Barriers to the incorporation of BIM into quantity surveying undergraduate curriculum in the Nigerian universities

Purpose – In developing countries, adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) concept within the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) curricula in universities is a relatively new effort and subsequently, studies on the status of BIM implementation in universities are rare. This study, therefore, becomes imperative with a view to identifying and examining the barriers to the incorporation of BIM into quantity surveying (QS) undergraduate curriculum in the Nigerian Universities. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted a questionnaire survey, which was targeted at the academia and students from two selected universities offering QS honours degree programme. Data collected were analyzed using mean score, Mann-Whitney test and factor analysis. Findings – The study identified 30 barriers and the analysis of the ranking revealed that 17 (out of 30) identified barriers were considered as the most serious barriers. The study, through factor analysis, grouped the 30 identified barriers into six major factors. Practical implication – The findings provide greater insights and empirical evidence on the major barriers to implementation of BIM education in developing countries. Originality/value – The identified barriers are relevant not only to QS education but also to other related disciplines within the AEC context. These findings would be of great value to academic staff and university management board to develop strategies for incorporating BIM into AEC disciplines curricula in developing countries at large. Keywords: BIM, barriers, curriculum, higher education, developing countrie

Quantity surveying education and the benchmarking of future needs

The education and development needs of architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) students has received a great deal of attention in recent years. The dynamic nature of the construction industry coupled with the ever-changing needs of clients has put sustained pressure on the AEC curricula of higher education institutions (HEIs). This is exacerbated by the complexities of modern-day buildings/infrastructures and project teams. The education and development needs of AEC professionals have never been more important. As a vocational subject, the quantity surveying (QS) undergraduate courses delivered in HEIs are designed to prepare students for the world of practice and to deal with emerging challenges (or at least with those intentions). The extent to which graduates from these programmes fulfil this expectation is open to debate and interpretation and continues to generate considerable interest and investigation. The thesis draws upon the wide-ranging perspectives in the field and beyond as the publications were explored from a wider theoretical background and the findings compared with several other important studies.The main finding associated with vocational QS education is that there is general dissatisfaction with graduate attainments due to a tripartite pull on their training needs. As with APC requirements, defining the levels of attainment of each RICS competency and the extent of training required to cope with the critical challenges and emerging roles in a dynamic industry should inform the development of an adaptable curriculum.The principal conclusion relating to education for sustainability is that a lack of definition and common agreement on what sustainable development entails is causing different interpretations by HEIs and hindering the development of a structured QS curriculum. A minimum standard which aligns the views of major stakeholders should produce graduates with the required level of knowledge and skills in sustainability.Regarding BIM education, the critical barriers include the trio of high cost, human factors and inconsistent standards. Despite multi-disciplinary learning, knowledge gaps were found in the collaborative behaviours of QS students. This thesis, thus, concludes that still more needs to be done to move away from the speciality and insularity of the typical BE discipline to the more pluralist and collaborative multi-disciplinary curricula of the future

An investigation into BIM based detailed cost estimating and drivers to the adoption of BIM in quantity surveying practices

Purpose Although studies have shown the relevance of BIM (Building Information Modeling) in cost estimating process, efforts at investigating BIM based detailed cost estimating among professional quantity surveyors through quantitative approach are scanty. The purpose of this study is to identify and examine the usage of BIM based detailed cost estimating software; and assesses the drivers to BIM adoption within the Nigerian quantity surveying consulting firms. Design/methodology/approach A comprehensive literature review, pilot study, and questionnaire survey were adopted. The survey targeted both the BIM users and non- BIM users’ quantity surveying consulting firms in Lagos, Nigeria. The data collected were analysed using frequency, percentage, mean score, standard deviation, Mann-Whitney test, and factor analysis. Findings The study found that 46.58% of quantity surveying consulting firms are aware of BIM and have adopted it for detailed cost estimating, while 49.32% of quantity surveying consulting firms are aware but have not adopted BIM based detailed cost estimating, and 4.10% of quantity surveying consulting firms are not aware at all. Also, the study identified various BIM based detailed cost estimating software used in quantity surveying practices and found that Microsoft excel is often used alongside 3D software; Autodesk QTO, Navisworks, Innovaya composer, and CostX respectively are prevalent BIM software used for detailed cost estimating. In addition, the study identified 21 drivers to the adoption of BIM in quantity surveying practices. The result of factor analysis grouped the 21 identified drivers into five principal factors: improved whole life cycle/design quality; enhanced decision and visualization; cost and time saving; marketing and support for quantity surveyor tasks; and government and client pressure. Practical implication This study provides significant insight into the application of BIM to quantity surveying consulting practices, thereby enables consultant quantity surveyors to make informed decisions to select BIM cost estimating software to suit their practices. Further, the study findings can be useful for individuals, clients’ and contractors’ quantity surveyors to be fully aware of the opportunities BIM could bring in relation to their service delivery. Originality/value Accurate cost estimating, effective cost monitoring and control are essential elements to a construction project success. This study further emphasized the importance of BIM to quantity surveying practices, particularly in the area of the detailed cost estimating

Comparative analysis of drivers to BIM adoption among AEC firms in developing countries : a case of Nigeria

