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Attributes of Building Information Modelling

Implementations in Various Countries

Article in Architectural Engineering and Design Management · November 2010

DOI: 10.3763/aedm.2010.IDDS6

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ARTICLE

Attributes of Building Information

Modelling Implementations in
Various Countries
Andy K. D. Wong*, Francis K. W. Wong and Abid Nadeem
Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Abstract
Various initiatives can be taken to implement building information modelling (BIM) systems in a country. The
purpose of this article is to highlight critical initiatives derived from the review of BIM implementations in
both the public and private sectors in six selected countries. The methodology adopted for structuring the
study is to classify BIM initiatives for its implementation in policy, process and technology fields. A literature
review of such BIM fields from the USA, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Singapore and Hong Kong is provided.
Moreover, the experiences of authors in BIM research projects conducted in the past through questionnaire
surveys and interviews are also utilized to synthesize the findings. The review suggests that, in several
situations, BIM is implemented in conjunction with industry foundation classes for better integration and
interoperability of various components of a BIM system. The types and roles of major stakeholders in
promoting and providing support for the implementation, research and development of BIM systems are
presented. The findings suggest that initiatives can be taken for policy formulation, BIM organization,
information exchange capability, research areas identification, promotion, presentation and liaison of BIM
programmes for an effective BIM implementation in a country.

B Keywords – Building information modelling; Hong Kong; industry foundation classes; interoperability; Scandinavian countries;
Singapore; stakeholders’ roles

INTRODUCTION (CAD)-based approaches to project design and

Building information modelling (BIM) has emerged
from three-dimensional (3D) architectural design
technology to a comprehensive ‘methodology to
manage the essential building design and project
data throughout the building’s lifecycle’ (Penttilä,
2006). Using BIM, a computer model of a building
is developed that simulates the design (also
pre-design), construction and operation of a facility.
BIM has the attributes both of an approach and of a
process/action. It is an approach because it provides
an alternative to the traditional, paper-based, two
dimensional (2D) or 3D computer-aided design
management. It is a process/action in that it creates
a product called a building information model, which
can be manipulated for various business purposes
and whose performance can be measured. In normal
practice, the terms ‘building information modelling’
and ‘building information model’ are used
interchangeably. However, there is a difference
between these two terms, as the former is a
process and the latter is a product.
The knowledge domain of BIM is expanding with
its implementation in many countries in the
conceptualization, design, construction and

B *Corresponding author: E-mail: bskdwong@polyu.edu.hk

ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN MANAGEMENT B 2010 B VOLUME 6 B 288–302

doi:10.3763/aedm.2010.IDDS6 ª2010 Earthscan ISSN: 1745-2007 (print), 1752-7589 (online) www.earthscan.co.uk/journals/aedm

