A BIM-BASED INTEGRATED ELECTRONIC PROCUREMENT MODEL FOR SINGAPORE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Abstract

The construction industry has been lagging behind other industries in the adoption of electronic procurement despite of the suggested advantages. One of the main reasons lies in the inability to deal with unstructured procurement. However, the emergence of Building Information Modeling (BIM) is changing the way companies work, facilitating exchange of information between architects, contractors and consultants. Several countries started to investigate the BIM-based approach to project procurement and asset management. Therefore, this dissertation aims to evaluate the acceptability of a BIM-based integrated e-procurement model that may be applied in the Singapore construction industry.

A survey questionnaire was conducted to collect data from Singapore companies within the construction industry. Significant number of respondents experience problems associated with conventional paper-based procurement method such as miscalculations and difficulties in coordination of changes. These suggest potential improvements adopting a BIM approach. Evaluation on the current level of adoption of BIM in Singapore context was further conducted. Key findings pointed to a 100% adoption by architectural firms in contrast to 0% usage by Contractors. Public clients and architectural firms were identified as two main driving groups for the implementation of BIM. Opinions on this BIM-based integrated e-procurement method are then sought. Important drivers and barriers were ranked to provide valuable information for future strategies for an integrated BIM based e-procurement in the construction industry.