State of Practice of Building Information Modeling in the Mechanical Construction Industry

Abstract

The North American construction industry has seen a decline in productivity for decades due to underlying problems such as lack of team collaboration, less initial design input, and higher building systems complexity. These problems are most visible in labor-intensive trades, such as mechanical contractors. Within the last decade, building information modeling (BIM) has emerged as a potential solution to these problems. This paper highlights the state of BIM practice in the mechanical construction industry. Through an extensive survey and interview process, this research resulted in three key outcomes. The first is that 58% of mechanical contractors have less than three years of BIM experience and consider themselves as beginners in the use of BIM. Second, BIM implementation cost for these contractors is 1% to 2% of their total project cost estimate. Third, more than 70% of mechanical contractors agree that BIM reduces field conflicts and improves coordination. These factors can assist mechanical contractors allocate proper resources for BIM implementation in their projects to reduce problems.