Effect of BIM on Rework in Construction Projects in Singapore: Status Quo, Magnitude, Impact, and Strategies

Abstract

Rework is a pervasive problem that adversely impacts the performance of construction projects and has become one of the most common concerns of the industry and academia. The rapid popularization of Building Information Modeling (BIM) is deemed useful for controlling rework and its resulting cost and time overruns. However, little empirical research has been done to show the impact of BIM implementation on rework in construction projects. As a result, by comparing two groups of projects (with and without BIM implementation), this paper first aims to assess and compare the rework status quo as well as the rework magnitude and impact by project type and by rework source. This study also proposes a set of practical strategies that can help prevent rework in projects with BIM implementation using a fuzzy set theory-based model. To achieve these objectives, an extensive literature review was conducted, followed by pre-interviews, a questionnaire survey, statistical analyses, and post-interviews. The results of the analyses and interviews show that the projects with BIM implementation tend to have experienced lower incidence, magnitude, and impact of rework relative to projects without BIM implementation. BIM implementation is also found to have a significant impact on reducing rework arising from owner change, design error/omission, design change, and vendor error/omission. The identified top three strategies to utilize BIM to reduce rework are “use of BIM throughout the design and construction phase,” “design reviews, verifications, and audit to reduce system errors,” and “rework tracking system to prevent future occurrences of rework.” To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study makes the first attempt to measure the effects of BIM implementation on rework in construction projects using actual project data. The findings of this study enable practitioners to implement strategies to minimize rework with BIM implementation, improve projects’ cost and time performance, and improve the efficiency of project delivery.