BIM in Chinese High-Rise Building Projects: Challenges to Adoption and Strategic Recommendations

BIM in Chinese High-Rise Building Projects: Challenges to Adoption and Strategic Recommendations

Salman Riazi Mehdi Riazi^*, Hao Zelong, Meng Zichen, Liu Qianwen

School of Housing, Building and Planning, University Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang

^*Corresponding Author

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.905000483

Received: 15 May 2025; Accepted: 23 May 2025; Published: 24 June 2025

ABSTRACT

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a key innovation for dealing with many issues troubling the construction industry, especially in dealing with complex projects, like high-rise building projects. Despite the well-documented benefits of BIM, such as increased efficiency, greater accuracy, better collaboration, and reduced errors in workflows, its adoption in China is still limited. This gap in adoption, given the context of rapid urbanization and increased demand in housing, presents a clear challenge in meeting industry expectations and other stakeholder requirements. Even though the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development acknowledges the advantages of BIM and actively encourages its integration into construction processes, there are still numerous barriers to its adoption. This research focuses on identifying the barriers that hinder the application of BIM and offers solutions to overcome these challenges, emphasizing on high-rise building projects in China. 200 close-ended questionnaires were distributed and 132 usable responses were received, resulting in a 66 percent response rate. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Respondents were balanced in terms of gender and most of them pose commendable education level and industry experience. Most of them also are directly linked to site-based operations hence, experienced insights were offered. As outlined in the analysis, major barriers that were noted include the need for advanced technical expertise, high implementation costs, and a limited understanding of BIM’s long-term ROI. Combined, these obstacles have created an insufficient pool of skilled BIM professionals and delayed industry-wide adoption. To resolve these concerns, ways forward include improving stakeholder communication to promote streamlined workflows, government policy action, strategic incentive design, targeted training program accessibility, and reduced financial barriers to adoption. Altogether, these approaches alleviate barriers associated with the integration of BIM technology in high-rise building construction in China.

Keywords: Barriers, Building Information Modelling (BIM), China, High-rise Projects, Strategies.

INTRODUCTION

The construction industry, especially the processes of design, construction, and management, has been greatly impacted due to technological innovation. One such innovation is Building Information Modelling (BIM), which assists in resolving the problems of high-rise construction regarding accuracy, efficiency, and collaboration throughout the project lifecycle (Nawari & Ravindran, 2019). Building Information Modelling (BIM) aids in combining digital data and 3D models with collaborative project management which replaces the outdated methods used in planning, coordination, and execution (Manzoor et al., 2021). This aids in performing construction off site, helping to industrialize building practices, as seen in Europe, Japan, and Hong Kong (Chan et al., 2019). These advantages aside, lack of cultural openness, implementation hurdles, lack of frameworks, and set guidelines prevents it from being widely adopted (Tan et al., 2019). Suggested solutions for these problems include providing trial access to software, training construction workforce, and designing BIM courses at educational institutes (Yang, 2019). Moreover, aligning BIM with lean construction principles and established theoretical frameworks can further support its integration into everyday construction practices (Ghaffarianhoseini et al., 2017).

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development in China has taken policy measures to encourage the adoption of BIM recognizing its potential at every stage of the building process from strategic planning to intelligent facility management. According to Pruskova and Kaiser (2019) BIM helps with cost reduction, better coordination, energy efficiency and safety management. By enhancing interoperability with other systems, it also improves building maintenance and refurbishment efforts (Ademci & Gundes, 2018). However, despite increased interest there is still a lack of actual implementation, particularly among SMEs which frequently lack the required financial and technical resources (Liu et al. 2017; Zhou et al., 2019). Many businesses still use uncontemporary techniques, and the digital transformation of the construction industry is still in its infancy. Analytical frameworks that evaluate organizational readiness, perceived ease of use, and external pressures such as the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) model and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) are commonly used to analyze adoption trends in China (Yuan et al., 2019). China’s fast urbanization and rising housing demand highlight the importance of BIM. Significant time and cost savings are possible with prefabrication, in which parts are made off-site and put together on-site (Minunno et al., 2018) and BIM is essential to this process by improving supply chain visibility logistics planning and scheduling (Olanrewaju et al., 2022).

