Exploring the Adoption of BIM in the UAE Construction Industry for AEC Firms

Rate of development of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) economy has increased remarkably during the last 25 years with a marked boom in the construction industry. However, the UAE construction industry is encountering several problems as delays and cost overruns. Adoption of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) solution is expected to enhance performance and profitability for the construction industry. This paper looks at the BIM adoption in UAE due to its mandate by the Dubai Municipality in 2015 which was followed by a BIM mandate in UK in 2016. A questionnaire survey was used to assess awareness of, and use and adoption of BIM in the UAE. The survey was distributed to academics and construction professionals working on BIM projects in UAE. The research result reveals three critical barriers in BIM implementation: Lack of BIM Standards, Lack of BIM Awareness and Resistance to change. A synthesis is presented of the state of past and current studies on BIM implementation and future research directions are recommended.