Investigating BIM level in Iraqi construction industry

Abstract

Building Information Modeling’s popularity has recently exploded in the public construction industry. In many countries, the critical success of any engineering project depends up on the integration of information. BIM is widely implemented in the construction industry in developed countries. In the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, developing countries are attempting to follow up the newly established processes and technology. Thus, this study aims to investigate the BIM level in Iraqi construction and the main barriers and constraints to implementing such technology. A literature review, and a structured questionnaire was conducted to determine the current situation of BIM in Iraqis’ AEC. The questionnaire was circulated to the governmental and non-governmental sectors. The analyzed data, that were obtained using Microsoft Excel and Statistical Packaging for Social Science (SPSS), indicated that most participants were using traditional methods and 2D drawings in their designs. This leads to confirm that BIM in Iraq is at level (0). Furthermore, twelve barriers were selected, and the results showed that the highest three ranked barriers in adopting BIM according to the mean score were “Lack of BIM experts”, “Lack of BIM awareness” and “Traditional methods of contracting” with the mean value of 3.78, 3.65 and 3.64 respectively. The obtained results were compared and discussed with the previous researches. Therefore, authorities should put more effort into overcome these obstacles in order to enhance Iraq's AEC industry and use BIM methodologies in the Iraqi construction industry sector.

Keywords

• Building Information Modeling
• BIM level
• BIM barriers and challenges