operation of the buildings. In this article, a review of
BIM initiatives for its implementation in a number of
countries is presented. Such initiatives can be
categorized with respect to the type of main
stakeholders taking initiatives, such as the public
and private sectors, as well as by the class of
initiatives. BIM initiatives have been classified into
the policy, process and technology fields (Succar,
2009). Further explanation of this classification is
provided in the Methodology section. Findings from
this study are based on the review of literature of
BIM initiatives from the USA, Finland, Norway,
Denmark, Singapore and Hong Kong. The chosen
countries are from three continents and the review is
expected to cover a wide range of BIM
implementations. The USA is a large country and
produces a great deal of BIM technology. Finland,
Norway and Denmark represent the Scandinavian
region in Europe. This region is regarded as one of
the earliest adopters of BIM technology, outside of
North America. Asia is represented by Hong Kong,
which is a Special Administrative Region of the
People’s Republic of China, and Singapore.
Singapore is one of the earliest BIM adopters in Asia
in the public sector; BIM is being gradually
implemented in Hong Kong in both the public and
the private sector.
In order to implement BIM, certain policies,
processes and technologies are needed that interact
and/or overlap with each other to produce the
desired outcomes in the form of a building
information model. The purpose of this article is to
highlight such policies, processes and technologies
from the selected countries and integrate the
findings to illustrate the common behaviour of such
initiatives or implementations.
METHODOLOGY
This article is based on the review of literature of
BIM initiatives in various countries. Moreover, the
experiences of authors in BIM implementation
research from information obtained in the past
through questionnaire surveys and interviews for
other BIM research studies are also used to integrate
the findings. In order to structure the information
presented in this article, BIM initiatives are divided
into three fields: the technology, process and policy
Building Information Modelling Implementations 289
fields. For each field, the players and deliverables can
be identified. Admittedly, the information presented in
this article about the deliverables and players is not
exhaustive. However, it is expected that the
presented information is a good indicator of the
overall pattern of BIM implementations. After
identifying players and deliverables in these fields,
analysis is made of any overlap in the fields or
interaction of fields to arrive at the research findings.
The chosen fields are explained as follows.
Policies are ‘written principles or rules to guide
decision-making’ (Clemson, 2010). It includes players
such as insurance companies, research centres,
educational institutions and regulatory bodies. Their
jobs are normally to train practitioners, deliver
research, distribute benefits and minimize conflicts
between industry participants. These players do not
generate any construction products but are
specialized organizations.
Process is defined as ‘a specific ordering of work
activities across time and place, with a beginning, an
end, and clearly identified inputs and outputs: a
structure for action’ (Davenport, 1992). It includes
people who procure, design, construct, manufacture,
use, manage and maintain building facilities or
structures. Facility owners, architects, engineers,
contractors, facility managers, etc. can be included in
this group.
Technology is ‘the application of scientific
knowledge for practical purposes’ (Oxford, 2010). It
includes the players who develop the software,
hardware, equipment and networking systems
necessary for BIM implementations.
BIM PLAYERS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES
THE USA
l General Services Administration (GSA) is the main
public client implementing BIM in the public sector.
GSA’s National 3D– 4D BIM programme was
launched in 2003 (GSA, 2007).
l National Institute for Standards and Technology
(NIST) conducts research on BIM and
interoperability among other areas (NIBS, 2007).
l CAD/BIM Technology Center is a research centre
for the US Army Corps of Engineers, providing
technical and professional services for BIM
deployment across the professional services in a
ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN MANAGEMENT
290 A. K. D. WONG, F. K. W. WONG AND A. NADEEM
consistent manner that ensures acceptable return
on investments and promotes interoperability
between BIM and other geospatial technologies.
l Construction Engineering Research Laboratory of the
Corps of Engineers with the support of its other
laboratories is transforming the use of BIM and is a
primary player in the industry transformation with
products such as COBIE (Construction Operations
Building Information Exchange).
l Other players from the USA are listed in Appendix 1
along with their brief description of BIM
involvement.
FINLAND
l Senate Properties is the public owner running pilot
projects using BIM and Industry Foundation
Classes (IFC). It has assessed the product model
technology that supports BIM technology and
found it sufficiently ready to use in projects.
l In the private sector, Skanska Oy is the general
contractor that has implemented BIM in its
operations and has also performed research and
development (R&D) in BIM.
l Tekes has promoted BIM in Finland and the
Association of Finnish Contractors has also
promoted BIM, in association with state client
senate properties.
l Helsinki University of Technology and Tampere
University of Technology are the educational
institutions performing R&D in BIM.
l VTT is the major research organization in Finland for
BIM and other research in the construction and
built environment.
NORWAY
l Statsbygg is the state client promoting the use of
BIM.
l Norwegian Homebuilders Association encourages
the industry to adopt BIM and IFC.
l In the private sector, Selvaag-Bluethink is
developing IFC-based BIM.
l SINTEF is the leading organization conducting
research in BIM.
l In the Norwegian University of Science and
Technology (NTNU), several student projects on
BIM are being conducted.
ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN MANAGEMENT
l The Norwegian International Alliance for
Interoperability (IAI) Forum is active in defining the
information exchange requirements for BIM.
DENMARK
l There are at least three public owners who have
initiated work on BIM. They are The Palaces and
Properties Agency, The Danish University and
Property Agency and Defence Construction
Service. Although the government projects do
not represent a large part of the total property
area, they do have significant impact on the
market created by IFC requirements.
l Other government agencies, such as Gentofte
Municipality and KLP Ejendomme, have also
adopted the requirements from the Digital
Construction project in Denmark.
l In Denmark, guidelines for working with 3D CAD
applications have been prepared. This was
accomplished under the Digital Construction
Program initiated by the Danish Enterprise and
Construction Authority.
l In the private sector, Bips is developing BIM
guidelines and Rambøll is working to make
Rambyg – its web-based system for operation and
maintenance of buildings – compliant with IFC
requirements.
l In the education institutions, Aalborg University
focuses on IFC model servers and 3D models.
Aarhus School of Architecture is focusing on
product configuration, design intent and IFC
model servers, whereas the Technical University
of Denmark’s work is on interoperability.
SINGAPORE
l In Singapore, Construction and Real Estate Network
(CORENET) is the main organization involved in the
development and implementation of BIM for
government projects. It is a major information
technology (IT) initiative that was launched in
1995 by Singapore’s Ministry of National
Development.
l In the private sector, consulting engineers such as
Arup and WSP have embarked on the
implementation of BIM in their projects.

