Spanning the multilevel boundaries of construction organisations

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the interdependent boundary-spanning activities that characterise the level of permeability of knowledge, information flow and learning among construction supply chains involved in the delivery of building information modelling (BIM)-compliant construction projects. Construction projects are mobilised through a number of interdependent processes and multi-functional activities by different practitioners with myriad specialised skills. Many of the difficulties that manifest in construction projects can be attributed to the fragmented work activities and inter-disciplinary nature of project teams. This is nevertheless becoming ever more pertinent with the rise of technology deployment in construction organisations. Design/methodology/approach The study combined experts’ sampling interviews and a case study research method to help offer better insights into the kind of emerging multilevel boundary practices as influenced by the rapidly evolving construction technological solutions. The experts’ sampling helped inform better understanding by unravelling the key changes in contemporary boundary configurations and related boundary-spanning practices within technology-mediated construction project settings. The case study also helped to establish the manifestation of best practices for managing multilevel boundaries in BIM-enabled construction project organisations. Findings The study has revealed that different generic organisational BIM strategies as developed in specialised boundaries are reconfigured as appropriate at the project level to produce project-specific BIM execution plan (BXP). The outcome of project BXP is dependent on the project organisational teams that cooperate in creating new solutions and on conceding space for negotiations and compromises which conflicting interests at the project level can find to be both desirable and feasible. The implementation effort is therefore contingent on mutual translation in which different actors with different insights instigate their practice through negotiation and persuasion which eventually are reinforced by contractual agreements and obligations. Originality/value The paper has presented a novel and well-timed empirical insight into BIM-enabled project delivery and best practices that span multilevel boundaries of construction organisations.

Distilling agency in BIM-induced change in work practices

“…These include time and cost savings (Fan et al , 2013; Suermann and Issa, 2009), reduction of rework, and increased productivity (Love et al , 2011). BIM uptake is also expected to facilitate the ability of multidisciplinary and multifunctional teams to cope with difficult situations that emerge at various project stage boundaries, thereby improving efficiencies (Sackey and Akotia, 2017). Based on these benefits, governments in various countries have begun to openly adopt BIM to oversee the creation and management of information throughout the project lifecycle (Arayici et al , 2012; Herr and Fischer, 2019; Vidalakis et al , 2019; Yuan and Yang, 2019).…”

Beneficial Effects of 3D BIM for Pre-Empting Waste during the Planning and Design Stage of Building and Waste Reduction Strategies

“…Better Collaboration and Communication (P2) BIM models allow paper drawing sets to be shared, collaborated on, and versioned to minimise waste during the planning and design stage. This consequence is the same as [77,78]. The BIM 360 platform enables teams to share project templates and plan ahead of time, ensuring that all design stakeholders are fully prepared.…”

A shared leadership framework based on boundary spanners in megaprojects

“…Virtual tools such as CAD and BIM systems are efficient boundary objects to promote knowledge sharing among designer, constructors and other project users (Fellows and Liu, 2012). BIM technological solutions benefit the boundary spanning engagement and successful BIM-compliance project delivery (Sackey and Akotia, 2017). The Integrated Master Schedule is a critical boundary object for megaprojects with long construction periods and a high degree of complexity and uncertainty (Chang et al, 2013).…”