The impact of BIM application on construction delays and cost overrun in developing countries

Abstract

Delays and cost overruns are generally acknowledged in the construction industry as serious issues that require the use of advanced technologies. However, the adoption of new technologies has not kept pace with the growth of the industry. This is due to low studies on the impact of these technologies in the industry. Building Information Modelling (BIM) as an alternative technology for management of construction is still in its early stage of adoption in many countries. This research tends to determine the relationship between the use of BIM and the causes of delay and cost overrun in construction industry. Data were obtained through admininstered questionnaires to Contractors, which was analysed using Pearson’s product-moment correlation to determine their relationships at 0.05 level of significance. The results from the analysis of the causes of delay and the causes of cost overrun shows that there is a positive correlation between the two (r =0.737, n = 69, p = 0.000). More also, the result of the analysis shows that there is a significant negative relationship between the application of BIM and the causes of delay and cost overrun (r = -0.246, n = 69, p = 0.041) and (r = -0.313, n = 69, p = 0.009). The result of this research shows that an increase in the use of BIM in the management of construction projects reduces the occurrence of delay and cost overrun.