HONG KONG
l In Hong Kong, the Works Branch of the
Development Bureau (DevB) aims to plan, manage
and implement public sector infrastructure
development and works programmes (DevB,
2008). Under DevB’s initiatives, BIM is being
gradually introduced into the existing CAD
standard for Works Projects (DevB, 2007).
l The Housing Authority of the Government of the
HKSAR has included BIM in its programme of
activities for development (construction and
building control in the fiscal years 2008/09 and
2009/10) and is now actively promoting its use in its
new projects (Hong Kong Housing Authority, 2009).
l The Hong Kong Institute of Building Information
Modelling (HKIBIM) was established in April 2009
by a group of Hong Kong corporations,
stakeholders and experts in BIM applications.
HKIBIM is the first professional institute in the
world for promoting and facilitating applications
of BIM in the building environment.
SUMMARY
A summary of BIM policy players in the selected
countries along with their sector and BIM role is
given in Table 1.
BIM INITIATIVES IN THE USA
OVERALL USAGE
There has been a rapid adoption of BIM in the past few
years (McGraw-Hill, 2009) that is expected to continue
in the coming years. Half of the industry was using
BIM or BIM-related tools in 2009. This represents a
75% increase in usage from the level in 2007.
Forty-two per cent of BIM users were at an expert or
advanced level, which was three times the amount
reported in 2007.
POLICY INITIATIVES
GSA has a policy to incrementally adopt 3D, 4D and
BIM for all major projects by leading 3D– 4D– BIM
pilot applications and incentives for current and
future capital projects. GSA provides expert support
and assessment for ongoing capital projects to
incorporate 3D, 4D and BIM technologies and
assess industry readiness and technology maturity.
Building Information Modelling Implementations 291
GSA also partners with BIM vendors, professional
associations, open standard organizations and
academic/research institutions. In order to fulfil the
objectives of its BIM programme, GSA has taken the
following policy initiatives:
l In July 2003, GSA launched nine pilot projects
to study the implementation of BIM
(Fallon, 2005).
l In 2006, GSA started another three pilot projects
using laser scanning of buildings and using data to
create as-built BIM models of buildings for
planning further improvement and operation of
buildings (Jenkins, 2006; Jacob, 2007).
l GSA mandated the use of IFC-based BIM and
emphasized that BIM adoption should not be
driven by cost savings alone, but for its other
benefits such as the ability to explore different
engineering systems, perform energy analysis,
derive specifications automatically and eventually
eliminate the use of paper and paper-based
processes (Khemlani, 2006a).
l GSA also mandated that new buildings designed
through the Public Buildings Services (PBS) use
BIM in the design stage (Hardy, 2006).
l GSA announced its requirements in advance
of the release of the US National Building
Information Modelling Standard, 2006, which
were later incorporated in the standard (Wilson,
2006).
l GSA collaborated with BIM software developers to
produce a new GSA BIM Guide. The guide helps
designers to develop final concept designs for
GSA’s PBS and to meet GSA’s spatial programme.
The requirements include the submission of a BIM
IFC model defined by the buildingSMART
organization of the National Institute of Building
Sciences (NIBS) (Bentley, 2007).
l GSA also collaborated with international real
estate organizations to support open standards for
BIM software and systems. These organizations
included Finland’s Senate Properties, the Danish
Enterprise and Construction Authority, and
Norway’s Directorate of Public Construction
and Property. The aim was to promote
interoperability and the seamless and accurate
ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN MANAGEMENT
292 A. K. D. WONG, F. K. W. WONG AND A. NADEEM

TABLE 1 BIM policy players and BIM roles

COUNTRY SECTOR ORGANIZATION NAME BIM ROLE
USA Public General Services Administration (GSA) Regulator and guidelines developer
National Institute for Standards and Guidelines and building standards development
Technology (NIST)
CAD/BIM Technology Center Research and consultancy
Construction Engineering Research Research
Laboratory (CERL)

Finland Public Senate Properties Regulator and guidelines developer

Private Skanska Oy Application and research
Tekes Application and promotion
Association of Finnish Contractors Application and promotion
Helsinki University of Technology Education and research
Tampere University of Technology Education and research
VTT Research and application

Norway Public Statsbygg Application and promotion

Norwegian Homebuilders Association Application and promotion
Private Selvaag-Bluethink Application development
SINTEF Research and development
Norwegian University of Science Research and education
and Technology (NTNU)
Norwegian IAI Forum Application development

Denmark Public The Palaces and Properties Agency Regulator

The Danish University and Property Agency Regulator
Defence Construction Service Regulator
Gentofte Municipality Regulator
KLP Ejendomme Regulator
Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority Guidelines development
Private Bips Guidelines development
Rambøll Research and development
Aalborg University Research and development
Aarhus School of Architecture Research and development
Technical University of Denmark Research and development

Singapore Public Construction and Real Estate Network Regulator and system developer
(CORENET)
Private Arup Application implementer
WSP Application implementer

Hong Kong Public Works Branch – Development Bureau Regulator

Housing Authority Regulator and application implementer
Private The Hong Kong Institute of Building Information Professional body and standards development
Modelling (HKIBIM)

ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN MANAGEMENT


exchange of digital data between different
developers (GSA, 2008).
Several more BIM initiatives (policy, process and
technology) from the USA are listed in Appendix
1. The following are a few BIM initiatives related to
process and technology fields.
PROCESS INITIATIVES
GSA demonstrated the energy-efficient design in the
San Francisco Federal Building Project by halving the
amount of energy needed by the typical office
building. To this end, the building was designed with
the optimum width for natural lighting and ventilation.
The use of BIM on this project provided the platform
for early integration of architectural, structural and
mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) designs,
and tools. In another project – the Salt Lake City
Federal Courthouse – GSA also applied BIM in the
energy-efficient design (Khemlani, 2006b).
GSA has also used BIM for space reporting, spatial
management and tenant management, and in
evaluating how well a proposed design meets the
programme requirements (Khemlani, 2006a).
TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES
For disaster response situations, GSA explored the
‘avatar’ technology from the gaming industry that
creates a simulation of human behaviour by virtual
people. This would allow, for instance, a BIM model
to be populated with electronic people programmed
with behaviours such as walking, running, turning,
detecting the nearest exit and so on, which would
allow the egress pattern and time in a proposed
building to be studied in the event of an emergency
(Khemlani, 2006a).
BIM INITIATIVES IN FINLAND
OVERALL USAGE
In a survey conducted in 2007, the usage of BIM and
IFC-compliant BIM applications in Finland was
estimated to be 33% (Kiviniemi, 2007). It is to be
noted that IFC is a standard for sharing and
exchanging building information among various
non-interoperable applications. In the same survey it
was observed that in Finland, 93% of the
architectural firms were using BIM for some parts of
Building Information Modelling Implementations 293
their projects whereas engineers’ usage (such as
structural engineers) was nearly 60%.
POLICY INITIATIVES
Senate Properties has mandated the use of models
meeting the IFC standard in its projects since
1 October 2007 (Senate Properties, 2009), which
means that all design software packages are checked
against the current version (at the time of checking)
of IFC. It has also set up detailed modelling
guidelines to convey the modelling data requirements
to the project participants at each stage of the design.
The BIM guidelines have been drafted as a result
of an R&D project called ProIT conducted with
industry-wide support. It developed a number of
guidelines on product modelling. The guidelines are
in the Finnish language and cover general principles
of product modelling in construction projects,
product modelling in architectural design, product
modelling in structural design and product modelling
in building services design (Senate Properties, 2009).
Another organization, Tekes, promotes BIM, and
this has helped high utilization of BIM in Finland. The
Association of Finnish Contractors is also active in
promoting BIM in the industry in association with the
state client (Senate Properties) whose path is similar,
with the addition of the need for open standards.
In Finland’s private sector, several research and
development (R&D) projects in BIM are being
conducted. For example, Skanska Oy’s project is on
the integration of project-specific building information
models into the industrialized building process, and the
adoption of 3D modelling in practice (Kiviniemi, 2009).
Research organizations and universities in Finland
are running several programmes involving the
implementation of BIM. For example, Helsinki
University of Technology and VTT’s Engineering and
Construction Project Information Platform (ECPIP)
integrates BIM into actual construction and building
management (Leicht et al., 2007). VTT and Tampere
University of Technology’s Virtual Building
Environments (VBE) and another project by Tampere
University of Technology investigate industrial
processes incorporating IFC-based BIM (VTT, 2007).
VTT has been researching building product models,
or building information models, since the late 1980s.
Finland, and especially VTT, actively took part in the
ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN MANAGEMENT
294 A. K. D. WONG, F. K. W. WONG AND A. NADEEM
international development and standardization of
integrated BIM when the IAI was formed in 1996. VTT
has focused on technical issues related to
downstream applications, including tools that utilize
the information in the models. These are different
analysis, simulation and process management
application tools. Among these tools, energy and
environmental analysis tools are given more attention
because of their high reliability in evaluating the
environmental impacts or lifecycle costs of buildings
by robust analyses and simulations. More applications
of BIM by VTT are summarized in Appendix 2.
BIM INITIATIVES IN NORWAY
OVERALL USAGE
Overall, about 22% of architecture, engineering,
construction and facilities management (AEC/FM)
companies in Norway have used or implemented
BIM or IFC-enabled BIM. The state client Statsbygg
has promoted the use of BIM in the past few years.
Another organization, the Norwegian Homebuilders
Association, has encouraged the industry to adopt
BIM and IFC. Also, a number of Norwegian
contractors have invested in and implemented BIM
systems to be integrated into Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT) for their business
of constructing apartments and houses.
POLICY INITIATIVES
Norway’s BIM guidelines are called the BIM Manual.
These guidelines are based on experiences from
Statsbygg’s pilot construction project at Høgskolen i
Bodø (HIBO) using BIM. Statsbygg produced the first
version at the end of 2007, and the latest version
(1.1) of the guidelines was released in February 2009
(Statsbygg, 2010). The BIM Manual is in
synchronization with the Norwegian standard
NS8353 CAD Manual and the NBIMS standard from
the USA. This manual was actually developed for
Statsbygg’s use; however, it is now also being used
by other parties in Norway (Le et al., 2006).
Moreover, Statsbygg has decided to use BIM for the
whole life cycle of its buildings. In 2007, five projects
had used BIM. By 2010, all the projects will be
required to use IFC/IFD-based BIM. It is to be noted
that IFD is an abbreviation for International
Framework for Dictionaries and it defines what
ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN MANAGEMENT
information should be shared or exchanged in
different building product models.
Norway is among the first few countries to
develop the IFD standard in the building construction
regime as an implementation of the International
Organization for Standardization 12006-3 standard
and has potential for global application. Under
NTNU, several student projects and thesis proposals
are focused on buildingSMART technology and are
being conducted in collaboration with industry and
research organizations to develop student courses.
The Norwegian IAI Forum is defining the
requirements for information exchange under the
Information Delivery Manual (IDM) (IAI Forum
Norway, 2007). The aim of the IDM is to support the
information exchange requirements for business
processes within the building construction industry.
Through IDM, the parts of the IFC model that are
necessary for information exchange between
identified processes can be specified.
PROCESS INITIATIVE
SINTEF is working on several internal and
cross-department projects under the buildingSMART
initiative, besides developing BIM guidelines. SINTEF
is converting over 800 design sheets to the format
recommended under buildingSMART guidelines.
buildingSMART is a national coordinating effort to
focus and collaborate on all building development
and implementation projects.
BIM INITIATIVES IN DENMARK
OVERALL USAGE
The overall usage of BIM in Denmark is promising.
According to a survey that was carried out in 2006
(cited in Kiviniemi et al., 2008), the most commonly
used BIM application among architects was
Architectural Desktop with approximately 35% of
firms using it. It was followed by Archicad, Revit and
Bentley Architecture. The survey also showed that
about 50% of architects, 29% of clients and 40% of
engineers in Denmark were using BIM for some
parts of their projects in 2006.
POLICY INITIATIVES
Denmark public sector clients have specific modelling
standards/guidelines to adopt in their projects. These

