Building information modeling (BIM) application in construction projects is considered beneficial for effective decision making throughout the project lifecycle, as it maximizes benefits without compromising practicality. The Malaysian construction industry is also keen on the adoption of BIM culture. However, various identified and unidentified barriers are hindering its practical implementation. In light of this, this study identified and analyzed critical obstacles to using BIM in Malaysian small construction projects. Through the use of semi-structured interviews and a pilot study using the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) method, the critical BIM barriers (CBBs) have been identified. Based on the findings of the EFA, CBBs were classified into five categories, i.e., technical adoption barrier, behavioral barrier, implementation barrier, management barrier, and digital education barrier. Following the questionnaire survey, feedback of 235 professionals was collected with vested interests in the Malaysian construction business, and the CBBs model was created using analysis of moment structures (AMOS). The findings revealed that although Malaysian experts with little experience in practice were fairly educated about BIM, technical adoption barriers, behavioral barriers, management barriers, and implementation hurdles were critical for adopting BIM. The study’s findings will help policymakers eliminate CBBs and use BIM in Malaysia’s modest construction projects to save costs, save time, boost productivity, and improve quality and sustainability.

Post-disaster reconstruction (PDR) is a dynamic, complex system that is chaotic in nature, and represents many challenges and issues. Recently, building information modelling (BIM) has been commonly utilized in the construction industry to solve complex and dynamic challenges. However, BIM has not been thoroughly considered for managing PDR, and there is a lack of comprehensive scientometric analyses that objectively examine the trends in BIM applications in PDR. A literature search was performed considering studies published from 2010 to March 2021 using the Scopus database. A total of 75 relevant studies were found to meet the inclusion criteria. The collected literature was analyzed using VOSviewer through scientific journals, authors, keywords, citations, and countries. This is the first study in its vital significance and originality that aims to investigate the current states of research on BIM applications in PDR and provide suggestions for potential research directions. The findings showed that “Reconstruction” and “Safety Management” have emerged as mainstream research themes in this field and recently attracted scholars’ interest, which could represent the directions of future research. Five major research domains associated with BIM were identified based on the most frequently used keywords, namely “Disasters”, “Earthquakes”, “HBIM”, “Damage Detection”, and “Life Cycle”. Moreover, a proposed conceptual framework of BIM adoption for PDR is provided. Accordingly, the outcomes of this study will help scholars and practitioners gain clear ideas of the present status and identify the directions of future research.