Emerging contractual and legal risks from the application of building information modelling

Abstract

Purpose There has been a mounting interest in building information modelling (BIM) in the construction industry sector worldwide due to its perceived benefits. However, reliance on information technology is associated with risks. The purpose of this paper is to offer a better understanding of the emerging contractual and legal risks, which might influence the successful adoption of BIM, in order to facilitate the successful implementation of BIM in the construction industry. Design/methodology/approach The risks used in the study were documented from the literature, and primary data were collected by a questionnaire survey. The analysis of the results was driven by univariate and inferential statistics (Analysis of Variance) to identify the emerging contractual and legal risks. Findings The findings showed that there were little significant differences in the mean rating of the occurrence of contractual and legal risks between the respondents. The study confirmed that emerging risks are likely to be related to BIM documentations, intellectual rights and liability, missing data and misplaced assumptions among project stakeholders. The results showed that BIM success depends on close collaboration, at the outset of the project, with the client, designers, contractors and consultants. Practical implications The findings suggest that contract documents and contract agreements may need to be created in accordance with the identified risks, so that the questions of contractual and legal responsibilities are appropriately defined and allocated among the participants. Originality/value Important legal and contractual risks have been identified in the application of BIM. It renders a new understanding of the risks that might influence the successful adoption of BIM.

Emerging technical risks from the application of building information modelling

“…The concept of adoption of a technology has been studied for the past 30 years. It is understood from relevant literature that adoption is concerned with the decision to implement an innovation or technology in the sense of both products and services (Almarri et al , 2019). Similarly, adoption in the construction field is attributed to the decision made to implement new systems in the management of projects or organisations (Almarri et al , 2019).…”

“…The roots of UK BIM adoption are traced back to the “Strategy Paper for the Government Construction Client Group”, authored by the BIM Task Working Group in 2011 and 2012 (Almarri et al , 2019; BIM Task Group, 2011, 2012). The report’s key recommendations are focused on exploiting digital capabilities, legal, contractual and insurance, delivery standards and processes, education, training and support, improved information handover, information use and benefits, communications and institutional support and investment and programme RISKS.…”

“…Thus, the underlying assumption in the evolvement of BIM technology is to assist projects stakeholders to perform designing, building and operating processes more effectively and efficiently. BIM is used for simulation and analysis of problems and other possible effects while trying to find alternatives prior to starting the physical task of construction (Almarri et al , 2019; Li et al , 2017). Eastman et al (2011, p. 544) stated that:BIM represents a paradigm change that will have far-reaching benefits, not only for those in the building industry but for society at large, as better buildings are built that consume less energy and require less labour and capital resources.…”

“…These studies, along with some others, suggest that the use of BIM is still vulnerable to risk and unpredictability in the eyes of many professionals because it is not fully integrated or mature. However, with growing interest in the appropriate applications of BIM, multiple studies point out legal, contractual, technical, supervisory, usage and security concerns (Almarri et al , 2019; Ashcraft, 2008; Simonians and Korman, 2010; Azhar, 2011; Ku and Taiebat, 2011; Chawla, 2012; Udom, 2012; Zhang et al , 2013).…”

“…The risks related to dealing with data have been addressed by multiple authors often associated with technical issues and compatibility (Almarri et al , 2019; Ivory et al , 2018; Guo et al , 2019; Willcocks and Margetts, 1994; Baskerville, 1991) and functional risks pertaining to quality and the use of this technology as per the function to the user (Birch and McEvoy, 1992). These problems pose a basic threat to the incorporation of BIM technology, and this research effort is to add to BIM texts technical risk factors dealing with its application and use (Farzaneh et al , 2019).…”