requirements are set out by the government and some
of them are part of the building regulatory laws. In
Denmark, Bips, which is a user-driven organization,
has a strong influence on the use of IT in the Danish
construction industry. The mandatory demands on
BIM from the Danish state clients in 2007 have
moved the use of BIM to a higher level in Denmark.
Denmark has actively put forth its requirements for
using BIM in government projects. Such requirements
from the government are known as Byggherrekravene
(Det Digitale Byggeri, 2007). The architects, designers
and contractors participating in public sector
construction projects are utilizing a number of new
digital routines, methods and tools starting from
January 2007. The initiative is called ‘Det Digitale
Byggeri’ in Danish, which means ‘the Digital
Construction’. At the beginning, when the initiative
was under experimentation, the public sector clients
exercised flexibility in its use. For example, the
adoption of a new common classification system
was recommended in the initiative, but it was
normally up to the architects/engineers to decide
whether the system should be used or not.
The use of 3D models in the projects has been
related to the price of the project. For projects above
5.5 million euros, 3D models in the design have to
fulfil a number of requirements regarding content
and information levels for the various phases, and
these are to be defined by the client for the
individual project. The models are recommended to
be exchanged using the IFC format. Also, there are a
few municipalities and private clients in Denmark
who demand object-based modelling.
A package of guidelines regarding 3D was
developed. The guidelines concerned both the
setting up and fulfilling of requirements in file and
database-based CAD/BIM applications. The adoption
of the Digital Construction Program has been
published in the form of a number of reports and
guidelines (Bips, 2008). These guidelines are also
available in English, which include 3D CAD Manual
2006, 3D Working Method, 3D Working Methods
and Layer and Object Structures 2006.
Bips has adopted the results from the Digital
Construction Program and is promoting the new
working methods to all companies in the Danish
construction industry. Rambøll and the Danish
Building Information Modelling Implementations 295
Enterprise and Construction Authority are supporting
the R&D work in BIM in Denmark.
BIM INITIATIVES IN SINGAPORE
POLICY INITIATIVES
CORENET provides information services, which
include e-information systems such as eNPQS and
e-Catalog to its clients. It also offers an integrated
submission system in the form of e-Submission and
Integrated Plan Checking System. IT standards are
being adopted in the construction industry of
Singapore, adapted from IAI. Singapore, has, since
1997, been promoting and later on also requiring the
use of BIM for various kinds of approvals, such as
building plan approvals and fire safety certifications
(Khemlani, 2005). The CORENET’s e-PlanCheck
defines Singapore’s Automated Code Checking
System, and several authorities in Singapore are
participating in the e-submission system, which
requires the use of BIM and IFC. The BIM guideline
called ‘integrated plan checking’ has now been
completed.
PROCESS INITIATIVES
Arup Singapore has adopted the process of BIM on
all its projects for the past few years with success
(Pynn, 2009). WSP also adopts BIM at the project
design stage because of its effective use in the
preparation and evaluation of structure designs and
loading analyses. BIM was recently applied to
design production on the Civic, Cultural and Retail
Complex, One North Singapore project, which is
an integrated complex and is scheduled to be
completed in 2011.
BIM INITIATIVES IN HONG KONG
POLICY INITIATIVES
The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) is applying
BIM technology in the public sector of Hong Kong
for design, sustainability studies and construction
coordination of its public housing projects. The BIM
initiative follows the regulatory policy of the Works
Branch of the Development Bureau of Hong Kong
towards BIM. A BIM centre was set up in 2009 at
the headquarters of the HKHA to promote the use of
BIM and facilitate experience sharing. HKHA has
