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TopBackground To The Study
As part of the BICP study it was agreed that the research team would establish the maturity of BIM within the Irish AEC sector. To achieve this, a number of maturity models were explored which included Barlish and Sullivan (2011), who conducted a review of over 600 sources of information in analysing the current information available with regards to benefits derived from BIM utilisation.
The National BIM Standard (NBIMS) Capability Maturity Model is a tool to plot one’s current status and plan ahead for one’s goals for future aspirations. It addresses software issues and maturity levels (NIBS, 2007). Another maturity model discussed was the Indiana University’s BIM Proficiency Matrix. This is an evaluation tool used to assess the proficiency of a respondent’s skill when working in a BIM environment (IUAO, 2009). The Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) scorecard developed by Stanford University’s Center for Integrated Facility Engineering (CIFE) was discussed as a possible tool to use. This scorecard assesses the maturity of the VDC implementation of a project across 4 areas, 10 divisions, and 56 measures, and derives a confidence level measured by 7 factors to indicate the accuracy of scores (CIFE, 2017).
Despite the benefits of these models within their respective environments, they do not provide an understanding of BIM diffusion or Macro BIM adoption. As this research was to be used to assist the National BIM Council (NBC) of Ireland in the development of a BIM Roadmap (NBC, 2017), it was important that the collated data could help in assessing current or developing new market-specific BIM diffusion policies.
The Macro BIM Adoption in Ireland 2017 Study is part of the BIMe Initiative Macro Adoption Project and is based on the published research of Succar and Kassem (2015).
To this end, the BIM macro maturity models developed by Succar and Kassem was adopted by the BICP team. This framework consists of five conceptual models which have been utilised to measure macro BIM adoption across the world (Figure 1). These models can be used for: