Enabling Building Information Modeling (BIM) Practices in the Canadian Construction Industry: A case for an academic program

Andre Lucena; Don Mah; Faisal Arain

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Conference: 2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Seattle, Washington
Publication Date: June 14, 2015
Start Date: June 14, 2015
End Date: June 17, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-692-50180-1
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Building Information Modeling (BIM) in Construction Education
Tagged Division: Construction
Page Count: 12
Page Numbers: 26.596.1 - 26.596.12
DOI: 10.18260/p.23934
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/23934
Download Count: 876

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Paper Authors

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Andre Lucena MA NAIT

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Andre Lucena is the Associate Chair and faculty of the Architectural Technology program at NAIT, in Edmonton, Canada. Holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Universidade Federal do Ceara, Brazil, a Master of Arts in Communications and Technology from the University of Alberta and is currently a doctoral student at the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary.

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Don Mah P.Eng. Northern Alberta Institute of Technology

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Dr. Don E. Mah earned his PhD in Construction Engineering and Management through the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta. He has been employed at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology for over twenty years as an Instructor in Civil Engineering Technology and currently as Chair – Construction Programs (Bachelor of Technology in Construction Management & Construction Engineering Technology). His research interests lie in the area of curriculum and academic program development, construction management, construction material waste minimization, sustainable residential construction, greenhouse gas reduction, green building rating programs and process evaluation. Don possesses diverse work experience in the design, construction and project management of various types of buildings (residential, commercial) and infrastructure projects.

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Faisal Arain Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)

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Dr. Faisal Arain is currently working as Associate Dean, School of Sustainable Building and Environmental Management with Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), Edmonton, Canada. Dr. Arain is an Architect with an MS and Ph.D. in Construction Project Management. He has extensive experience of working at management and leadership positions in construction industry and academia in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Canada. Dr. Arain has worked as Chair, Construction Project Management with Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), Calgary, Canada. He is also involved with construction industry as a construction project management consultant (AR Management Global Inc. Canada/ UK).
Dr. Arain has consulted, researched and published widely in the discipline of Construction Engineering and Management, Project Management, Architecture and Design Management. He has authored over 90 research publications, 2 book chapters, and 7 books. He serves on editorial boards of several international research journals. He is the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Construction Project Management published by Nova Science Publishers Inc., USA. He is one of the panel judges for professional awards conferred by PMI, USA, and also an expert member of the World Association for Sustainable Development, UK.

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Abstract

Enabling Building Information Modeling (BIM) Practices in the Canadian Construction Industry: A case for an academic programIn today’s construction industry, we are seeing a growing number of complex and high qualityconstruction projects all around the world using the BIM process. In order to get the most benefitout of BIM, there is a dire need for standards and efficient educational programs and courses totrain skilled professionals to support the implementation of BIM in the construction industry.Based on a preliminary environmental scan, there is a huge gap between industry BIM needs andavailable training/educational programs to facilitate effective implementation of BIM.Construction education needs to fill the gaps in BIM training for industry to remain current,responsive and relevant. Although an increasing number of educational institutions offeringarchitecture, engineering and construction programs have initiated to offer BIM related courses,there is no comprehensive curriculum developed by local academia to address the BIM relatedtraining needs of the construction industry in Alberta. Several researches and case studiesadvocate that industry stakeholders can use BIM technologies to save time and cost, whileimproving building quality. Integrating BIM collaboratively among stakeholders will also boostcompetitiveness and productivity in the building industry.BIM enables team collaboration, assisting project managers to more reliably communicateproject’s intent to all stakeholders in a timely fashion. It is therefore important for industry andacademic institutions to work collaboratively in order to understand the level and skillsetrequired for effective implementation of BIM practices in the industry.The paper aims to review the current state of BIM training programs; consult and solicitfeedback with various stakeholders with respect to training; and recommend appropriate trainingprograms that provides industry professionals with the fundamental skills and knowledge ofprinciples, terminologies, tools, and techniques related to BIM practices. The research utilizes aqualitative methodology to capture stakeholder’s experiences and understanding differentperspectives on BIM practices in the industry. The study suggests that a BIM certificate will helptraining our professionals better to address the needs of BIM practices in the constructionindustry. There is a dire need for a certificate program that provides the required skillset toproduce career ready professionals for enabling BIM practices in the construction industry. Thestudy findings would be of interest to BIM experts, construction professionals, and facultyinvolved with BIM education.

Citation
Format

Lucena, A., & Mah, D., & Arain, F. (2015, June), Enabling Building Information Modeling (BIM) Practices in the Canadian Construction Industry: A case for an academic program Paper presented at 2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/p.23934

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -          Enabling Building Information Modeling (BIM) Practices in the           Canadian Construction Industry: A case for an academic                                  programIn today’s construction industry, we are seeing a growing number of complex and high qualityconstruction projects all around the world using the BIM process. In order to get the most benefitout of BIM, there is a dire need for standards and efficient educational programs and courses totrain skilled professionals to support the implementation of BIM in the construction industry.Based on a preliminary environmental scan, there is a huge gap between industry BIM needs andavailable training/educational programs to facilitate effective implementation of BIM.Construction education needs to fill the gaps in BIM training for industry to remain current,responsive and relevant. Although an increasing number of educational institutions offeringarchitecture, engineering and construction programs have initiated to offer BIM related courses,there is no comprehensive curriculum developed by local academia to address the BIM relatedtraining needs of the construction industry in Alberta. Several researches and case studiesadvocate that industry stakeholders can use BIM technologies to save time and cost, whileimproving building quality. Integrating BIM collaboratively among stakeholders will also boostcompetitiveness and productivity in the building industry.BIM enables team collaboration, assisting project managers to more reliably communicateproject’s intent to all stakeholders in a timely fashion. It is therefore important for industry andacademic institutions to work collaboratively in order to understand the level and skillsetrequired for effective implementation of BIM practices in the industry.The paper aims to review the current state of BIM training programs; consult and solicitfeedback with various stakeholders with respect to training; and recommend appropriate trainingprograms that provides industry professionals with the fundamental skills and knowledge ofprinciples, terminologies, tools, and techniques related to BIM practices. The research utilizes aqualitative methodology to capture stakeholder’s experiences and understanding differentperspectives on BIM practices in the industry. The study suggests that a BIM certificate will helptraining our professionals better to address the needs of BIM practices in the constructionindustry. There is a dire need for a certificate program that provides the required skillset toproduce career ready professionals for enabling BIM practices in the construction industry. Thestudy findings would be of interest to BIM experts, construction professionals, and facultyinvolved with BIM education.
AU  - Andre Lucena MA
AU  - Don Mah P.Eng.
AU  - Faisal Arain
CY  - Seattle, Washington
DA  - 2015/06/14
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Enabling Building Information Modeling (BIM) Practices in the Canadian Construction Industry: A case for an academic program
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/23934
DO  - 10.18260/p.23934
ER  -