Exploring the status, benefits, barriers and opportunities of using BIM for advancing prefabrication practice

TLDR

BIM has reshaped construction, yet its tools and frameworks for prefabricated buildings remain scarce. The study seeks to identify the opportunities and barriers to integrating BIM within the Australian prefabrication industry. Using a mixed‑methods approach, the authors reviewed literature and surveyed 30 industry professionals, uncovering discipline‑specific, fabrication‑specific, and communication‑specific challenges. Survey results show that BIM can reduce design errors, align designer‑manufacturer models, enable mass customization, and that seamless, timely information exchange is the key success factor for adopting BIM in Australian prefabricated housing, providing practical insights and advancing knowledge on productivity gains.

Abstract

Building information modelling (BIM) has significantly influenced the construction industry. However, the existing BIM tools and frameworks within prefabricated buildings are minimal. This research study aims to identify the opportunities and barriers of integrating BIM in the Australian prefabrication industry. The research was carried out using a mixed method of literature review and questionnaire survey with 30 indudstry professionals. The literature review identified the key challenges associated with prefabricated buildings including construction discipline-specific, fabrication-specific issues and communication-specific issues. The survey results proved that the most significant BIM opportunities are minimizing design errors and discrepancy of final product model between designers and manufacturers and increasing mass customization. The study revealed that seamless and timely information exchange among key project stakeholders via a BIM system was identified as the most critical success factor to adopt BIM in the prefabrication industry. This research provides practical insights into how to utilize BIM effectively for prefabrication in the housing sector. The survey results document the opportunities and barriers to BIM integration and provide professional insights on how BIM can benefit the prefabrication. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on enhancing the productivity/practice of prefabrication through BIM integration within the Australian housing context.