IPD and BIM: Making Sense of Chaos?

Abstract

Why is BIM not working? Where in the world do we really have IPD (integrated project delivery)? The U.K. has failed to achieve its Level 2 BIM goals. Hong Kong is striving to implement true collaborative contracting with pain share/gain share. Where really do the problems lie? In a recent online article Boutle (2017) stated “Not all of the UK government central departments are BIM Level 2 ready despite being almost a year into the mandate.” and followed up with “Supply chain drivers for adopting BIM are mainly to satisfy the end client, not to look at internal benefits of improved information management, smarter working and gaining efficiencies.” So, one of the BIM-leading nations that was heading the drive to implement BIM on all government projects by 2016 has missed its target by some considerable distance. It is obvious from the evidence and rhetoric that BIM is not well understood, well accepted nor of value to many in the supply chain. Therefore, it is not the panacea for increased industry efficiency and effectiveness that it was held up to be. Why not? What is really happening? We present a case study that explores current BIM implementation for MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire safety systems) coordination in Hong Kong. Data were collected by ethnographic participant observation over 4 months and one-on-one interviews from a social network perspective. We found that BIM implementation in Hong Kong is currently at a low “maturity” level with little transformation of existing procurement routines and with professionals still following their traditional roles within project teams. Collaborative contracting and IPD exist on very few projects. Plans to add high-value professional expertise into project delivery through BIM-enabled IPD adoption are not working in Hong Kong’s construction industry. This is partly due to team members’ reluctance to change and the power conflicts (bolstered by arcane contract terms) between organisations in the teams thwarting collaboration. Professionals’ perceptions and attitudes towards BIM are embedded in the view they have of their social context. Power conflicts generated from hierarchical organizational structures and silo mentalities are a major challenge in implementing BIM-enabled IPD.