Prefabricated high-rise construction has further increased efficiency, reduced errors, and improved resource management through integration with technologies like Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and the Physical Internet (Xue et al., 2018). However, issues like hardware constraints, software incompatibility, and a lack of established collaboration protocols still exist (Lotfi et al., 2021). Adoption is further hampered by legal and contractual ambiguities such as data ownership, intellectual property rights, and liability which emphasize the pressing need for precise contractual frameworks (Alwee et al., 2023). Systemic errors throughout the project lifecycle can also result from inconsistent data standards and a lack of coordinated stakeholder collaboration (Demenev et al., 2019).

By integrating with technologies such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and the Physical Internet prefabricated high-rise construction has further enhanced efficiency, decreased errors, and improved resource management (Xue et al., 2018). But problems like the lack of established collaboration protocol, software incompatibility, and hardware limitations still exist (Lotfi et al., 2021). Legal and contractual uncertainties about data ownership, intellectual property rights, and liability further impede adoption and highlight the urgent need for clear contractual frameworks (Alwee et al., 2023).

Despite BIM’s enormous transformative potential, institutional, organizational, and technological obstacles continue to limit its use in China (Hamma-adama et al., 2020). For BIM to be fully utilized these barriers must be removed especially when it comes to handling the complexity of high-rise construction projects which is the main topic of this paper.

LITERATURE REVIEWS

Building Information Modelling (BIM): An Overview

Building information Modelling (BIM) is a digital technology that incorporates various aspects of construction project such as design, operation, maintenance, costs, etc. via a comprehensive 3D model which according to Mesároš et al. (2020) serves as a tool to radically transform processes of design, construction and facilities operation. Being a multi-dimensional model, BIM can capture information such as materials, systems and equipment to support vital project tasks namely cost and time management as well as lifecycle maintenance (Gurevich et al., 2017). Projects such as SEED emphasized data sharing and collaboration in architectural design (Dainty et al., 2017). BIM development has evolved since the 1970’s with its term gaining popularity in the 1990’s, and today, it has literally become the way forward in any organization seeking to transform their project management.

BIM significantly improves real-time interaction and data exchange among project participants, hence, greatly improves efficiency, accuracy and sustainability of project throughout its entire lifecycle (Olanrewaju et al., 2022). This has been evident based upon successful adoption by several developed nations such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia whereby, has resulted in measurable improvements (Al-Hammadi & Tian, 2020). Being a collaborative tool itself (see Riazi et al., 2019), BIM promotes innovation and growth via collaborative efforts (Liu et al., 2017) as well as better productivity, quality, design-waste reduction and sustainability (Yang, 2019). Beyond that, by leveraging on a unified model, international collaboration among dispersed teams becomes possible leading to improved communication, minimization of risks and project costs (Abbasnejad et al., 2021). Successful BIM implementation essentially requires clear communication network and streamlined processes to ease transition to a more digitally structured collaboration network.

The Case for BIM: Benefits and Reasons for Its Growing Promotion in Construction

Within the global context, BIM has emerged as a major component of digitalizing construction practices and the proven benefits of it have prompted both public and private entities to promote and support its adoption; some even mandating BIM use. Among key strengths of BIM is the ability to facilitate multi-disciplinary collaboration via 3D models that are rich in data and centralized which Handayani et al. (2019) claim, it enhances coordination among supply chains thereby, minimizing chances for errors and conflicts. By allowing stakeholders to simulate and evaluate design options in early phases, thanks to its powerful visualization capabilities, accuracy can be optimized to avoid future mistakes and changes (Yin et al., 2019).

With respect to time and fiscal, efficiency is promoted by making available instantaneous project information to all project stakeholders (Scheffer et al., 2018) hence minimizing future design alterations and rework leading to a timelier and within budget delivery. Time/schedule (4D) and cost (5D) integration in the BIM system improves project planning, allocation of resources as well as well-informed decision making (Kamaruzzaman et al., 2023) and when extended into the operational phase, BIM contributes to boosting building sustainability and longevity by supporting asset upkeep, energy optimization and long-run asset optimization (Chen et al., 2018).

