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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Built Environ.
Sec. Building Information Modelling (BIM)
Volume 10 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fbuil.2024.1474032

Building Information Modeling: Implementation Challenges in the Malawian Construction Industry

Provisionally accepted
Melusi Ndwandwe Melusi Ndwandwe *Witness Kuotcha Witness Kuotcha Theresa Mkandawire Theresa Mkandawire
  • Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Building information modelling is making waves in the global built environment, improving the architecture engineering and construction industry in many aspects. However, in Malawi, it is neither widely adopted nor well-researched. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and analyse the challenges of BIM implementation in Malawi. A quantitative methodology was used, collecting 189 questionnaires. Descriptive analysis (mean item score), one-sample t-test, and factor analysis were used to analyse the data. The descriptive analysis revealed differences in ranking the 20 BIM challenge factors among various groups, yet no statistically significant variances were found among them; all the challenges were deemed critical. However, the results of the one-sample t-test indicated statistically significant differences in 13 of the 20 challenges, including issues with expertise, experience, integrating multiple software, understanding BIM potential, implementation methods, change adaptation, legislative guidelines, high implementation costs, awareness, integration to traditional techniques, procurement procedures, and strategic vision for implementation. Thus, through factor analysis, the study divided the 20 BIM implementation challenges into three categories: BIM integration, collaborative workflow, and technical adaptability challenges. These findings would increase BIM awareness, best practices and solutions, collaboration and communication, training and education, and industry BIM adoption. The study further contributes to the body of knowledge by providing structured challenges for BIM implementation, filling the knowledge gap about BIM challenges in the Malawian construction industry.

    Keywords: BIM; BIM challenges, BIM implementation, Building Information Modeling, Construction Industry, Malawi

    Received: 31 Jul 2024; Accepted: 11 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ndwandwe, Kuotcha and Mkandawire. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Melusi Ndwandwe, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.