Building Information Modeling (BIM) has had a profound effect on the construction industry. It has greatly improved coordination among stakeholders, enhanced productivity, and increased profits. However, many factors still limit the application of BIM in the construction industry. This study conducts a literature review to identify these negative factors. Firstly, twenty-two sub-factors are identified and classified into five categories: Technology, Cost, Management, Personnel, and Legal. Secondly, some suggestions for eliminating these limiting factors are given. Finally, the study also identifies further research directions for improving BIM theory and applying BIM technology widely and successfully. The results of this study will provide support for practitioners who are using or plan to use BIM.

Green building evaluation is an effective measure to reflect the sustainability performance of buildings and is beneficial to improve the deteriorating environment. However, most evaluation tasks are conducted in a manual way nowadays, which is time-consuming, laborious, and error-prone. Thus, a new approach taking advantage of building information model (BIM) and ontology is proposed in this paper to facilitate the process of green building evaluation. Information-rich BIM serves as the provider of multidisciplinary data required for green building evaluation while green building evaluation ontology (GBEOntology) is used for representing fragmented information included in evaluation standards. The reasoning process is realized in a Jess rule engine combining semantic web rule language (SWRL) rules and ontology web language (OWL) ontology. The proposed approach can save time and realize the reuse of green building evaluation standard knowledge. An implemented test case validates the effectiveness of the proposed approach by looking at the example of Evaluation Standard for Green Building (GB/T50378-2014) of China.

The expansion of scale and the increase of complexity of construction projects puts higher requirements on the level of collaboration among different stakeholders. How to realize better information interoperability among multiple disciplines and different software platforms becomes a key problem in the collaborative process. openBIM (building information model), as a common approach of information exchange, can meet the needs of information interaction among different software well and improve the efficiency and accuracy of collaboration. To the best of our knowledge, there is currently no comprehensive survey of openBIM approach in the context of the AEC (Architecture, Engineering & Construction) industry, this paper fills the gap and presents a literature review of openBIM. In this paper, the openBIM related standards, software platforms, and tools enabling information interoperability are introduced and analyzed comprehensively based on related websites and literature. Furthermore, engineering information interoperability research supported by openBIM is analyzed from the perspectives of information representation, information query, information exchange, information extension, and information integration. Finally, research gaps and future directions are presented based on the analysis of existing research. The systematic analysis of the theory and practice of openBIM in this paper can provide support for its further research and application.

Governments worldwide are keen to encourage PPP schemes, however PPP is not a foolproof business. Many local governments and private investors have suffered severe or trying experiences. In this research, 10 case studies were conducted to identify the obstacles and difficulties for successful implementation of PPP projects from the perspective of government guarantees. These PPP projects include two water supply plants, two sewage treatment plants, two power supply plants, two highway projects, and two bridge projects. The findings obtained indicate that the local governments are familiar with “the type of guarantees” to provide to the private investor but they are unsure of the “amount” that should be given. Many PPP projects have therefore been heavily criticized for over benefiting the private investors as the government provides them with too many guarantees. The inappropriate guarantees offered by the government are regarded as one of the root causes of PPP projects’ failure. The lessons learned are valuable for determining appropriate government guarantees for future PPP projects and broadening the opportunities for infrastructure development with PPP procurement model.

This paper describes an innovative approach to the integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and electronic commerce (e-commerce) in a material procurement process for improved design-construction integration. The paper includes the present applications, benefits, limitations and barriers to e-commerce and BIM in material procurement processes, compares the present commercial BIM based and non-BIM based quantity takeoff and cost estimating software, and identifies potential benefits of integrating BIM and e-commerce software solutions for construction quantity takeoff, cost estimating and procurement processes. The authors propose a framework for integrating BIM for quantity takeoff and cost estimating applications with e-commerce solutions for material procurement and supplier performance evaluation. The paper presents a proposed solution to link BIM-derived data with RS Means unit price cost data to generate accurate cost estimating reports, one weight coefficient-based model to evaluate the performance of material suppliers, and a preliminary version of corresponding BIM-based application integrated with e-commerce software system.

As a radically distinct wireless communication approach compared to traditional narrow band systems, ULTRA-WIDE BAND (UWB) technology has been applied in various sectors and is gaining in popularity, but there appears to be a lack of systematic summary of the potential of this technology. To provide insights into UWB technology for the uninitiated reader, this paper explores the state-of-the-art research and development of UWB applications in many sectors including the construction industry without concerning the technological details. First this paper presents the key concepts related to UWB technology and a brief history of UWB. Then it summarizes the UWB's technical features which enable its popularity in industry. Finally, application examples of UWB technology in many sectors, including construction, are presented to analyze and highlight the impact on the industry performance. In the near future UWB technology is expected to become a very important component and have far-reaching impact in ubiquitous computing. Santrauka Bevielio ryšio ultraplačios juostos bangų (UWB) technologija, radikaliai besiskirianti nuo tradicinės siauros juostos sistemų, buvo plačiai taikoma įvairiuose sektoriuose ir tampa vis populiaresnė, tačiau akivaizdu, kad vis dar trūksta susistemintos šios technologijos galimybių apžvalgos. Siekiant pateikti įžvalgas apie UWB technologiją, šiame straipsnyje analizuojami dabartiniai UWB technologijos tyrimai ir UWB taikymas įvairiuose sektoriuose, įskaitant statybą, nenagrinėjant technologinių detalių. Pirmiausia šiame straipsnyje pristatomos pagrindinės sąvokos, susijusios su UWB technologija ir UWB technologijos istorine raida. Tada susisteminamos techninės UWB technologijos charakteristikos, kurios lemia jos populiarumą pramonėje. Galiausiai analizuojami UWB technologijos taikymo pavyzdžiai įvairiuose sektoriuose, įskaitant statybą, atkreipiant dėmesį į jų poveikį pramonės veiklai. Netolimoje ateityje UWB technologija turėtų tapti labai svarbi ir turėti ilgalaikį poveikį visuotinei kompiuterizacijai.