Realizing the perks, government organizations worldwide have developed a more proactive approach towards the BIM initiative, as such, Adekunle et al. (2023) pointed out on the steps taken by Singapore and Hong Kong in making BIM compulsory for all public sector projects and have also initiated training and certification to facilitate the transformation. Meanwhile, the UK public sector also mandated BIM use on all their building projects via the “BIM Strategy Bulletin” in the aim to minimize emissions and reduce project cost by 20% (Haron et al., 2017) while the United States also introduced their own BIM implementation Plan for public sector projects (Teng et al., 2022). Similarly, few Scandinavian countries such as Finland, Denmark and Norway also seized the opportunity by embedding BIM into the country’s construction standards which were further backed by comprehensive policy frameworks (Teng et al., 2022).

Barriers to BIM Implementation: Challenges Hindering Industry Adoption

Despite its game-changing potential, BIM implementation in the construction industry continues to be impeded by numerous barriers. One key hurdle is the deprived technical preparedness such as deficient software, obsolete hardware, and lacking people with the relevant skills to operate BIM effectively (Ryu et al., 2021). Comprehension of BIM concepts and tools is also another proven struggle by project teams (Zhou et al., 2019) while the use of incompatible BIM applications makes the problem even worse which leads to irregular data formats and poor collaboration (Kasim et al., 2017). Further intensifying the barriers to BIM adoption is the lack of standardized data guidelines and collaboration frameworks, causing communication breakdowns, hence beating the fundamental purpose of BIM to achieve integrated project delivery (Zhou et al., 2019).

Further hurdle is the legal and contractual ambiguities which lead to hesitation among stakeholders to embrace BIM. According to Hasni et al. (2019), BIM lacks clarity on who owns the BIM model, role of each party and that there is yet any established legal framework for BIM-related legal conflict. Existing BIM frameworks mostly fail to establish clear lines of responsibility when information inaccuracies or setbacks happen in projects (Khawaja & Mustapha, 2021) while BIM-driven processes still lack proper framework for procurement and intellectual property concerns (Ibrahim et al., 2019).

BIM requires a shift in mentality as well as organizational and working culture, which has proven to be another major setback in BIM diffusion. Conventional project environment established in many construction organizations often practice rigid hierarchies and workflows which lack flexibility required for transforming to BIM. Old procurement practices which generally hinder early stakeholder inputs also misalign with BIM’s working philosophy of early supply chain involvement and collaboration (Teng et al., 2018). However, numerous firms remain uncertain about how to kick-off the adoption, assign resources, or maneuver difficulties related to procurement and regulations, making them strategically unfit to integrate BIM in their companies (Bortolini et al., 2019).

In China, multiple barriers continue impacting BIM adoption in the country. Hamma-adama et al. (2020) in their research identified the barriers to be related to technological, organizational, and institutional. While public policies have enthusiastically advocated BIM (Liu et al., 2017), but their failure to lead by example (i.e., act as a role model) on BIM adoption has led to limited practical implementations (Babatunde et al., 2021). Promotional initiatives have also come in form of competitions and national BIM forums; while larger local companies such as China Construction Design International (CCDI) even started using BIM in their projects (Xue et al., 2020) however, BIM implementations are still mostly focused on design phase, with lack of use in construction and post-construction phases. This imbalance underscores the urgent need to address existing barriers to enable more comprehensive, effective, and sustainable integration of BIM across all stages of the project lifecycle.

Strategies for Enhancing BIM Adoption

Widespread of BIM requires a paradigm shift because it intrinsically changes how various project activities are performed such as the planning, designing, constructing as well as managing the entire phases. The vast changes in established practices foreseen with BIM adoption have discouraged many from adopting them. According to Durdyev et al. (2021), challenges associated with BIM adoption call for an effective strategy on performing change management, open communication and actively engaging with stakeholders. Quality leadership is also very important as it influences organizational preparedness (Wang et al., 2020) and supports commitment throughout all levels in an establishment.

Standardization on the other hand ensures better consistency and reduced obscurity (Azhar et al., 2008) hence another critical driver to industry-wide BIM uptake. A comprehensive guideline enables industry players to better understand and apply BIM properly (Isa, 2015; Ezeokoli et al., 2016) which in this context, government involvement can act as a catalyst for improved adoption by eliminating doubts as well as offering well-defined frameworks to guide investments and planning in BIM (Zhou et al., 2019; Azhar et al., 2008) allowing for minimization of redundancy and errors along with facilitating effective information sharing among project entities.