Purpose – Building information modelling (BIM) adoption is vital to productivity and competitive nature of the construction sector. However, BIM adoptions have not been generally embraced by many Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) firms, particularly in developing countries; and studies that investigate the important drivers to BIM adoptions among construction professionals through quantitative approach are limited. The study purpose is to address the aforementioned gap. Design/methodology/approach – The study used a literature review, a pilot study and a questionnaire survey. The primary data were carried out using structured questionnaire distributed to the four different, selected BIM adopters’ AEC firms. These comprised architectural firms, facility management firms, quantity surveying firms and structural engineering firms in Lagos, Nigeria. Data obtained were analyzed using mean score, standard deviation, Kruskal-Wallis test, and factor analysis. Findings – The study identified 23 drivers to BIM adoption and the relative importance of the identified drivers was gauged from each selected BIM adopters’ AEC firm category. The result of the Kruskal-Wallis test showed that there is no statistically significant difference in the perceptions of the four selected AEC firms in the mean ranking of the identified 23 drivers to BIM adoption. The findings from factor analysis categorized the identified drivers into two major factors to include: cost and time savings, and improved communication; and BIM awareness and government supports. Practical implications – The study empirically identified important drivers to BIM adoption which will be useful for construction stakeholders to formulate strategies to adopt the full implementation of BIM in the Nigerian AEC firms and other developing countries. Also, this study is very important as it identified, analyzed, and compared the drivers to BIM adoptions from four different AEC firms; thereby providing robust and more reliable findings. Originality/value – The study findings would inform the decisions of policymakers and construction stakeholders to make some policy recommendations capable of positively influencing the widespread adoption of BIM in AEC firms and construction industry at large. This study is important because the studies that comparatively and empirically analysed BIM drivers in AEC firms are rare, particularly in developing countries. Hence, this study could be used to benchmark future studies in developing countries

An investigation into BIM uptake among contracting firms : an empirical study in Nigeria

Purpose – Building Information Modeling (BIM) is vital in the performance improvement of contracting firms. Thus, there is a need to stimulate its implementation in the construction sector with a view to meeting the competitive demands of the industry. However, there have been very few studies on BIM implementation among contracting firms in Nigeria. Hence, this study examines the current BIM uptake among Nigerian contracting firms, assesses the barriers to BIM implementation, and examines ways of improving BIM implementation within these contracting firms. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was conducted on contracting firms (comprising small, medium and large sized firms) in Lagos, Nigeria. The obtained data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. These included percentage, mean score, standard deviation, the Kruskal-Wallis test and factor analysis. Findings – The study revealed the current state of BIM implementation among contracting firms in Nigeria in terms of their knowledge of BIM, their usage of BIM as well as the BIM software adopted. Furthermore, the study identified 25 barriers to BIM implementation in contracting firms and identified 15 ways to improve BIM implementation in contracting firms. The relative importance of both the identified barriers and the ways for improving BIM implementation was gauged among contracting firms comprising small, medium and large sized firms. The result of the Kruskal-Wallis test revealed that, except for two (out of 25) identified barriers, and one (out of 15) identified ways of improving BIM implementation in contracting firms, there is no significant statistical difference in the perceptions of the three respondents’ groups. The result of the factor analysis categorized the identified 25 barriers into seven main factors. Practical implications – The study provides empirical evidence on the barriers to BIM implementation and the ways of improving its implementation among contracting firms; thereby providing a better insight of the Nigerian construction industry’s BIM environment. Originality/value – The study’s findings can positively inform the decisions of construction stakeholders to formulate strategies capable of improving BIM implementation in the construction industry at large

Global, regional, and national incidence of six major immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: findings from the global burden of disease study 2019

Background The causes for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are diverse and the incidence trends of IMIDs from specific causes are rarely studied. The study aims to investigate the pattern and trend of IMIDs from 1990 to 2019. Methods We collected detailed information on six major causes of IMIDs, including asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis, between 1990 and 2019, derived from the Global Burden of Disease study in 2019. The average annual percent change (AAPC) in number of incidents and age standardized incidence rate (ASR) on IMIDs, by sex, age, region, and causes, were calculated to quantify the temporal trends. Findings In 2019, rheumatoid arthritis, atopic dermatitis, asthma, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease accounted 1.59%, 36.17%, 54.71%, 0.09%, 6.84%, 0.60% of overall new IMIDs cases, respectively. The ASR of IMIDs showed substantial regional and global variation with the highest in High SDI region, High-income North America, and United States of America. Throughout human lifespan, the age distribution of incident cases from six IMIDs was quite different. Globally, incident cases of IMIDs increased with an AAPC of 0.68 and the ASR decreased with an AAPC of −0.34 from 1990 to 2019. The incident cases increased across six IMIDs, the ASR of rheumatoid arthritis increased (0.21, 95% CI 0.18, 0.25), while the ASR of asthma (AAPC = −0.41), inflammatory bowel disease (AAPC = −0.72), multiple sclerosis (AAPC = −0.26), psoriasis (AAPC = −0.77), and atopic dermatitis (AAPC = −0.15) decreased. The ASR of overall and six individual IMID increased with SDI at regional and global level. Countries with higher ASR in 1990 experienced a more rapid decrease in ASR. Interpretation The incidence patterns of IMIDs varied considerably across the world. Innovative prevention and integrative management strategy are urgently needed to mitigate the increasing ASR of rheumatoid arthritis and upsurging new cases of other five IMIDs, respectively. Funding The Global Burden of Disease Study is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The project funded by Scientific Research Fund of Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital (2022QN38)