Building Sustainable Construction through the Adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM)

Abstract

The Indian construction industry plays a critical role in its socio-economic development and it will be a leading sector for the vision \"Viksit Bharat @2047\". However, this industry face several challenges such as cost overruns, time delays, material wastage, and poor inter-disciplinary coordination. These shortfalls leads to revision of the estimate, fine on Government Contractors, requirement of new administrative approval from the Government and ultimately all the stakeholders associated with the project suffers in many ways. The vision of \"Viksit Bharat cannot be obtained without digitization of construction sector which contributes to around 8.29 % of annual GDP. For India to attain its vision it needs that all the state of India grows with the same pace. These Construction issues are often intensified in small-scale projects, especially in regions with limited digital infrastructure and technical capacity like Bihar (specifically Patna). For these construction issues, Building Information Modeling (BIM) has helped construction sector by digitization of construction workflows. Despite the advantages, BIM adoption in India, particularly in small-scale and government projects, remains limited due to several barriers including financial constraints, lack of awareness, insufficient technical capacity, and absence of standardized data environments. This paper set out to explore the transformative potential of BIM in addressing long-standing inefficiencies within the construction industry, particularly in the context of small-scale projects in Bihar’s Patna region. Through an extensive literature review, technical simulations, and case-based observations, the study aimed to identify the role of BIM across various project lifecycle stages and its effectiveness in optimizing material, time, cost, and human resources. Parallelly, the research investigated the key barriers impeding BIM adoption in the regional context, focusing on awareness, organizational, market and client availability, technical, financial, policy-related challenges and maturity of BIM utilization. To support collaborative digital workflows, the study also proposed a conceptual context-specific Common Data Environment (CDE) framework aligned with CPWD BIM Guidelines 2024. This study consolidates the insights gained, evaluates the broader implications, and provides recommendations for future practice and research.

Introduction

The construction sector is vital to Bihar’s development, contributing 18.6% to employment and 9.4% to GDP, yet remains minimally digitalized. Despite rapid urbanization and major infrastructure projects in Bihar, sustainable lifecycle management remains a challenge. While the Bihar government has implemented some technologies, large and small projects largely rely on traditional construction methods. Although consultants use BIM for major projects, BIM adoption is limited overall. The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has introduced mandatory BIM guidelines for large projects starting 2025, but Bihar has yet to implement similar policies.

This study investigates the barriers to BIM adoption in Bihar, particularly for small-scale projects, using a mixed-method approach combining surveys, BIM model evaluation, and a proposed Common Data Environment (CDE) framework tailored for Bihar’s context.

Key Objectives:

1. Assess BIM’s role in optimizing resources across project lifecycle stages.

2. Identify barriers to BIM adoption, especially for small projects.

3. Propose a CDE framework suited to Bihar’s small-scale construction projects.

Literature Review Insights:

• BIM improves planning, design, collaboration, and resource management but faces challenges such as lack of skilled workforce, high costs, resistance to change, and limited government policies.

• Most studies focus on large projects; there is a research gap regarding BIM adoption in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which face unique constraints.

• Barriers like cost, complexity, and expertise deficits hinder BIM adoption and may cause project delays.

• Developing CDE systems for smaller projects is particularly challenging.

• Empirical data quantifying BIM’s impact on reducing delays remains limited despite positive anecdotal evidence.

Research Methodology:
The study includes literature reviews, case comparisons between BIM and traditional methods, surveys of small-scale construction projects in Bihar, and development of actionable insights leading to a conceptual CDE framework aligned with CPWD guidelines.

Proposed Work:
BIM integrates multidisciplinary data throughout project stages:

• Design & Planning: 3D modeling, clash detection, and material estimation.

• Construction: 4D scheduling and 5D cost management improve coordination.

• Operations & Maintenance: Digital twins enable asset tracking and lifecycle cost analysis.

• Cross-Phase Integration: BIM as a CDE reduces information loss and enhances collaboration across phases.

The study emphasizes BIM’s potential to enhance construction efficiency and lifecycle management in Bihar, especially by supporting smaller projects through appropriate frameworks and addressing existing barriers.

