Attitudes and Perspectives on BIM Adoption in Estimating

Building Information Modeling (BIM) adoption in the construction industry in general, and for estimating in particular, appears to lag its early promise. Studies have indicated that efficiency and accuracy of quantity takeoff can be increased through the adoption of BIM, but the industry usage for quantity takeoff continues to be low to moderate. Understanding construction professional’s views and attitudes toward the technology will help identify paths toward greater adoption and, in turn, greater efficiency in the industry. The following research questions need to be addressed:

1. How is BIM currently being used by estimators?
2. How useful do estimators feel BIM is in the early design phase for conceptual estimating?
3. What do estimators feel are the drawbacks to utilizing BIM for estimating? In order to understand the answers to these questions a survey consisting of 56 questions was administered to 200 construction professionals. Results indicated that general attitudes toward technology and BIM were positive in the industry, but that models are generated too late in the design process, do not meet the needs of estimators for takeoff, and that a lot of ignorance still exists in the profession as to the capabilities and usage of BIM. A statistically significant correlation between company size and design-build experience was associated with a positive view of BIM. The implications are that useful models, tailored to the needs of the estimator, are need earlier in the design process in order to facilitate usage in estimating.