Barriers, Strategies, and Best Practices for BIM Adoption in Quebec Prefabrication Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

Abstract

Prefabricated construction has long faced problems due to the industry’s fragmentation. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has thus appeared as an efficient solution to provide a favorable environment for efficient completion of projects. Despite its benefits, implementing BIM successfully in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which represent the vast majority of manufacturers in Quebec, requires deep risk analysis and rigorous strategies. Hence, this work aims to study BIM implementation barriers, strategies, and best practices in wood prefabrication for SMEs through a literature review, semi-structured interviews, and an online survey. After qualitative content analysis, 30 critical barriers, 7 strategic milestones, and 31 best practices to maximize BIM benefits were revealed. One of the critical barriers concerns the effort required to develop BIM software libraries and programs to translate information from the BIM model to production equipment. Among the best strategies, it is essential to start by analyzing the current business model of the SMEs and to appoint a small BIM committee whose main responsibilities are management, coordination, and modeling. The prevalent best practices were to support the implementation team and encourage communication and collaboration. Previous studies show that BIM is not fully exploited in prefabrication for various reasons. This study highlights the critical barriers, strategies, and best practices for BIM adoption and proposes a framework for BIM implementation in prefabrication SMEs in Quebec, Canada. It also provides a summary of current knowledge and guidelines to promote BIM adoption in this sector.