Investigating Optimism about and Impediments to BIM Implementation in Construction Safety Management: Asian Perspectives
Publication: Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction
Volume 29, Issue 3
Abstract
This paper unveils insights from a thorough investigation into implementing building information modeling (BIM) into construction safety management practices across Asian countries. The study involved 192 randomly surveyed respondents from Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, China, Singapore, Myanmar, and Indonesia to assess their utilization of BIM and its application in construction safety planning and implementation. The questionnaire revealed that 61% of respondents had used BIM; however, only 20% of this subset had used BIM to enhance construction safety. While an encouraging 90% of respondents expressed a positive opinion of BIM as a potential tool for mitigating construction accidents, qualitative analysis of their remarks unveiled challenges hindering effective implementation. This investigation sheds light on the gap between recognizing BIM’s potential in enhancing construction safety and the practical challenges hindering its widespread adoption in the Asian construction industry. The insights from this study can inform policy, education, and industry practices to address the identified barriers and facilitate the successful implementation of BIM in managing safety in construction.
Practical Applications
This research offers valuable guidance to construction firms in Asia or those operating in Asian countries, aiding them in informed decision-making and the adoption of building information modeling (BIM) for enhanced on-site construction safety. Policymakers can use the findings to shape or update construction safety standards and integrate BIM technologies effectively. The study is a resource for professional training, addressing both optimistic factors and challenges in BIM implementation, specifically tailored for the nuances of Asian construction safety. Technology providers, such as BIM software developers, are encouraged to refine products to address region-specific challenges, improving safety management. The comprehensive analysis of impediments informs risk mitigation strategies for BIM implementation. Lastly, focusing on Asian perspectives promotes cross-cultural collaboration among construction professionals, facilitating the exchange of best practices. In summary, this research is a practical guide for construction professionals, educators, policymakers, and technology developers, contributing to the safe and effective implementation of BIM practices in Asian construction projects.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some of the data and code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request (raw data of survey responses excluding email addresses of respondents and R scripts used in generating charts and data analysis).
References
Alomari, K., J. Gambatese, and J. Anderson. 2017. “Opportunities for using building information modeling to improve worker safety performance.” Safety 3 (1): 7. https://doi.org/10.3390/safety3010007.
Antonellis, I., and E. Gallopoulos. 2006. “Exploring term-document matrices from matrix models in text mining.” Preprint, submitted February 21, 2006. https://arxiv.org/abs/cs/0602076.
Clarke, K. R. 1993. “Non-parametric multivariate analysis of changes in community structure.” Aust. J. Ecol. 18 (1): 117–143. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.1993.tb00438.x.
Creswell, J. W., and J. D. Creswell. 2017. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. 4th ed. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Dexter, E. G., and S. M. Bollens. 2018. “The trouble with stress: A flexible method for the evaluation of nonmetric multidimensional scaling.” Limnol. Oceanogr. Methods 16 (7): 434–443. https://doi.org/10.1002/lom3.10257.
Enshassi, A., A. Ayyash, and R. Choudhry. 2016. “BIM for construction safety improvement in Gaza Strip: Awareness, applications and barriers.” Int. J. Constr. Manage. 16 (3): 249–265. https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2016.1167367.
Fargnoli, M., and M. Lombardi. 2020. “Building information modelling (BIM) to enhance occupational safety in construction activities: Research trends emerging from one decade of studies.” Buildings 10 (6): 98. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings10060098.
Gambatese, J. A., A. G. Gibb, C. Brace, and N. Tymvios. 2017. “Motivation for prevention through design: Experiential perspectives and practice.” Pract. Period. Struct. Des. Constr. 22 (4): 04017017. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)SC.1943-5576.0000335.
Hire, S., S. Sandbhor, K. Ruikar, and C. B. Amarnath. 2021. “BIM usage benefits and challenges for site safety application in Indian construction sector.” Asian J. Civ. Eng. 22 (7): 1249–1267. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42107-021-00379-8.
Jelodar, H., Y. Wang, C. Yuan, and X. Feng. 2017. “Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) and topic modeling: Models, applications, a survey.” Multimedia Tools Appl. 78 (Jun): 15169–15211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-018-6894-4.
Karakhan, A. A., and J. A. Gambatese. 2017. “Safety innovation and integration in high-performance designs: Benefits, motivations, and obstacles.” Pract. Period. Struct. Des. Constr. 22 (4): 04017018. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)SC.1943-5576.0000338.
Matthei, J., and J. Abualdenien. 2021. “The impact of implementing Building Information Modeling (BIM) on Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) during construction.” In Proc., 32nd Forum Bauinformatik 2021. Munich, Germany: Univ. Library of Technical Univ. Munich.
McHugh, M. L. 2013. “The Chi-square test of independence.” Biochem. Med. (Zagreb) 23 (2): 143–149. https://doi.org/10.11613/BM.2013.018.
NBS (National Building Statistics). 2020. “10th annual BIM report 2020.” Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.thenbs.com/PublicationIndex/documents/details?Pub=RIBAE&DocID=329337.
Okpala, I., C. Nnaji, and A. A. Karakhan. 2020. “Utilizing Emerging Technologies for Construction Safety Risk Mitigation.” Pract. Period. Struct. Des. Constr. 25 (2): 04020002. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)SC.1943-5576.0000468.
Piniano, E., and M. Iwanami. 2023. “Challenges in integrating BIM into construction safety management.” In Proc., ISEC-12. Chicago: ISEC Press.
Shafiq, M. T., and M. Afzal. 2021. “Improving construction job site safety with building information models: Opportunities and barriers.” In Proc., 18th Int. Conf. on Computing in Civil and Building Engineering 2020, 1014–1036. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51295-8_71.
Sriyolja, Z., N. Harwin, and K. Yahya. 2021. “Barriers to implement building information modeling (BIM) in construction industry: A critical review.” In Vol. 738 of Proc., IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 012021. Bristol, UK: IOP Science.
Swallow, M., and S. Zulu. 2019. “Benefits and barriers to the adoption of 4D modeling for site health and safety management.” Front. Built Environ. 4 (86). https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2018.00086.
Taat, N. H. M., N. H. Abas, and M. F. Hasmori. 2022. “The barriers of building information modelling (BIM) for construction safety.” In Proc., 3rd Int. Conf. on Green Environmental Engineering and Technology, 121–130. Singapore: Springer.
Yu, C. H., A. Jannasch-Pennell, and S. DiGangi. 2011. “Compatibility between text mining and qualitative research in the perspectives of grounded theory, content analysis, and reliability.” Qual. Rep. 16 (3): 730–744. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2011.1085.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 10, 2023
Accepted: Feb 21, 2024
Published online: May 21, 2024
Published in print: Aug 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Oct 21, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Architectural engineering
- Building information modeling
- Building management
- Business management
- Construction engineering
- Construction management
- Developing countries
- Engineering fundamentals
- Information management
- Models (by type)
- Occupational safety
- Optimization models
- Practice and Profession
- Public administration
- Public health and safety
- Safety
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.