Building Information Modeling (BIM) has recently emerged as a novel technology worldwide however literature review reveals a salient gap in the identification of BIM capabilities in Key Performance Indicators (KPI) of construction projects in Iran. Therefore, the aim of this research is to identify and prioritize the BIM applications toward KPIs in light of the construction stage of projects life cycle in Iran. To do this, a review of literature was performed on the KPIs and associated BIM contributions and the resultants were customized for Iranian context through a two-round Delphi study. An advanced Fuzzy-AHP approach was then applied in the prioritizations of KPIs and associated BIM capabilities via collecting data from construction practitioners. It was identified that quality improvement, sustainable construction and construction cost reduction are the top three KPIs that can be benefitted from BIM applications in the construction stage of building projects. It was also concluded that project coordination, clash detection, 4D and 5D BIM are the subsequent beneficial effects of BIM on the construction project KPIs in Iran. This study is a point of departure for BIM-based research and its managerial perspectives outlining an insight toward the application of BIM in the construction projects of Iran.

Building information modeling (BIM) has developed as the definitive technology for managing construction projects. With its rise, the corresponding role of BIM manager has emerged as a necessary adjunct role in coordinating BIM-enabled projects. The ascent of the BIM manager has attracted a significant body of research, investigating the various competencies and responsibilities required of the role. While BIM is here to stay, a recent study, however, asserts that a distinct role oriented around BIM is transitory, which represents a significant departure from accepted assumptions regarding the viability of the BIM manager role. This research sets out to test the likelihood of a long-term market demand for the BIM manager, as a distinct role, based on a robust quantitative analysis of open-source data from a rich empirical dataset of global relevance for North America, Europe, and Australasia. Text mining methods are used. A total of 199 BIM-related jobs were retrieved from 14 of the most relevant job websites, representing the global English speaking job markets. Key knowledge, skills, and abilities that are attributes of BIM jobs were extracted and analyzed. Analysis reveals that there is no significant difference between the roles BIM manager and BIM coordinator. Moreover, the findings highlight that these two BIM roles align with that of project manager. Most importantly, analysis shows that BIM roles supplement the lack of BIM expertise within the role of project manager, and that, as BIM capabilities are increasingly absorbed by project managers, the rationale for an independent BIM expert will fade. The corollary is that BIM roles are a stopgap measure that can be expected to disappear as project managers absorb requisite BIM skills. The practical implication for construction engineering HR departments is that the prevailing policy of retaining dedicated BIM managers into the longer-term future should shift to one in which project managers are retrained to a level at which they possess comprehensive, independent BIM expertise.