A review of BIM capabilities for quantity surveying practice

It has been 20 years since the formation of buildingSMART International (then the International Alliance for Interoperability) and the commencement of the development of the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). Initial uptake of the Building Information Modelling (BIM) concept and the IFCs was very slow, but it is now moving into the mainstream in developed countries. BIM is not as advanced in some countries such as Malaysia that are moving rapidly towards developed status. This paper will review the use of BIM by Quantity Surveyors in both countries that follow the “English” tradition and those, such as the US, which have developed other approaches. It will examine the capabilities of some of the BIM-based cost estimating software as the basis for understanding the use of BIM by Quantity Surveyors. This will include Quantity Surveyors who are using BIM to provide a traditional estimating service, as well as those firms that are applying the new technology to changing roles in cost estimating and cost planning. This will provide the basis for suggestions as to how Malaysian QS firms can exploit this technology