Training and education are another fundamental enabler for BIM adoption (Alufohai, 2012; Build Smart, 2013; Poole, 2014; Isa, 2015; Ezeokoli et al., 2016; Babatunde et al., 2021) to empower industry practitioners with the relevant competencies required (Hamma-adama et al., 2020) as BIM is not a “Beginner-friendly” technology and necessitates high-level technical competence, management of data, collaboration and understanding of the construction processes. Therefore, to increase the number of experts, widespread access to BIM-focused education and training is needed so that practices align with the industry standards.

A further challenge lies in the fiscal aspects of BIM adoption, described as requiring massive early investments (Harrison & Thurnell, 2015; Hoseini et al., 2016), due to it being a relatively new and evolving technology that calls for significant changes and extra expenditures to set it up in place. Expenses on software, hardware, training, and subscription can put a toll on operational budgets expenses hence, Babatunde et al. (2021) stressed on the need to ease these financial barriers to stimulate increased uptake. As such, offsetting these costs via fiscal support from the industry or government programs is vital (Manzoor et al., 2021) emphasizing the role of subsidies and incentives in accelerating BIM adoption across the construction sector.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

High-quality research offers a vast addition to the body of knowledge provided they follow the right data collection and analysis techniques which suit the research objectives (Mehdi Riazi, 2014). This study examines the barriers to Building Information Modeling (BIM) adoption in high-rise building projects in China and suggests strategies for improvement. In achieving the objectives of the study, quantitative methods in the form of questionnaires were used. Due to the exploratory nature of this study, close-ended questionnaires were used as recommendations by Fellows and Liu (2008), who highlight its suitability for structured research.

The questionnaire was divided into three sections. Section ‘A’ collected demographic data of respondents while section ‘B’ and ‘C’ focused on rating the “barriers to BIM adoption” and “strategies to improve BIM implementations” respectively. Section ‘B’ presented a predefined list of barriers while section ‘C’ listed the improvement strategies, all of which were derived from literature reviews. A five-point Likert scale was used as means of determining the significance of each barrier and strategies whereby ‘1’ indicated “least significant” and 5 indicated “highly significant.” Bell (1993) supports the use of a five-point scale for capturing nuanced participant opinions while minimizing bias.

Overall, 200 questionnaires were distributed to the China construction industry practitioners using simple random sampling. In the end, 132 valid responses qualified for analysis, yielding a 66% response rate. Since this study was conducted in China, questions were first translated into Mandarin given the low level of English comprehension among respondents. Upon return, they were translated back to English for analysis.

Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Version 29. In line with Pallant (2007)’s guideline, demographic data were analyzed using frequency distributions while section ‘B’ and ‘Ç’ were analyzed using descriptive methods to rank them according to their perceived significance – which was done by ranking their means in descending order.

DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

Participant Overview and Background Information

Figure 1 presents the demographic details of the respondents who participated in this study. Overall, gender distributions were quite balanced although females were slightly higher with 13.64% extra responses compared to males. While all respondents were from the construction industry, they served diverse departments depending on their scope of duties. Nevertheless, a vast majority of them worked on project sites (28%), followed by those in project management department (19.70%) and design department (15.15%) while only less than 5% of them were from other departments. Education-wise, around 38% of them held a bachelor’s degree compared to roughly 33% who had postgraduate qualifications, while the rest held diplomas. In terms of working experience, most respondents had more than 15 years of experience, at 28.79% while the ones with 5 to 10 years’ experience were slightly less at 28.03%. The least of the bunch had 10 to 15 years’ experience (20.45%).

Figure 1: Demographic Profile of Respondents

Barriers to BIM Adoption

Table 1 ranks the barriers to BIM adoption in China’s high-rise building projects. The biggest barrier according to the table pointed to the high level of technical skills and knowledge required to implement BIM with a mean score of 3.80. Following closely, the second placed barrier was the high costs associated with BIM implementations (3.76). BIM barriers ranked from third to seventh had minimal differences in their mean score between them which signifies minor variations in their significance while insufficient government policy to support BIM adoption was perceived as the least significant barrier at mean value of 3.30.

