The penetration and impact of BIM implementation in the construction industry in Lebanon

Abstract

Purpose – The topic of this thesis focuses on the Lebanese Construction Industry as it has been lagging in terms of technological advancements in the last few years. The purpose of this thesis is to find out the impact of technological advancements, specifically Building Information Management and Modeling, on the Lebanese Construction Industry, its penetration in the market in Lebanon in comparison to the MENA region, in addition to estimating the payback period of investments in BIM for small and medium engineering consultancy offices. Design/methodology/approach-Philosophic Approach and Reasoning Technique: The Post-Positivism approach is used whereas the reasoning technique will be a combination of induction and deduction, a hypothetic-deductive method. Sampling and Population: The population target includes several types of companies involved in the construction field, ranging from project management companies, design and supervision companies, contractors, and real estate development companies. It also targets various countries of operation in the MENA region, which is our focus in this research. Sampling Procedure: The sampling procedure is the stratified Random Sampling, because the engineering companies are divided between countries, and a random sample will be chosen from each country. Findings – The performed analysis showed that the penetration rate of BIM in Lebanon (12.5%) is too low compared to the MENA region (84%). It was also found that the highest lack of BIM usage occurs in small and medium engineering consultancy offices. However, the analysis conducted proved that the payback period for BIM usage in medium engineering consultancy offices is very quick, specifically less than a year, resulting in a very high IRR, and the investment is returned fully from the 2nd project, as opposed to small consultancy offices which showed a negative investment return rate. A solution to the low penetration rate of BIM are incentives and rules that organize the industry in Lebanon. Governmental incentives and obligations, similar to rules issued in Emirates and Qatar, in addition to OEA rules and obligations to project’s owners and engineering offices could increase the penetration rate of BIM in the Lebanese Construction Industry, especially with the proven high IRR for medium engineering consultancy offices. Research limitations/implications – The theoretical implication of this research is mainly testing a theory in a new environment, which is Lebanon. There is a limited number of studies that talk about the problems and lack of technological advancements in the Lebanese construction industry, and how this is affecting the total budget, schedule, and quality of the project. This is why this research might be an incentive towards adopting these advancements, because it will extend the academic debate that similar institutions have regarding this issue. Practical implications – The practical implications of this research include discovering what is the actual penetration rate of BIM in Lebanon compared to the MENA region. This will guide decision makers and authorities to issue policies and incentives to regulate the BIM usage in Lebanon. In addition, BIM benefits and profitability of its implementation and usage in projects in the Lebanese market is calculated. The profession can use the findings from this research and other limited researches about the Lebanese market to decide whether or not to adopt and implement BIM usage in their projects. Originality/value – This value of this research is that it flags the low interest in BIM adoption in the Lebanese Construction Industry due to the lack of research done in this area. The findings of this thesis show the profitability of BIM adoption in medium sized projects and consultancy offices which should pave the track for further research and adoption in the market.