been piloting the use of BIM in new public housing
ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN MANAGEMENT
296 A. K. D. WONG, F. K. W. WONG AND A. NADEEM
projects since 2006. Its experience with BIM suggests
that BIM can improve productivity and efficiency in
terms of enhancing collaboration, design
optimization, construction planning and conflict
detection. HKHA anticipates it will save time and
cost, with less wastage in the long run.
HKHA will continue to use BIM in more projects,
with an aim to cover all projects from 2014/15
onwards. To develop BIM as a more user-friendly
tool in Hong Kong however, HKHA plans to explore
more application areas, for example, automatic
extraction of bill of quantities from BIM models,
checking of building codes to comply with building
regulations, integration with specification,
prefabrication and assembly RFID, etc. HKHA
considers that the requirement for BIM in the AEC
job market would soon change from being a ‘desired
skill’ to a ‘required skill’.
In the private sector, HKIBIM as a professional BIM
body is promoting BIM on a number of fronts as
follows:
l promoting and advancing the general education,
understanding, appreciation and interest of and in
BIM for the benefit of the member and the general
public;
l establishing and maintaining standards of BIM
practice in Hong Kong;
l establishing links with relevant institutes of tertiary
education, government bureaus/departments,
statutory bodies and other organizations;
l providing guidance on careers in the BIM
profession;
l establishing and maintaining a code of conduct for
practitioners of BIM in Hong Kong.
PROCESS PLAYERS AND INITIATIVES
A few developers in Hong Kong such as Henderson
Land Development Company Limited, New World
Development Company Limited and Mass Transit
Railway Corporation (MTRC) Hong Kong Limited have
already adopted BIM in their projects (Autodesk,
2007). Main BIM applications include clash detection,
design visualization and design evaluation.
In Hong Kong, Aedas Limited and L.W.K. &
Partners (HK) Limited are among the architects who
actively practise BIM on their projects. As
ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN MANAGEMENT
architectural firms, they mainly use BIM for project
design and drawing production such as presenting
complex geometry on a 3D platform, using a 3D
model to export 2D construction drawings, etc.
Structural engineering firms such as WSP Hong
Kong Limited adopt BIM at the project design stage.
They point out that it is effective to use BIM for the
preparation and evaluation of structure designs and
loading analyses. Efficient and accurate drawing
production is one of the benefits derived from BIM
usage experienced by structural engineering firms. In
addition, for civil engineering projects, a 3D
topographic model can be efficiently produced using
BIM.
BIM consultants provide a convenient service for
firms that want to adopt BIM on their projects.
Intelibuild, Forida and Tecton are independent
consultants providing BIM services in Hong Kong.
They have clients in both public and private sectors
(Autodesk, 2007). The role of BIM consultants is to
be mainly responsible for the technical aspects in
the building up of BIM models at project level. Their
business models focus on the exploration and
exploitation of applying BIM technologies,
investigating the potential use of BIM for diversifying
their services so as to enlarge their market share and
to attract more clients. Their BIM services include
design visualization, photomontage, design
coordination, computer simulation of sunlight and
wind effects, production of construction drawings,
construction process simulation, maintenance,
material taking off, etc.
INTEGRATIVE ANALYSIS OF BIM
INITIATIVES
The review of implementation initiatives in terms of
policy, process and technology for BIM by various
public and private sector players in the USA, Finland,
Norway, Denmark, Singapore and Hong Kong is
integrated into the research findings. The findings
lead towards describing collectively, in qualitative
measures, various aspects of BIM implementations.
This is described in terms of the strategic steps
taken to implement BIM. Therefore, from the studies
performed, the following attributes of BIM
implementations in various countries can be
identified.

