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Paper info: BIM as a project resource in a large-scale healthcare construction project – implications for project management

Title


BIM as a project resource in a large-scale healthcare construction project – implications for project management

Authors


Malena I. Havenvid and
Åse Linné
Uppsala University
Sweden
Åse Linné

Place of Publication


The paper was published at the 32nd IMP-conference in Poznan, Poland in 2016.

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Abstract


The construction sector has for a long time been considered as an unproductive and noninnovative sector (Egan, 1998). At the same time there are numerous scholars that emphasize that innovative activities are taking place within construction (Slaughter, 1998). Especially the use of ICT-tools have been discussed as one way of handling escalating inefficiency in construction projects (Boland et al., 2007). Within this development increased trust has been placed on the implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) (Bryde et al., 2013). BIM can be used to geometrically depict any building by connecting building objects to specific information such as size and materials etc. BIM interconnects information which can be used to facilitate the construction process along with the operation management of buildings. The increased interest in BIM has also revealed a difficulty in defining what it is and what the effects of using it are, for instance it has been referred to as a “tool” (Bryde et al., 2013), a “methodology” (Succar, 2009), a “technology” (Whyte, 2003), a “software” (Fox & Hietanen, 2007), and an “innovation” (Davies & Harty, 2013). With these definitions, it is evident that while BIM can be used for project management purposes, it appears a highly elusive technology with a variety of purposes and uses. The outcome of its use appears to lie in how it is being used and for what purposes. This is further complicated by the highly interorganizational nature of construction which has resulted in an organizational fragmentation where involved actors have their own interest in the construction project. In turn, these special characteristics of the construction industry are regarded as providing special conditions for the implementation of new resources (Gann & Salter, 2000). Since BIM is used for improving the collaboration among project actors, we aim for an analysis of how the use of BIM as a project resource affects the interaction among the actors, and how this interaction affects which services that BIM can provide. Based on the industrial network approach we investigate BIM as a resource (cf. Håkansson & Waluszewski, 2002). More specifically we investigate how the use of BIM is formed as a project resource through interaction processes among project actors. Through a case study of a large healthcare construction project, this paper aims at better understanding BIM as a resource in managing complex projects.