Integrative Trust-Based Functional Contracting: A Complementary Contractual Approach to BIM-Enabled Oil And Gas EPC Project Delivery

The research has successfully bridged the gap between contractual and technological practices for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts in oil and gas projects. It has identified the related Building Information Modelling (BIM) uses and developed an integrative trust-based functional contracting that complement to EPC contracts. The research contributes to new functional perspectives of contracting and also provides significant insights into the proper use contract functions for improving BIM-enabled projects’ performance

Contractual practices between the consultant and employer in Chinese BIM-enabled construction projects

The management of building information modeling (BIM)-enabled construction projects is challenging and unstructured in nature, particularly in terms of contract administration. Even though previous studies have revealed various legal issues related to BIM, little is known regarding the contractual practices of BIM. Hence, this study was carried out to explore the contractual practices between the BIM consultant and employer in detail. An explanatory case study was carried out on four large BIM-enabled construction projects in China. The contractual practices differed from one project to another in terms of ownership and intellectual property rights of the BIM model, roles of the BIM consultant, liability of the BIM consultant in the event of errors and delays of the BIM model, and BIM-related costs and payments. Some of the interesting findings are as follows: (a) the employer shall retain the ownership and intellectual property rights of the BIM model, (b) the BIM consultant shall provide a warranty to ensure usability of the BIM model after project handover, (c) the BIM consultant shall pay for damages or losses if the BIM model fails to deliver, and (d) the costs of BIM implementation shall be borne by both contracting parties. This study provides a fresh, realistic insight on the development of plausible contractual practices between the BIM consultant and employer and the findings can be used to improve BIM contract protocols in future projects

Joint-contract function effects on BIM-enabled EPC project performance

Engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracting does not promote collaboration and thus, may not be suitable for building information modeling (BIM) projects. Joint-contract functions that combine contractual control, coordination, and contingency adaptability may positively influence the performance of these BIM-enabled projects. This study hypothesized that perceived fairness, calculative trust, relational trust, and positive outcomes of distrust influence the relationship between joint contract functions and BIM-enabled project performance. It collected 252 observations from industry practitioners in EPC oil and gas projects and analyzed them using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results show no direct effect of joint-contract functions on BIM-enabled EPC project performance but do show significant total and indirect relationship effects that are influenced by perceived fairness and relational trust. The findings contribute to construction contracting research by empirically showing how formal contracts focusing on joint-contract functions can influence BIM-enabled EPC project performance. The current findings also shed light on appropriate contract framing for BIM-enabled EPC project stakeholders, an area not explored in the previous literature

Effect between trust in communication technology and interorganizational trust in BIM-enabled projects

Building information modeling (BIM) and its associated digital tools have been widely adopted in designing, constructing, and operating infrastructures, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the influence of these communication technologies on the interorganizational trust among project team members is unclear. In this study, BIM and its communication tools were conceptualized based on the perception of trust in communication technology, to examine their influence on interorganizational trust. The effect of trust in communication technology on interorganizational trust was investigated through the mediation of obligatory cooperation and voluntary cooperation. In addition, partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to explore and predict the causal relationships of the model. The results show that trust in communication technology has no direct effect on interorganizational trust, but it positively affects the relationships via the mediation of obligatory cooperation. In comparison, trust in communication technology significantly impacts voluntary cooperation, which does not considerably influence interorganizational trust. Lastly, the findings of this study contribute new knowledge to trust theories for construction teams that use communication technologies to collaborate in BIM-enabled projects, and provide an explanation for the development of trust by communication technologies through improvement of the interorganizational trust in BIM-enabled projects

Latent provisions for building information modeling (BIM) contracts: a social network analysis approach

The effective adoption and use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) require appropriate contract design to fairly allocate the contracting parties’ rights and responsibilities. Several standards for BIM protocols and contracts have been developed for the industry. However, the awareness and the use of these are rather limited, leading to unclear provisions in BIM contracts. Therefore, the research aims to identify the influential legal aspects that serve as the latent contract provisions in BIM contracts. A questionnaire survey was conducted to survey experts and active BIM users in construction projects. The data were analyzed using social network analysis (SNA) by assuming interdependent relationships among various the legal aspects in BIM contacts. The key legal aspects associated with BIM contracts pertain to the roles and responsibilities of the project participants. The results also reveal that data security is the center of all latent legal aspects in the contracts. The study provides significant new insights into clarifying the required contract provisions in BIM contracts

Streamlining Digital Modeling and Building Information Modelling (BIM) Uses for the Oil and Gas Projects

The oil and gas industry is a technology-driven industry. Over the last two decades, it has heavily made use of digital modeling and associated technologies (DMAT) to enhance its commercial capability. Meanwhile, the Building Information Modelling (BIM) has grown at an exponential rate in the built environment sector. It is not only a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility, but it has also made an impact on the management processes of building project lifecycle. It is apparent that there are many similarities between BIM and DMAT usability in the aspect of physical modeling and functionality. The aim of this study is to streamline the usage of both DMAT and BIM whilst discovering valuable practices for performance improvement in the oil and gas projects. To achieve this, 28 BIM guidelines, 83 DMAT academic publications and 101 DMAT vendor case studies were selected for review. The findings uncover (a) 38 BIM uses; (b) 32 DMAT uses and; (c) 36 both DMAT and BIM uses. The synergy between DMAT and BIM uses would render insightful references into managing efficient oil and gas’s projects. It also helps project stakeholders to recognise future investment or potential development areas of BIM and DMAT uses in their projects