Conclusion

The conclusions drawn from an extensive literature review, technical simulations, case-based observations, and exploratory Survey are listed below. 1) The present research reveals that the Bihar AEC sector has not entirely adopted digital technology such as BIM, and contributes to comprehend the current state of BIM advancement in Bihar. 2) While direct case studies from Bihar are limited, the documented successes of BIM in various Indian infrastructure projects suggest that adopting BIM methodologies can lead to substantial improvements in efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and overall project quality. 3) The survey results indicate a moderate overall BIM awareness rate of 66.1%. While high awareness is observed among academicians, architects, and senior professionals, the key operational roles—engineers and construction managers—show only 50% awareness. This discrepancy poses a significant challenge to the widespread adoption of BIM, particularly in small-scale projects where these roles dominate. Additionally, the complete lack of awareness among the student respondent suggests a need for stronger BIM integration in engineering education. These findings highlight the importance of targeted awareness and training programs to bridge the practical knowledge gap and support BIM adoption at the ground level.\" 4) \"The survey reveals that while 66.1% of respondents are aware of BIM, only 28.6% actually use it. Engineers lead in both awareness (50%) and usage (33.3%), making them key stakeholders in BIM implementation. Despite high awareness among architects (91.7%) and academicians (100%), practical usage remains low, especially in academic and design environments. This highlights a critical gap between knowledge and practice. Specialist roles like design managers and researchers show full engagement with BIM, suggesting that when BIM is integrated into specific responsibilities, its adoption is high. To bridge the awareness–usage gap, targeted training and project-level adoption incentives are essential.\" 5) \"The survey indicates a clear relationship between project size and BIM awareness and usage. While awareness increases steadily from small to mega-scale projects, actual usage of BIM tools is significantly higher in large and complex projects. Over 54% of respondents from mega-scale projects use BIM, compared to just 17% from small or mid-sized projects. These findings suggest that project complexity, scale, and resource availability are key drivers of BIM adoption, and small-scale projects may require targeted support and simplified tools to bridge the adoption gap.\" 6) \"Survey results show that the most significant barriers to BIM adoption in Bihar are related to awareness and training (87.5%), followed by financial constraints (76.8%) and market/client-related factors (64.3%). These findings suggest that while the technological framework for BIM adoption is emerging, there is a critical need for capacity-building programs, financial incentives, and regulatory guidance to create an ecosystem supportive of digital construction practices.\" 7) \"Correlation analysis reveals that financial barriers (r = 0.4373) show the strongest relationship with limited BIM adoption in Bihar\'s construction projects. Moderate correlations also exist for legal/regulatory, organizational, and awareness factors. Interestingly, BIM maturity and market demand have lower correlations, suggesting they are more likely consequences of the core barriers rather than root causes. This reinforces the need to address foundational issues such as cost, policy support, and training to enable widespread BIM integration.\" 8) \"Cronbach’s Alpha was computed to assess the reliability of the seven variables representing BIM adoption barriers (X1 to X7). The value obtained was 0.864, which falls within the range considered \'good\' according to Guilford’s interpretation scale. This confirms that the items are internally consistent and effectively capture the dimensions of BIM-related challenges in the construction industry in Bihar.\" 9) Based on International National BIM guidelines a workflow structure for Bihar Projects can be suggested. Institutionalize BIM-based CDE for all Engineering Departments projects above ?5 Cr. Mandate CDE folder structures and naming conventions across tenders. Train Engineers and outsourced consultants in CDE workflows using NIC or BIM 360. These targeted steps can be taken in phased manner to implement BIM concept in state government of Bihar