ROLE OF MAJOR PLAYERS
The review, as presented before, highlights the critical
role of the public sector in the implementation of BIM
in any country. In the countries discussed, the public
sector was one of the major drivers for the
implementation of BIM. However, the role of the
private sector is also significant. In Hong Kong, which
has an open economic system, the role of the private
sector in contributing to the economy is quite
significant and this includes Hong Kong’s AEC
industry as well. It can be expected that new trends
or the introduction of new technology would most
likely arise from the private sector. The same is the
case with BIM, which has been largely implemented
by the private sector in Hong Kong. There is a high
probability that BIM usage will greatly increase in the
years to come. The government of Hong Kong, as the
public sector, has also realized this need. Therefore,
HKHA is actively implementing BIM in its projects.
BIM POLICY AND/OR PROGRAMME
For the effective implementation of BIM in a country,
the government needs to establish the specific
policy of adopting BIM on all projects. In each of the
countries discussed, specific government
departments were responsible for setting the BIM
policy, which includes in varying degrees the
regulatory guidelines, contractual arrangements,
setting up of best practices and standards, providing
research and educational funding, etc. The initiatives
of GSA in the USA, Statsbygg in Norway and DevB
in Hong Kong, among others, are examples. BIM
policy, in fact, also covers many of the following
attributes of BIM implementation.
DEVELOPMENT OF BIM STANDARDS/
GUIDELINES
BIM standards/guidelines are usually a component or
an expected outcome of the BIM policy in a country.
Whereas the policy is normally attributed to the
public sector, the development of BIM standards or
guidelines can also be initiated by the private sector.
In the USA, the public client GSA has its BIM
guidelines, which are parallel to the national BIM
guidelines drafted by the NIST. The guidelines may
serve a specific purpose for an organization;
therefore, in one country there can be more than
Building Information Modelling Implementations 297
one set of BIM guidelines. The development of open
BIM standards is recommended, which means the
standards should be usable on a variety of
computing platforms/systems. GSA in the USA and
the Association of Finnish Contractors in Finland
collaborate with other partners to establish open
BIM standards. In other countries, there are many
competing BIM developers/vendors. Their efforts
need to be streamlined. The public sector in a
country is in a better position to instil synergy into
various competing BIM developers in the market. In
Hong Kong, HKIBIM is taking a proactive role by
providing an exchange platform for gathering the
contributions from BIM professionals and
stakeholders.
INFORMATION EXCHANGE CAPABILITY
An important capability of the BIM implementation
system is exchanging information among different
BIM and non-BIM systems without loss of data,
making the design information explicit and making it
available to stakeholders so that the design,
construction or operation intent can be easily
understood and evaluated. The requirements of BIM
to pass IFC, IFD or IDM certifications, as presented
before, are intended to fulfil information exchange
capability requirements.
ORGANIZATION FOR BIM IMPLEMENTATION
In order to implement the BIM policy of a country,
there should be one or more designated
organizations to take up the major responsibilities for
BIM implementation, initially through some pilot
projects. It could be an existing government
department or organization that can be entrusted
with the task of overseeing BIM initiatives in the
territory. Several such organizations are discussed
and summarized in Table 1. There can be other
organizations in a country whose work can benefit
from BIM implementations. These organizations
should be encouraged to adopt BIM, in consultation
with the main departments responsible for
coordinating BIM implementations in the country.
PRESENTATION, PROMOTION AND LIAISON
It is important to disseminate the findings of the BIM
programme, once established, at various outlets such
ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN MANAGEMENT
298 A. K. D. WONG, F. K. W. WONG AND A. NADEEM
TABLE 2 BIM research initiatives in the Scandinavian countries
INITIATIVES FINLAND
Organization and Helsinki University of Technology
projects and VTT
ECPIP, Engineering and
Construction Project Information
Platform
VTT and Tampere University of
Technology
VBE, Virtual Building Environments
Tampere University of Technology
IFC-based BIM Industrial Processes
Supported for Open Virtual Building
Environment
BIM Guidelines ProIT
Product modelling in construction
projects general principles,
architectural design, structural
design and building services design
as forums, journals, conferences, professional bodies
for information exchange and recognition. For
example, GSA liaises with other partners from Europe
such as Senate Properties for collaboration. The BIM
best practices are recognized in the form of awards.
In the USA, the American Institute of Architects’
Technology in Architectural Practice organizes the
annual BIM awards. In Hong Kong, Autodesk Hong
Kong organizes the annual BIM awards. Several of the
organizations described earlier in this article have
been recognized through these awards.
FOCUS OF BIM RESEARCH
Research programmes are, in fact, part of the policy
field of BIM. A number of areas for comparison
under this category are summarized in Table 2. From
the review of the areas of research and
development, it is observed that R&D in selected
Scandinavian countries (Finland, Denmark and
Norway) is being conducted in two broad areas:
management aspects and technical aspects. One
such area is the investigation of the transformational
ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN MANAGEMENT
DENMARK NORWAY
Aalborg University SINTEF
IFC Model Servers Several projects under buildingSMART
3D Models – B3D initiative
BIM guidelines development
Aarhus School of Architecture buildingSMART
Product configuration A national coordinating effort to focus
Design intent and collaborate on all buildingSMART
IFC model server development and implementation
projects
Technical University of Denmark NTNU
Interoperability Student projects and thesis proposals
focused on buildingSMART technology
Collaboration with industry and
research organizations to develop
student courses
Digital Construction Program BIM Manual with experiences from the
Guidelines for working with 3D CAD HIBO Statsbygg project
applications
effect of BIM on the overall business processes of a
real estate and construction company, starting from
automation of the process and passing through the
informational effect. In another management
research area, research is being conducted into
business drivers for the implementation of BIM,
which is divided into various areas concerning each
stakeholder involved in the whole building life cycle.
In technical research, researchers have paid great
attention to interoperability issues. IFC specifications
are also being investigated to make them cater for
the needs of the construction and real estate
industry. The major issue in IFC specifications is the
complexity of its use, efforts are being made to
make the specifications clearly modularized and
categorized to better suit the needs of construction
industry users.
CONCLUSIONS
A review of BIM initiatives in the USA, Finland,
Norway, Denmark, Singapore and Hong Kong has
been presented in this article. From the integrative