Table 1: Ranking of Barriers to BIM Adoption

Strategies to Improve BIM Uptake

Table 2 presents the ranking of strategies aimed at improving BIM adoption in high-rise building projects in China. Top on the list was the need to enhance stakeholders’ communication to simplify workflow components with a mean score of 3.65 while calling for the government to implement policies that promote BIM adoption were rated slightly lower (3.61) hence placed second. On the other hand, the next three strategies namely “Develop skilled BIM professionals and technical experts”, “Reduce costs by improving technology” and “Provide financial support” – ranked 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th respectively – showed comparable levels of significance, evident from their closely aligned mean score. Notably, although the fourth and fifth strategies shared the same mean score, “Reduce costs by improving technology” had a lower standard deviation. This suggests more consistent responses across the sample, which, according to Pallant (2007), is indicative of a more reliable and stable outcome. Meanwhile, the fifth ranked strategy showed greater variability, suggesting less consistency in its perceived impact. As a result, the fourth strategy was ranked higher, reinforcing the importance of consistent and dependable outcomes in promoting the widespread adoption of BIM.

Table 2: Ranking of Strategies to Enhance BIM Adoption

Note: SD refers to Standard Deviation.

DISCUSSION

Demographic Profile of Respondents

Findings portrayed an almost even distribution between gender of respondents, with a slightly higher number of females. This near balance is advantageous as it opens for a broader perspective on the subject under study. Genders can vary in viewpoint not only due to their biological nature but also the divergent roles and experiences they may get in a workplace.

Experience-wise, more than 95% of the respondents were directly involved in construction-related activities, in which about 58% were directly engaged with site operations, including roles in project sites, Health, Safety and Environment (HSE), and Project Management departments hence, enhancing the credibility and relevance of the data collected. This is particularly significant as BIM are generally more actively utilized when construction activities are happening at the site since during this time, a lot of information circulate hence efficient coordination and decision making is critical. Problems can arise anytime and lead to variation thus, early detection of issues through BIM minimizes chances for errors, costly rectification works and budget overruns. While many big projects do perform risk management before execution, it is virtually impossible to detect every risk that early. Risk profiles evolve over time, with some risks diminishing and new ones emerging, hence BIM highly facilitates risk management throughout the construction phase. For that reason, having most responses from professionals actively involved at this phase offers valuable insight into the factors affecting BIM adoption in the projects studied. On top of that, roughly a quarter of responses came from respondents with fiscal and resource planning roles, and their input adds an extra dimension to the study considering the importance of BIM in supporting planning throughout project phases.

In terms of educational background, all respondents possessed higher education qualifications.  Among them, more than 70% of them held at least a bachelor’s degree which is considered a standard requirement for professionals in the construction industry globally. Notably, nearly half of the respondents had completed postgraduate studies (Master or Ph.D.), indicating a highly educated respondent base. This enhances the study’s credibility, as these professionals are likely to possess the knowledge and contextual understanding needed to provide informed responses.

Lastly, the industrial experience of all respondents was astonishing, with more than three quarters of them have been in the industry for a minimum of five years; qualifying them as experts of the industry (see Pill, 1971; Berliner, 2004; Cha & Lee, 2018). Furthermore, nearly half had more than ten years in experience and this level of seniority strengthens the reliability of the findings, as these individuals bring a wealth of practical knowledge and deep familiarity with the industry and its challenges, including the topic under investigation.

Barriers to BIM Adoption

Findings reveal that the need for advanced technical proficiency and knowledge on BIM implementation is the most significant barrier to its adoption. Far from being “beginner-friendly”, use of such complex software (i.e., Revit, Navisworks, and ArchiCAD) requires technical expertise, specialized training, and robust IT resources. Beyond that, the multi-dimensional and resource-intensive nature of BIM software would need powerful computational systems to function optimally. Without proper robust IT backings, even professionals may not be able to efficiently operate them. These findings are in line with past findings from McAuley et al. (2017) in Ireland and Hoseini et al. (2016) in Australia, whereby both identified deficient skills and knowledge as a barrier to BIM adoption. On top of that, challenges related to training was also highlighted in both studies; also reflected in studies by Harrison and Thurnell (2015) in New Zealand which highlighted the lack of access to training as hindrance to cultivating the essential expertise and competencies to execute BIM successfully in construction projects. Additionally, this finding also coincides with Yuan et al. (2019)’s finding that “BIM technical features” has a strong relationship with how stakeholders perceive the worth or value of BIM. In their study, the authors developed and tested a model that incorporates both TOE framework and TAM model to explain the client’s behavior in relation to BIM adoption, in which, their findings clearly matches the verdicts in this study that the lack of technical skills and knowledge on BIM would hinder stakeholders from effectively appreciating the value that BIM could offer hence, reducing motivation for uptake.

