The business value of BIM for asset owners : a cross case analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate and identify the activity systemsthat drive Building Information Modelling (BIM) business value in Asset Management(AM). The utilisation of BIM has widened in scope, functionality, flexibility andinteroperability to support the AM business process. However, research concerning BIMbusiness value in AM has been inadequate despite its considerable potential andsignificance in the attainment of organisational objectives. The realisation of BIMbusiness value requires a concerted effort by the asset owner to be able to determine andappraise the critical activities that drive business value in AM.Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted a qualitative research approachbased on a multi-case study strategy that aimed to identify the key business processesthat drive BIM business value in AM. The study involved a three-stage research designusing interviews and document analysis to facilitate a cross-case analysis from theperspective of the activity systems and dimensions of BIM governance.Findings – The paper identified six critical activity systems that drive BIM business valuefor an asset owner: BIM strategy, contract management, lifecycle management,maintenance management, work-order management and value realisation management.The study found that the most developed activity system is the BIM strategy, and the leastis value realisation management across all cases. Also, the paper points out that the mostproficient BIM governance dimension is Process, and the least is People across the threecases. The study noted that the ability of an asset owner to realise BIM business value hasmaturity undertones and that the asset owner could derive BIM business value, if the sixactivity systems are effectively executed and continuously improved to an advanced stageof maturity.Originality – An original contribution of the study is the development of theunderstanding of asset owners in relation to the discovery of key activity systems thatdrive BIM business value in AM. Another significant contribution of this paper is thedemonstration of a novel approach to evaluate organisational maturity of asset ownersfrom the perspectives of the activity systems and BIM governance dimensions of people,process and technology