Client’s role in promoting BIM implementation and innovation in construction

Abstract

Innovation is often viewed as vital in addressing future demands on the construction industry, but innovation implementation is also considered challenging in this fragmented, project-based industry. In order to address the challenges, client organisations are commonly acknowledged as key actors in driving construction innovation. However, the details of what the client role constitutes is less clear, and the question of whether innovation should be mainly client-led or supplier-led is debated. The purpose in this paper is to explore different roles public client organisations can enact to promote innovation. To fulfil this purpose, an explorative case study has been conducted at the largest transport infrastructure client in Sweden; exploring two initiatives which have simultaneously been deployed to promote innovation. The studied organisation is on the one hand trying to influence the industry to implement Building Information Modelling (BIM), adopting a BIM policy and actively influencing the supply chain, while on the other hand promoting innovation through policies aimed at providing more flexibility in projects, enabling suppliers to propose new solutions and emphasising market competition. Even though the overarching goals are similar, promote innovation, the research finds that the simultaneous use of the policies create intra-organisational tension within the client organisation. The findings provide insights into the different roles clients can enact in promoting innovation, and contribute to the understanding of clients as a key actor for promoting innovation in the construction industry.

To trust or not to trust: is trust a prerequisite for solving design quality problems?

“…Contracts can also be used as governance mechanisms to facilitate co-operative relationships (Yan andZhang 2020, Zhang et al 2020). Lindblad and Guerrero (2020) presented the association between clients' roles and different construction innovation types. Interaction, such as that found in weekly collaborative meetings, is one driver for construction innovation.…”

“…Again, innovation aids when solving DQP (Uusitalo et al 2019), as indicated by the positive mentions of innovations when interviewees were asked about such problems. A competitive environment promotes supplier-led innovation (Lindblad and Guerrero 2020), which might have affected the performance of site C.…”

A Scenario-Based Model for the Study of Collaboration in Construction

“…Therefore, they are the most significant actor in achieving integration in the supply chain. However, these ideas have been debated and currently, researchers are investigating whether innovations should be client-led or supply-led (Lindblad and Guerrero 2020). Therefore, the emerging nodes were subsequently divided into two key uncertainties 'client attributes' and 'supply chain capabilities' as depicted in Figure 1.…”

An Institutional Approach to Digitalization in Sustainability-Oriented Infrastructure Projects: The Limits of the Building Information Model

“…[49,53,54]. In recent years, scholars have related BIM adoption with the management of supply chain partnerships, emphasizing transactions, inter-organizational aspects [55,56] and the role of the client in BIM implementation and innovation [11,24,31,57]. Owners are portrayed to have the capability to provide a fertile breeding ground for systemic innovation and establish an innovative environment among suppliers through their powerbase and choice of innovation policy.…”

“…Owners are portrayed to have the capability to provide a fertile breeding ground for systemic innovation and establish an innovative environment among suppliers through their powerbase and choice of innovation policy. Hence, the limitations of the professional owner are seen as problematic; thus, negatively influencing the transformation of the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry towards BIM-usage [57].…”