The Level of Awareness and Forecast of Usage of Building Information Modelling by Ghanaian Construction Firms

Building information modelling is increasingly being used by most of the world’s construction industries, constantly changing design procedures, construction, facility management and maintenance. BIM, a technological transformation in the construction industry, has projected numerous benefits to improve upon all the inefficiencies in the world’s construction industries. Subsequently, it has been adopted by Germany, Finland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong to mention but a few. Unfortunately, the construction industry in Ghana has yet to recognize the full prospects of BIM technology. This paper seeks to find out the level of awareness and forecast the level of usage by construction firms in Ghanaian construction. In effect, survey research was adopted which incorporated the issuing of a closed-ended structured questionnaire. Out of 130 questionnaires distributed, 102 questionnaires were returned in all appropriateness representing 79% of the responses. The respondents comprised architects, quantity surveyors, construction managers, project managers, civil engineers, and structural engineers, among others practising with firms or organizations with good reputations, registered with the necessary statutory authority, and actively involved in construction activities within the Ghanaian construction industry. The field survey was divided into BIM and non-BIM users. 72.5% of the professionals were just aware of BIM, which indicates a relatively high level of awareness. Subsequently, only 23.5% were aware and currently using BIM whilst 27.5% were neither aware nor using BIM. It also showed how most firms are not planning to use BIM as part of their daily work ethics accumulating 52.6% of the construction firms whilst only 47.4% of the firms are planning and preparing to use BIM. Autodesk AutoCAD & Autodesk Revit recorded the highest BIM tool usage with 37.5% and Project Visualization was the most used BIM application with a mean score of 3.958 that is used 80% of the time. The study concluded on a note that government, professional bodies, and construction firms must help propagate the awareness, implementation, and usage of BIM.