Role of BIM and 3D Laser Scanning on Job sites from the Perspective of Construction Project Management Personnel

One important need in the construction industry is to visualize the project during its life cycle phases, enabling stakeholders to change/adjust the project before spending more money for unwanted details. Building information modelling (BIM) and 3D laser scanning are two examples of rapidly evolving technologies that can help achieve this purpose. Researchers are conducting an ongoing study to: (1) determine the general knowledge state for these technologies among construction project management personnel; (2) determine the benefits and shortcomings of these technologies; (3) explore barriers to and enablers of these technologies and compare the barriers and enablers with those found in earlier studies; and (4) identify awareness and demand statuses of using these technologies. The study utilizes a survey questionnaire distributed among project management personnel. The research results show that there is generally a high level of knowledge about BIM among construction management personnel; however, this is not the case with 3D laser scanning. BIM and 3D laser scanning help in resolving issues on construction jobsites and there is increased demand for using BIM in the industry; however, amongst the owners surveyed, there is not as much demand for using 3D laser scanning. A lack of experts and high cost are the most cited reasons for not using these technologies on a wide range of projects. The findings contribute to the knowledge in this research area by providing additional information about the current practice related to BIM and 3D laser scanning technologies along with evidence of the current barriers to further diffusion of the technologies throughout the industry.