Another important finding from the study is that cost-related issues represent one of the most significant barriers to BIM adoption, with only a marginal difference in significance compared to the top-ranked barrier. This coincides with Elmualim and Gilder (2014)’s international study covering the USA, Canada, the UK, Ghana, South Africa, China, India, and Australia who identified limited capital as a prevailing constraint to BIM adoption. Similarly, high cost of adopting BIM was also a key obstacle in Hoseini et al. (2016) and Harrison and Thurnell (2015) studies in Australia and New Zealand respectively. Being a relatively emerging and developing technology, the upfront capital needed to start up BIM is often substantial and extend beyond merely the software and hardware requirements alone. Costs for scheduled trainings and reconfiguration of established workflows to facilitate BIM new systems can build up on financial burdens. Additionally, many BIM tools operate on a subscription or “per-user” licensing model, which can further increase operational costs over time. Compounding this challenge is the need for high-performance computers; standard office computers typically lack the processing power and graphic capabilities necessary to run BIM software efficiently. Due to these challenges, companies might encounter considerable expenses to upgrade, making cost an ongoing and prevalent barrier to widespread BIM adoption.

As a result, the two primary barriers directly contribute to pervasive lack of understanding on BIM functions and potential returns. When industry professionals lack exposure to BIM, they struggle to grasp how it can add value to their projects or generate financial returns hence, leading to the perception that BIM is not worth the investment. This dilemma was reflected in the findings of this study as there were also issues on limited understanding of the return on investment (ROI) from BIM; also consistent with findings from an international study by Elmualim and Gilder (2014) on the perceived misalignment between the investment required and the possible returns being a major barrier to implementations. Correspondingly, Hosseini et al. (2016) found that the lack of awareness among Australian clients on the upsides of BIM was also a notable challenge; reinforcing the notion that poor understanding of BIM’s value discourages its use. As a ripple effect, the lack of implementation, professional training and opportunities for hands-on experience causes the industry to continuously suffer from a shortage of BIM expertise. This trend is also evident in this study, where the lack of BIM expertise was identified as among the top barriers in this study, further underscoring the cyclical nature of low adoption and limited industry capability.

On the contrary, while results from this study indicate that the lack of Government policies supporting BIM implementation as the least critical barrier to adoption, it was featured on an opposite note in Yuan et al. (2019)’s TOE-TAM-based model whereby they established the high significance of government BIM policies to enhance adoption initiatives. This was driven by the belief that government initiatives via policies, regulations and incentives can motivate increased BIM use; which is not wrong, considering government’s ability to influence industry’s direction, via the powers and resources they have at hand, to support promotion of new initiatives. Nevertheless, the difference in outcome could be due to the different group of respondence covered by both studies. This study obtained responses from a broader perspective, involving various disciplines, while Yuan et al.’s study only focused on clients which are generally more dependent on policies and returns on investments.

Strategies to Improve BIM Implementation

Based on the findings, the most effective strategy for promoting BIM adoption in high-rise building project in

China is enhancing stakeholder communication to simplify workflow components. This was in line with Yuan et al. (2019)’s TOE-TAM-based model that pictured the importance of social influence to drive higher BIM uptake by uplifting the perceived ease to use the technology. When people are influenced by their workmates, project co-players or broader organizational norms, there is a higher chance for them to find technology as easier to use. This indirectly supports the role of communication and collaboration in increasing BIM adoption and they both run together since proper communication makes way for easier collaboration and hence project successful delivery. Effective collaboration relies on good communication (see Mehdi Riazi, 2014), which is essential to aligning efforts and achieving shared project goals. According to Chow et al. (2007), improved collaboration fosters better information sharing, enhanced understanding, and a stronger responsiveness to client-driven changes while Kumaraswamy et al. (2007) linked good collaboration to easing the pursuance of common goals among project entities, thereby enhancing cohesion throughout the project. Poole (2014) in his Hong Kong research further affirmed the significant role of collaboration on improving BIM adoption. When all parties are aligned in their goals, especially on optimizing BIM workflows, collaboration gets strengthened, hence improving alignment, understanding and outcomes. Therefore, streamlined communication is vital to achieving effective collaboration – which is pivotal in assisting with the smooth transition to BIM – facilitating the breaking down of complex workflows into more manageable components. Through regular update and feedback mechanisms, bottlenecks can be identified and addressed effectively, allowing for prompt refinement which will improve overall effectiveness of BIM systems.

