• Provide a method to evaluate the actual level of BIM maturity for different subsectors and on different levels of analysis, i.e., subsector, organization, and project levels. Maturity variations in organizations related to implementation barriers (Chapter 3)Furthermore, the implementation of BIM and increasing the maturity in BIM use has been hindered by several barriers. Previous studies have identified many, such as a lack of motivation to switch to BIM practices (e.g.