BIM in India during the Crisis of Covid-19

In a speech last year, India's Prime Minister said that construction and technology would be hot topics in 2020. Among the world's fastest-growing construction industries, the Indian construction industry will expect to reach 1 trillion dollars by 2025.

Architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) is an integral part of national and international economic development. The importance of that can't overstate. A lack of labor, suspension of work, and health precautions hampered the project's completion.

Indian infrastructure development has fuel by the growing demands of a population seeking better living conditions. A number of developed countries are adopting Building Information Modeling (BIM) to improve efficiency and speed up the project execution process.

Construction of India pre Covid-19

The construction industry of India has faced several challenges, but it continues to grow very fast. However, technology use does not seem to have taken off quite as much as it could. There are often disorganization issues in the Indian construction sector, and it is primarily a labor-intensive industry.

There is still a tendency for developers to use traditional methodologies and practices. In India, the construction industry is averse to adopting technology due to the availability of cheap manual labor and the need to keep construction costs low.

There has been a steady increase in demand for residential properties. In addition to several other factors, property prices continue to rise, which puts pressure on building costs below.

Commercial practices are another factor, as are land costs. RERA and GST are examples of how the government is actively introducing global best practices, ensuring consumers of definite project timelines, and regulating the construction industry in general.

Covid-19 Impact on India

The country went into lockdown in late March 2020, halting many public as well as private construction projects. As a result, thousands of construction laborers had to return home, causing them to be displaced. Several other projects are also at risk.

Construction industry operations are unlikely to return to normal within a short timeframe once the lockdown ends. In the absence of raw materials and qualified workers, construction projects will face delays. These factors highlight the necessity of modernizing construction technology like BIM.

There will be fewer resources on-site and fewer staff to complete projects faster. In addition to optimizing resource estimates, making better plans and schedules, ensuring greater collaboration, and reducing accidents, Building Information Modeling can also be used to detect problems early on. This process improves the efficiency and effectiveness of delivering projects.

Adaptability in BIM in current Covid-19 Scenarios

AEC companies of India can achieve notable benefits from adopting BIM, innovative technology with significant growth potential. AEC participants' adopting intentions of BIM clarify by examining the relevance of BIM technical features from three perspectives: relative advantage, compatibility, and complexity.

If BIM technology uses effectively, then it offers greater advantages than traditional technology. It has demonstrated significant technical progress in virtual construction and collaborative design as compared to object-oriented computerized design techniques used in traditional engineering projects.

Despite a slow increase in its focus on BIM adoption in India for mission-critical projects, after the Covid-19 lots of construction companies are adopting BIM efficiently.

BIM Compatibility

BIM compatibility refers to how well the user perceives BIM as keeping with their existing values, experience, and needs. In terms of technical compatibility, BIM is compatible with other systems and interoperable with them without requiring major adjustments at the organizational level.

It matches the concept of collaborative management and the business needs of the enterprise. Many studies have shown a positive relationship between the adoption intention of users and BIM compatibility.

Wrapping it Up

World Health Organization has categorized COVID-19 as an international emergency of international concern since its emergence in 2020. An accelerated reduction of market resources was aggravated by this crisis, resulting in a significant economic shock.

Cost overruns are on average 20% in India today, and time overruns are even greater. In this scenario, employees need to take measures to practice social distancing at work and strictly follow pandemic control measures.

As soon as possible, enterprises shall resume production and reopen for business. Building information modeling (BIM) is crucial to both of these objectives simultaneously amid the pandemic.

Many studies have identified several benefits of adopting BIM, including improved multi-party collaboration, three-dimensional (3D) visualization, real-time construction monitoring, reduced design rework, time savings, and cost reduction.

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Video Source: CYPE Software

In adopting BIM, the key to addressing issues such as information asymmetry and inadequate supervision will be to implement a BIM-led coordination strategy that effectively bridges the gap between business and development.

Image Courtesy: canada.constructconnect.com