Another important strategy identified in the study is the role of government policies in promoting BIM adoption; aligning with past studies which also recognized the significance of government involvement as a medium to encourage BIM uptakes (see BuildSmart, 2013; Isa, 2015). Similarly, Poole (2014) and BuildSmart (2013) also emphasized the importance of promotional activities in encouraging BIM uptake. The benefit of government policies in pushing BIM uptake can also be seen via initiatives in few developed countries for example – the launch of “National 3D-4D program” by US General Service Administration in 2003 (Wong et al., 2010), the UK instructing all public projects from 2016 to use at least Level 2 collaborative BIM (Burgress et al., 2018), and Denmark’s BIM legislation in 2007. The fruits of these initiatives are evident from the high level of BIM adoption in these 3 countries –  79% by 2015 in the US (Gerges et al., 2017), 74% by 2018 in the UK (Malleson, 2018), and 78% by 2016 in Denmark (Malleson, 2016).

Through clear framework, guidelines, and incentives schemes, governments can make BIM adoption more feasible and advantageous for stakeholders across the construction sector. At the same time, these public initiatives will also make BIM more accessible, supporting wider BIM adoption to include smaller firms, not just large organizations.

Additionally, improving BIM adoption also requires the presence of appropriately skilled professionals and technical experts to guide its implementation across the industry, therefore, the development of skilled BIM experts also emerged as a key strategy in this study. Training significantly contributes to widespread BIM implementations by expanding pools of BIM experts, upskilling current professionals, as well as enhancing the accessibility and efficiency of BIM education to align with industry needs. The significant impact of education and training in advancing BIM adoption has been consistently highlighted in several studies, such as those by Alufohai (2012), BuildSmart (2013), Poole (2014), Isa (2015), Ezeokoli et al. (2016), and Babatunde et al. (2021). Alongside developing a skilled workforce, addressing financial aspects, such as reducing costs and providing financial support, was identified as another critical strategy for promoting BIM adoption; which was also validated through similar findings in Babatunde et al. (2021)’s study in Nigeria that highlighted the importance of lower costs of adopting BIM to increase implementations – further supporting the importance of managing the financial challenges of BIM uptake.

CONCLUSION

This study explored the barriers to BIM adoption in China’s high-rise building projects and proposed improvement strategies based upon 132 close-ended questionnaire responses from a well-balanced mix of respondents. A vast majority of respondents had direct involvement in construction, especially site operations and project management, which contributes to more practical and experience-based insights that improve the validity and reliability of outcomes. Adding to that is the strong educational background of respondents which adds credibility to the data and their understanding on the subject under investigation.

In overall, several major barriers impeding BIM adoption were identified. Among all, the most prominent was the high level of technical skills and training required to use software like Revit, Navisworks, and ArchiCAD, followed by the high BIM execution costs which could include investment in hardware upgrades, staff development, licensing, and subscriptions. Further limiting adoption is the prevalent deficit in knowledge about BIM’s return on investment (ROI), giving rise to shortage of capable professionals, which consequently creates a cycle of BIM underuse and inadequate expertise – an issue noted in global studies as well.

To address the barriers, several strategies were suggested by the respondents. Enhancing stakeholder communication to simplify workflow components was the most effective strategy for promoting BIM adoption in high-rise building projects in China. Improving communication is central to nurturing collaboration, synchronizing project objectives, and strengthening responsiveness to client feedback, all of which are vital in supporting successful BIM integration. Additionally, governments policies are also crucial in providing standards, guidelines and incentives to drive a wider BIM uptake especially among smaller companies. Besides that, training and educational initiatives can promote the development of competent and qualified professionals, while the financial burdens associated with BIM adoption could be offset through fiscal support and cost-cutting measures. Together, these approaches are essential to overcoming current challenges and enabling wider BIM adoption across China’s high-rise building projects.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of University Sains Malaysia, Short-Term Grant with Project No: R501-LR-RND002-0000000097-0000.

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