Development of the framework for the integration of building information modeling to higher education in Malaysia

Abstract

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a new project delivery process in the construction industry that has a growing need for competent workforce and its production. The literature confirms that, only a small fraction of stakeholders in the construction industry in Malaysia are aware of BIM, and are willing to adopt its culture, despite its relevance and benefits. This is due to non-availability of adequate BIM competent workforce for employment in the industry. In order to have a constant supply of adequate BIM workforce for the construction industry, knowledge and skills on BIM must be integrated into higher education academic programs. Hence, the study developed a framework to facilitate BIM knowledge and skills integration into the construction related academic departments in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Malaysia. The methodology adopted was a mixed method approach, where qualitative data was collected through interviews of thirteen practicing professionals, whilst the quantitative data was gathered using online questionnaire survey distributed to four hundred and eighty seven educators of HEIs. Sixty three educators from six public universities and three private universities responded to the online survey. Thematic content analysis was adopted to analyse the qualitative data using MAXQDA-12, while descriptive analysis was used to analyse the quantitative data. Furthermore, the study confirmed the workmanship is a crucial problem besides the lack of BIM knowledge and skills being the most critical ones. The study made use of the summation of findings to develop a BIM Education Integration Framework (BIMEIF) for BIM to be integrated into higher education. This framework consists of four stages that run through three developmental phases and the whole process is iterated. BIMEIF has been validated by thirteen experts in BIM knowledge and skills to ascertain the applicability of the framework. The validation result positively showed that the experts are in agreement that the framework is applicable as a guide for the integration of BIM into higher education academic programs in Malaysia. The framework would enhance the collaboration between academic and industry for BIM competence workforce development. As a conclusion, BIM is a technology as well as a process that facilitates collaboration, share of information, remove rework, and reduction of cost and time overruns. These are expected to stimulate Malaysia’s construction industry towards global standards and best practices.