The digitalization of the construction industry has immense potential for dramatically improving the industry’s practices. Concerning current measures in construction project management, the industry is still dependent on traditional construction methods. However, the application of fully automated techniques within the construction industry has not yet been a widespread practice. Thus, this may explain why there is a slow adaption of digital growth within the construction industry and specifically in developing countries. This study is aiming to investigate the acceptance of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Augmented Reality (AR) integration in the construction industry. To achieve this aim, Technology Acceptance Model 3 (TAM3) was utilized. The scope was narrowed down to four developing counties (Malaysia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey) and a questionnaire survey was developed and distributed between construction professionals in those countries for data collection purposes. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to develop the TAM, and a regression analysis is used to validate it. The developed TAM3 showed that users control over BIM-AR and perception of easiness of use has the highest influence on their perception of the system usefulness, which would positively affect their intention to use the system. Additionally, unlike the findings of the original TAM3, three variables of Image, Perception of External Control, and Voluntariness illustrate new relations which can be considered as a novel outcome. The outcomes of this study can be used to evaluate the acceptance of BIM-AR Integration in the construction industry context, and the developed TAM3 can be used for the development of new BIM-AR applications in developing countries as it can predict the BIM and AR users’ acceptance.

Dispute is recognized as critical cause of deficiency and low performance in construction projects. Plenty of studies have been done in construction dispute management recently; however, there are no studies on construction dispute elimination. This study aims to propose a building information modeling (BIM) approach to control conflict causes before the occurrence of dispute. BIM is one of the latest platforms that promote a high level of collaboration, information sharing, and coordination where its implementation ranges from project initialization to completion stage. The circumstances associating with BIM technology can be utilized to explore the possibilities in conflict and dispute resolution system. Questionnaire surveys are used to collect the primary data. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and multi attribute utility technique (MAUT) are adopted to develop an algorithm and a decision-making framework to manage and resolve the potential conflict causes, particularly for the Malaysian construction industry. Data analysis emerged that five critical conflict factors in Malaysian construction industry are insufficient monitoring of CPM scheduling and updates requirements; failures to understand and correctly bid or price the works; delay in running bill payment; inadequate contractors’ management, supervision, and coordination; and error and omission in design that are originated from time, cost, quality, and documentation. Further analysis to prioritize BIM functions in construction conflict management has been done by the combination of AHP and MAUT results. Consequently, it is affirmed that clash detection and cost estimating, 4D scheduling, 3D visualization and structure analysis as BIM functions obtained the highest score to control conflicting factors.

Building information modeling (BIM) is one of the most popular technologies contributing to information handling. However, the technology’s contribution to fieldwork is very limited due to the limited interaction between the real and virtual world. Integrating BIM with augmented reality (AR) is believed to highly increase BIM’s applicability to fieldwork. Therefore, the aim of the study is to examine the credibility of BIM integration into AR (AR–BIM) in the construction industry. A case study is adopted, computing the AR–BIM system through Structure Sensor, Unity 3D, and C#. The results show that BIM is compatible for integration with the AR platform. Although the preliminary AR–BIM system is not perfect compared to the marketed product, the initial investment cost of this system is much cheaper, while conserving the benefits of BIM in AR. This study is important to raise awareness among construction stakeholders about the adoption of technology. The stakeholders left out of the industrial revolution (IR 4.0) will lose their competitiveness in both local and international markets.

The accuracy of cost estimation during the preliminary stage of a construction project is imperative. However, owing to limited accessibility of information, the level of accuracy required at this stage of a project is extremely difficult to be attained. In like manner, the risks of budget shortages or cost overruns are likely to surge exponentially due to an incompetent or a lackadaisical approach towards life-cycle costing. Hence, this study proposes BIM-based VR as a preliminary estimating solution which is purported to nip the aforementioned issues in the bud. BIM-VR enables BQ to be updated automatically as stakeholders performs modifications on-the-go, allowing speedy and highly accurate design adjustments throughout the project. On this front, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was adopted to determine the acceptance level of BIM-based VR technology in Malaysia. Data was acquired via a questionnaire survey, of which 92 out of 180 distributions were accepted for analysis, accounting to a respectable response rate of 51%. Consequentially, Principal Component Analysis result revealed that ‘Saving Cost and Resources’ is the most significant factor for BIM acceptance. Conversely, ‘Presence of Skill Gap’ was found to be the biggest stumbling block for BIM-based VR in cost estimation. Relationship analysis from the TAM also unveiled that the challenges of BIM-based VR did not produce mediating effect towards attitude and intention to use. This implies that the intention of construction professionals to adopt the technology wasn’t impeded by its challenges. Significantly, this study served as a benchmark in uncovering new possibilities of BIM and VR in project cost management, where the reliability and accuracy of conventional procurement can be enhanced with technology, particularly in BQ documentation, to fulfill the rising expectations of construction stakeholders across the globe.

Purpose: Three dimensional (3 D) laser scanner surveying is widely used in many fields, such as agriculture, mining and heritage documentation and can be of great benefit for as-built documentation in construction and facility management domains. However, there is lack of applied research and use cases integrating 3 D laser scanner surveying with building information modeling (BIM) for existing facilities in Malaysia. This study aims to develop a scan to as-built BIM workflow to use 3 D laser scanner surveying and create as-built building information models of an existing complex facility in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach: A case study approach was followed to develop a scan to as-built BIM workflow through four main steps: 3 D laser scanning, data preprocessing, data registration and building information modeling. Findings: This case study proposes a comprehensive scan to as-built BIM workflow which illustrates all the required steps to create a precise 3 D as-built building information model from scans. This workflow was successfully implemented to the Eco-Home facility at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Originality/value: Scan to as-built BIM is a digital alternative to manual and tedious process of documentation of as-built condition of a facility and provides a detail process using laser scans to create as-built building information models of facilities.