An Investigation of Contractual Requirements for BIM Adoption in the Brazilian Public Sector

Abstract

Previous research has shown that Building Information Modeling (BIM) can reduce errors, rework, time and cost in project design and construction. Besides, it provides greater value delivered at the maintenance and operation stage, reducing owner-operating expenses. To maximize BIM use benefits, owners, such as the public sector, can directly affect the enterprise viability by selecting the project delivery system. That has led to the search for alternatives contractual requirements to traditional models. The main objective of this study is to investigate contractual requirements that influence BIM adoption process in public organizations. The research strategy adopted was a survey. Sixty-nine professionals from Brazilian Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operation (AECO) sector answered a digital questionnaire. The target public was BIM adoption experts, academic professionals and public managers from fourteen public organizations that have already begun BIM implementation. The investigation revealed that project delivery systems considered with the greatest potential to maximize the benefits of BIM use were those less adopted and disseminated in the Brazilian public sector. The results also show that contractual requirements for BIM adoption might consider aspects, such as, technical qualification in public procurement, methods and tools for BIM deliverables quality checking, items that must compose a BIM mandate, and favorable cost-benefit factors for the development of BIM component virtual libraries by public organizations. The main contribution of this research is to provide a better understanding of contractual requirements that could be incorporated into project delivery systems to maximize BIM benefits in the public sector.