Challenges and Opportunities for Whole Lifecycle Information Flow Underpinned by BIM: Technology, Process, Policy and People

This paper explores the pillars that enable Whole Life Cycle (WLC) information in a construction enterprise. These identified as: technologies, processes, policy and people. WLC information flow is defined as the steady and continuous evolution and use of BIM information and knowledge from the design stage, through the construction stage, to the facility management stage. Enabling a WLC information flow requires the amalgamation of the four pillars (technologies, processes, policy and people) and should reduce inefficiencies associated with transiting information from one project phase to another. This paper uses these four pillars to guide the analysis and comparison of the BIM status in two countries: the United Kingdom and Qatar. The BIM initiatives in the UK are reviewed from secondary data sources which are publicly available. The status of BIM in Qatar is obtained through the collection of primary data using interviews with industry players. The UK was selected as a benchmark country for Qatar due to the significant and centrally driven BIM strategy. The review and analysis of the BIM status in the two countries provide insights on how to enable a WLC information flow enabled by BIM technology, process, policy and people.