USAGE OF BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING FOR SUSTAINABLE BUILDING PROJECTS IN AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA

Purpose: The study evaluated the application of Building Information Modelling for building projects in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria with a view to achieving sustainable building projects through effective collaboration among building professionals. Design/methodology/approach: The study utilised the survey research design in order to obtain the perception of construction professionals on the awareness and level of use of BIM in building construction projects. A total of 191 copies of structured questionnaire were administered on the respondents using stratified random sampling method on the construction professionals in Akwa Ibom State, South-South, Nigeria. The research instrument’s validity test was done by experts and a reliability test was carried out using Cronbach’s alpha. The perception of the professionals was analysed using binary logistic regression and relative importance index (RII) and the hypotheses were tested by the use of Kruskal-Wallis test. Findings: The findings revealed that the professionals are aware of BIM, but there is a low level of BIM usage. The hypotheses tested showed that there is a significant variation in the professionals’ levels of awareness and usage of BIM in the study area. Research limitations/implications: The study concluded that the construction industry in the study area is yet to implement BIM in its projects, despite enormous benefits of BIM. However, this conclusion cannot be generalised because the data were collected from only one State in Nigeria. Originality/value: The study has been able to establish that there is a low level of usage of BIM in the study area. This is arising from the fact that though the professionals are aware of the existence of BIM, its usage especially in the new areas of BIM (4D, 5D & 6D) is very low.