Application of Building Information Modelling (BIM) for Project Management by Building Construction Practitioners in Akwa Ibom State

Abstract

This study investigated application of Building Information Modelling (BIM) for project management by building construction practitioners in Akwa Ibom State. In line with the specific purposes of the study, eight research questions and eight hypotheses guided the study. The study employed a descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was 401 building construction practitioners in Akwa Ibom State with a sample size of 114, drawn using cluster and simple random sampling techniques. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled ‘Application of Building Information Modelling for Project Management Questionnaire (ABIMPMQ)’ which contained a total of 76 items built in eight clusters to address the research questions. The instrument was validated by three experts, two in the Department of Industrial Technology Education (Building technology option) and one in the Department of Measurement and Evaluation, all from the University of Uyo, Uyo. The reliability of the instrument was determined by trial testing the instrument on twenty (20) practitioners in the building industry in Akwa Ibom State who were not part of the Study. The Cronbach Alpha procedure was used to compute the estimate of internal consistency of the instrument and yielded the reliability coefficient of 0.85. Some questionnaires administered were retrieved on the spot while some were retrieved a day after with the help of three research assistants. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The Mean and Standard Deviation were used to answer the research questions, while one sample t – test was used in testing the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that the extent of application of BIM in designing, scheduling, quantity take – off, visualisation, clash detection, and constructability analysis of building construction projects by building construction practitioners in Akwa Ibom State is low and not significant but only high and significant in risk control and facility management. Based on the findings, the study concludes that the extent of BIM application in building construction among practitioners in Akwa Ibom State is low. The researcher therefore recommends among others that the state government should formulate and enact acceptable policies that will encourage compulsory use of BIM among building professionals