Most of the constructors and consultants of the Middle East have little knowledge about BIM. As a result, there is a dearth of adopting this system. They need to understand that implementation of BIM system can bring revolution in the world of construction.

Consultants, contractors and different other stakeholders in construction business are planning to reduce cost but they never plan to cut expenditure on training. The market survey on Building Information Modeling done by buildingSMART ME in the Middle East throws light on this point. There is a dearth of professionally-trained BIM service providers in the Middle East. Majority of those working as Building Information Modeling professionals claim that they are self-taught.

The level of expertise or competence in BIM is pretty low across the Middle East. The survey has come up with statistics that only 25% of the construction professionals implemented BIM, while the number is pretty high in Western Europe, which is around 36%. In the US the figure goes up to 49%. Even at GCC, the implementation of BIM is restricted to the most basic stage, which means, its benefits are not being utilized, at large.

The regional Construction companies in the UAE use BIM only for implementing it for 3D co-ordination, visualization and 2D drawing extraction. Very few have so far explored the other advantages of BIM. These benefits include cost estimation, scheduling, construction management and in facilities management. Contractors and consultants should undergo a proper course on BIM for its proper implementation.

At this moment the regional arena of construction looks some what inexperienced and insecure in the Middle East. The most interesting fact is, there is a strong awareness about BIM in the Middle East region, they know a lot about its value to construction, but people have inhibition about the adoption of such a new technology.

Around 79% of respondents showed some awareness of BIM. They even possess knowledge about the major selling points of BIM, which include, reduction in errors of designs and controlling quality and productivity.

The major blockade in the way of large-scale adoption of BIM is the unavailability of efficient, skilled staff . Other problems are high expenditure of installing software, high cost of implementation of BIM and lack of proper training. The moment the constructors get to realize the benefit they are going to reap, out of the implementation of BIM, they will be ready to cough out that extra amount for BIM.

Highly skilled BIM professionals are badly needed in the construction industry of this part of the world. If Dubai has achieved the towering task of some of the wonderful constructs, based on 2D designs, they can go an extra mile with the adoption of BIM.

Relevant Link:
http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-10668-building-on-bim/