Building information modelling technological innovations in industrialised building systems cost estimation

Abstract

The paradigm shift in construction cost estimation is attributed to technological innovations in the spheres of building information modelling (BIM) and industrialised building systems (IBS). Majority of construction projects experience cost overruns which affect project objectives. The outcome of cost overruns invariably leads to disputes and further delays. Similarly, cost estimators resistance to overcoming the inertia to leap from traditional estimation methods to advanced methods further exacerbates the issues of cost estimation. This paper aims at comparing cost estimate between traditional cost estimation and advanced cost estimation. Data was collected via questionnaire from registered quantity surveying companies with the Board of Quantity Surveying Malaysia (BQSM). Subsequently, real time simulation was carried out on a sample IBS project using Autodesk Revit and Navisworks to compare cost estimates. The results revealed that BIM is accurate than bill of quantity (BOQ) as this difference results in a critical factor for large construction projects. The study was limited in terms of cost standard and database in Autodesk Navisworks. Future research can improve on the quantity coding for BIM in Malaysia.