Hybrid Model for BIM Application Maturity in Prefabricated Buildings: A Case Study in Xi’an, China

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has recently gained popularity in the public building industry, and BIM is widely implemented in the construction industry in many developed countries around the world. In this paper, in order to evaluate the application level of BIM technology in assembly buildings in China, five maturity levels of BIM application in assembly buildings are established based on the commonly used maturity model, including the initial level, the starting level, the management level, the integration level, and the continuous optimization level. In order to construct a maturity evaluation index system for BIM application in prefabricated buildings, the literature review method was chosen to identify the indexes initially, the indexes were optimized by combining the questionnaire survey method, and using the balanced scorecard model, the maturity evaluation index system for BlM application in prefabricated buildings consisting of one target level, five guidance levels, thirteen graded element levels and thirty-one secondary index levels were identified. Based on this framework, the study establishes a maturity assessment model for BIM application in prefabricated buildings through three methodological integrations. First, the hierarchical analysis method Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was employed to assign weights to indexes within the evaluation system. Subsequently, the Entropy Weight Method (EWM) was utilized to systematically construct the index system. This quantitative foundation was then combined with fuzzy comprehensive evaluation principles to develop the integrated assessment model. The practical application of this model was demonstrated through a case study of a prefabricated building project in China. The assessment results revealed that the project’s BIM application maturity level falls within the transitional phase “between the management level and integrated level”, indicating progressive but not yet fully optimized implementation. The result verifies the validity of the assessment model and proposes corresponding optimization suggestions based on the assessment results.