4D BIM ADOPTION : THE INCENTIVES FOR AND BARRIERS TO 4D BIM ADOPTION WITHIN SWEDISH CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES

Abstract: Sweden is perceived to be one of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) leaders in the world. However, studies have shown that 4D BIM, which is a combination of a 3D model and an associated time schedule, is not widely deployed in construction planning practices among contractors. In Sweden many studies focused on BIM adoption in general, but since contractors are the main users of 4D BIM, there is a lack of studies exploring this specific dimension of BIM. This study considers 4D BIM as an innovation; the aim is to find the incentives for and barriers to adopt 4D BIM within the Swedish construction industry. A literature review was conducted and the most common variables were derived; in addition to this, an online questionnaire and a series of interviews targeting Swedish construction companies were conducted. The findings were that 4D BIM is a new start within the Swedish construction industry, where a series of both technical (software, standards, complexity) and non-technical barrier (organizational, lack of client demand, unclear benefits, investment) has an impact on the adoption process. Large companies are the early adopters and use it to maintain their strategic position in the industry, whereas smaller contractors are prone to more barriers and mostly rely on clients´ demand.