References

[1] Bihar Economic Survey 2023-2024, “Directorate of Economics and Statistics” Government of Bihar. [2] CPWD. (2024). CPWD Publication No. 14.39: Introduction of BIM in CPWD. Central Public Works Department. Available: https://cpwd.gov.in [3] Patel and Patel (2015),[3]“Investigating the Adoption and Implementation of Building Information Modeling (BIM) within the Indian Construction Industry”. [4] Soni and Khurana (2019), “Examine the Application and Challenges of Building Information Modeling(BIM)in the Indian Construction Industry” . [5] Rao et al. (2018), \"Barriers to the Adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the Indian Construction Industry\" [6] Bansal and Gupta (2017),[6] \"Use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for Time and Cost Management in Indian Construction Projects\" [7] Wang et al. (2014),[7] \"Role of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in Large-Scale Construction Projects\" [8] Rezende et al. (2016),[8] \"Integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM) with Cost Estimation and Resource Management Tools\" [9] Smith (2014),[9] “Role of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in Improving Design Coordination within the Construction Industry” [10] Azhar, S. (2011). “Building Information Modeling (BIM): Trends, Benefits, Risks, and Challenges for the AEC Industry. Leadership and Management in Engineering, 11(3), 241–252”. [11] Bryde, D., Broquetas, M., & Volm, J. M. (2013). “The project benefits of Building Information Modelling (BIM). International Journal of Project Management, 31(7), 971–980”. [12] Succar, B. (2009). “Building information modelling framework: A research and delivery foundation for industry stakeholders. Automation in Construction, 18(3), 357–375”. [13] Umar, T. (2021). “Challenges of BIM implementation in GCC construction industry. Engineering Construction and Architectural Management. http://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-11-2019-0608. [14] MP Lourenço, A Arantes, AA Costa (2025). “Barriers to Building Information Modeling (BIM) Implementation in Late-Adopting EU Countries: The Case of Portugal.” [15] Criminale, A., and Langar, S. (2017). “Challenges with BIM implementation: a review of literature.” In Proceedings of 53rd Associated School of Construction International Conference, Seattle, WA, April (pp. 5-8). [16] Nugrahini, F. C., Permana, T. A. (2020.) “Building information modeling (BIM) dalam tahapan desain dan konstruksi di Indonesia, peluang dan tantangan: studi kasus perluasan T1 bandara Juanda Surabaya. AGREGAT5:459–467”. https://doi.org/10.30651/ag. v5i2.6588 (in Indonesian). [17] Pratama, A., and Marzuki, P. F. (2023). “Kajian implementasi bim (building information modeling) di indonesia berdasarkan perspektif pelaksana konstruksi (studi kasus: proyek kontraktor BUMN). Jurnal Teknik Sipil. Vol 30. No.2 “. ITB Bandung [18] Saunders et al., (2012), “Qualitative Organizational Research : Core Methods and Current Challenges”. [19] Guttman, L. (1944). “A Basis for Scaling Qualitative Data .Source: American Sociological Review, Vol. 9, No. 2 pp. 139-150. (Apr., 1944)Harpe, S. E. (2015). How to analyze Likert and other rating scale data. Curr Pharm Teach Learn 7:836 850”. https://doi.org/10. 1016/j.cptl.2015.08.001 [20] Johnson, R. A., and Bhattacharyya, G. K. (1992). “Statistics Principles and Method. Second Edition John Wiley & Sons Inc”. [21] Press Information Bureau (2024). \"PM Modi Inaugurates New Campus Facilities at IIT Patna.\" February 2024. [22] Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. (2022). “National BIM Guidelines for Public Infrastructure”. [23] Assaf, S. A., & Al-Hejji, S. (2006). “Causes of delay in large construction projects”. IJPM. [24] Ballard, G., & Howell, G. (2003). “Lean construction. Lean Construction Institute”. [25] CII. (2018). “Best practices for material waste reduction”. [26] Koskela, L. (1992). “Application of lean production to construction”. IGLC. [27] Yin Rui ISSN: 2278-3075, Volume-8, Issue-6C2, (April 2019) “Review of Building Information Modeling (BIM) Application in Construction Industry”. [28] Tianqi Yang and Lihui Liao “Research on Building Information Model (BIM) Technology”. [29] Zhang, C. , Zayed, T. , Hijazi, W. and Alkass, S. (2016) “Quantitative Assessment of Building Constructability Using BIM and 4D Simulation”. Open Journal of Civil Engineering [30] Enock Musabyimana, Abedenego O. Gwaya, Titus Kivaa, (2019) “Adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM) on Construction Projects in Rwanda” [31] Josefine Ernestine Latupeirissa1, Hermin Arrang2, Irwan Lie Keng Wong3(2024), “Challenges of Implementing Building Information Modeling in Indonesia Construction Projects”

Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Er. Akash Kumar, Dr. Hemant Sood, Er. Manas Chatterjee. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.