Project Management after the BIM Introduction: Paradigm Shift or Reiteration?

Abstract

By the early 2000s, the practical usage of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the American construction sector was pu181shed by the US General Services Administration (GSA). Since then, BIM usage has been growing all over the world and several new possibilities regarding processes integration are emerging, as well as construction productivity enhancement. As a result, it is generally believed that the practices in project management could have been thoroughly transformed. Therefore, project management academics and professionals that have been working with traditional practices wonder how BIM changes their roles and the pre-existing methods for construction projects. Despite the 20 years of progression in BIM implementation, usage and the unquestionable results, it is still not clear how it is affecting project management and changing the roles in construction projects. Based on a survey with construction professionals and academicians, this paper discusses the effect of BIM over the processes, preexisting methods and responsibilities, thus contributing to the understanding of what has truly changed and what remains the same in the field of construction project management during the transition from CAD (Computer-aided design) to BIM. Additionally, it contributes to the understanding on how the management professionals deal with the digital transformation regarding construction management, contracts, communication, professional roles, and collaboration.

Sources of Challenges for Sustainability in the Building Design—The Relationship between Designers and Clients

“…Despite the BIM 20-year progression in implementation, usage, and unquestionable results, it is still not clear how it affects project management and changes the roles in construction projects [24]. Some of the triggering factors of low satisfaction of construction professionals with the BIM adoption results are legal obstacles, as the obsolescence of contractual models; the evident need to renew roles and responsibilities; the limited educational and cultural basis; the collaboration and communication constraints; and the inertial management practice [24].…”