THE TRANSFORMATION OF QUANTITY SURVEYORS � JOB FUNCTIONS THROUGH THE ADOPTION OF BIM

Abstract

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been prevalent in the industry for many years. However, the adoption of BIM in the Singapore construction industry is not significantly high. Various studies were done with regards to the adoption of BIM in Singapore, but those studies focused on architects and contractors’ perceptions, and quantity surveyors were rarely involved. The quantity surveying profession may be lagging in the implementation of BIM. Therefore, it is important to identify the various barriers and obstacles that are preventing BIM adoption by quantity surveyors. In the context of consultant quantity surveyors, the objectives of this research are to: evaluate the effectiveness of BIM; determine the acceptance and usage level of BIM; assess the extent of change expected with the use of BIM. Based on the findings, recommendations on how to improve BIM adoption within the quantity surveying profession are proposed. A survey questionnaire was sent out to the local quantity surveyors and a total of 53 responses were gathered. The respondents who were mainly consultant QS perceived that BIM would be beneficial to them especially for measurement related processes and the barriers of BIM adoption was also identified. The cost no doubt remains an underlying problem for the adoption of BIM. Some recommendations to increase BIM adoption are to have proper training options, accreditation to encourage learning, having proper BIM platform for enhanced collaboration and proper BIM standards that address the fundamental problems of legal responsibility and standardization within the industry.