Why is BIM not being used in a larger extent in the construction industry? : A study on BIM used for quantity take-off at medium-sized construction companies

Abstract: Compared to other industries, the construction industry is slow to take advantage of the benefits of digitalization. There are many different parties involved in projects, which makes it a versatile but also fragmented industry, which in this case is not to its advantage. Building information modeling (BIM) is a tool that could improve the cooperation between these parties and which has many other benefits associated with it, such as time- and cost savings. Quantity take-off in BIM is something that can be carried out at a low degree of maturity and is considered to be one of the most useful working methods that BIM enables. Despite the many benefits that studies have shown, many companies in the construction industry have still not fully implemented a working method where BIM is used for quantity take-off.The purpose of the project is to investigate the BIM use among parties in the Swedish construction industry. More specifically, this study will examine the working methods of medium-sized construction companies with quantity take-off. Since the work with quantity take-off has been shown to be linked to more basic BIM use, this factor can be seen as a good indicator for the development of BIM within companies. Medium-sized construction companies have been chosen as they are a good representative of the large mass of parties in the construction industry who have both the capacity and the finances to implement BIM. Furthermore, this project also aims to locate the difficulties in using these digital working methods for quantity take-off.The study is performed as a qualitative case study where ByggDialog AB exemplified a medium-sized construction company in the construction industry. In semi-structured interviews, employees were asked to answer questions concerning the subject of the study.The results of the study have shown that the willingness to develop working methods with BIM at medium-sized construction companies exists, but that visions and ambitions are limited by the adjustment costs that a BIM-implementation would entail. The fact that there are no requirements or demands from customers is another factor that contributes why BIM is not used more today. As a result of the fact that the customers today are not prepared to finance a BIM-implementation, the development is not driven further within the studied company.In this case study, we have identified that the studied medium-sized construction company does not use BIM for quantity take-off. This is not due to that the contractors do not want to, but because it is difficult to motivate that a BIM-implementation would cover the costs involved. This study therefore indicates that in the short term it is not profitable to implement BIM as it entails large conversion costs for companies.