analysis of BIM initiatives in these countries, the
overall attributes of BIM implementation in a country
were extracted. The findings suggest that for an
effective implementation of BIM in a country, both the
public and private sector should work collaboratively to
set up a suitable environment for the implementation
of BIM in the AEC/FM industry. Such steps would
include, but not be limited to, defining the roles of
major players in BIM implementation, and setting up a
suitable policy for BIM implementation. The BIM policy
would include steps such as organization for BIM
implementation, developing effective information
exchange capable systems, setting up modelling
guidelines, BIM standards and best practices, possibly
in the form of successful pilot projects, and the
promotion, liaison and presentation of BIM initiatives in
the country, with other stakeholders in or outside of
the country. The study also reviewed salient BIM
research initiatives in these countries, which, in fact, is
a part of the overall BIM policy field, and found that
sustainability, interoperability, informational and
transformational issues are being and should be given
profound attention.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding
provided by the Research Grants Council of the
HKSAR Government for this research project (RGC
Reference No. PolyU 5301/06E).
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APPENDIX 1 ORGANIZATIONS IN THE USA INVOLVED IN BIM APPLICATIONS (NIBS, 2007;
WBDG, 2008)
NAME
National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS)
American Institute of Architects (AIA) – Building Interoperability standards and activities in the architecture, engineering, construction
Connection
AIA – Integrated Project Delivery
AIA – Technology in Practice
American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)
American Society for Quality (ASQ)
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and
Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
American Society of Professional Estimators
(ASPE)
Association of General Contractors of America
(AGC) – BIM Forum
Continental Automated Buildings Association
(CABA)
Center for Facilities and Environment (CIFE)
Construction Users Round Table (CURT)
Georgia Tech AEC Integration Lab
International Code Council (ICC) –
SMARTcodesTM
Building Information Modelling Implementations 301
BIM ROLE/INITIATIVES
National BIM Standard (NBIMS) for the USA
Journal of Building Information Modeling
An organization serving as an interface between the government and the private sector
and real estate industries
White papers, articles, presentations regarding integrated practice
A resource for the deployment of computer technology in the practice of architecture
Interoperability and BIM through developing the CIS/2 standard and promoting its use in
the structural steel design, detailing, fabrication and construction process
Inclusion of the knowledge of BIM and interoperability into the knowledge required by
Certified Quality Managers
Develop and identify initiatives and opportunities presented by interoperability, BIM and
related topics affecting the HVAC & R industry and ASHRAE interests
Develop informational and educational programmes on BIM and interoperability for
ASHRAE members
The Architectural Engineering Institute of ASCE is dealing with building information
models
All estimating professionals may want to get in on the BIM discussion affecting their
work. ASPE chapters will be presenting speakers and programmes to facilitate the move
towards BIM
BIM Forum is AGC’s task force on building information modelling. BIM Forum’s 200+
members collaborate virtually via the online forum. AGC has a BIM guide for general
contractors
To promote advanced technologies for the automation of homes and buildings in North
America. It has prepared a report entitled Technology Roadmap (TRM) for Intelligent
Building Technologies, which focuses on commercial, institutional and high-rise
residential buildings and provides an in-depth examination of intelligent building
technologies including BIM
CIFE and Stanford have long been pioneers in collaborative design, integrated practice
and BIM in general. CIFE has published a number of reports and working papers on BIM,
3D/4D, and virtual design and construction
To promote excellence in the creation of capital assets and support BIM/Virtual Design
and Construction (VDC) implementation. CURT is in the third year of an arrangement with
CIFE and GSA in conducting a VDC Usage Survey in order to gain business metrics
around VDC implementation
It provides information on the specification, functionality and exchange capabilities of
BIM tools to help facilitate new technology for the AEC industry
It automates compliance checking with building regulations, codes, standards, etc.,
which includes significant work on a dictionary that can serve as a basis for other
dictionary work in the USA and globally, coordination with model checking software
entities and working with BIM software developers to understand what information is
needed in a BIM to make it checkable for compliance
ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN MANAGEMENT
302 A. K. D. WONG, F. K. W. WONG AND A. NADEEM
APPENDIX 2 APPLICATIONS OF BIM BY VTT
APPLICATION AREA
Environmental sustainability of built environment
(Häkkinen and Kiviniemi, 2008)
Integration of BIM into web service application
(Permala et al., 2008)
Integration of BIM and IFC standards into
performance-based building standards and business
processes (Huovila, 2008)
ECPIP project (Mäkeläinen et al., 2008)
ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN MANAGEMENT
View publication stats
BRIEF DESCRIPTION/PURPOSE
To use design information from BIM for the purpose of building
operations. To investigate the potential of BIM for seeking solutions for
the problems of sustainable building processes
Real-time information sharing for addressing the problem of
information transparency in the construction supply chain. BIM and
web service applications were used as information sources to the
construction supply chain. The end product developed was a
prototype, called CS Collaborator. The CS Collaborator programme
was one of the first attempts to build a BIM-based web service for the
construction industry
To enhance innovation and sustainable development. The potential for
value creation during the whole life of buildings by the use of BIM was
identified in a number of areas including customer and end-user
requirements, sustainability within the building process and lifecycle
phases, decision-making, building process re-engineering, etc.
To improve the quality and productivity of the Real Estate and
Construction Cluster (RECC) through customer-driven development
and implementation of new processes utilizing an integrated
information platform. This helped to bring RECC processes and BIM
into an innovative dialogue by using process simulation