Research Study Approach

This research has adopted the case study as the overall research strategy, with multiple sources of evidences, semi-structured interviews and documentations were used for data collection. In order to have a structured research approach, it is more appropriate to present a brief overview of the research design. Research design consists of a series of actions or steps that are necessary to effectively carry out research and the desired sequencing of these steps. Figure 1.1 illustrates the research design of this study.

An extensive literature review has been carried out to explore the issues concerning the performance of the construction industry where poor integration in the supply chain and lack of strategic commitment at senior management and government levels have been dictated. New technology using BIM and IPD has been found as the best tool and delivery method for performance improvement that needs to be explored further. It became clear that problems in adapting and understanding this new technology and these delivery methods could hinder the success of their implementation.

The principles of the process protocol developed by the University of Salford, along with supporting literatures have led to the development of an initial process protocol on implementing the new concept of BIM and IPD within client organisations. The initial stages of this research highlighted a few important issues and principles to successfully implement BIM and IPD such as the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, risks, legal frameworks, contracts and the need of a BIM/IPD strategy for client organisations. All these elements have been accommodated in the development process of the proposed process protocol. Seven project phases have been proposed for the process protocol with the focus on the provision of a strong client leadership throughout the design and construction of projects (Figure 5.1).

Figure 5.1: Project phases of the proposed process protocol

In this research, three case studies of typical projects in the UAE have been identified and selected as the research context. The first selected case study is a typical project which suffered from delays and cost overrun. At the time of conducting this case study, the project was facing 17 months of delays. This case study was to carry out an initial evaluation of the process protocol mainly to ensure that its components are valid for the local conditions in the UAE. The case study added further confirmation to the findings from the literature review by adding local factors to the various phases of the process protocol. Qualitative research work was conducted including semi-structured interviews with project stakeholders to discover the real reasons behind this delay. This case study has also investigated the real causes of the problems and if they can

be adequately addressed by BIM and IPD. Special focus was also placed on the client leadership and the client role to eliminate/minimize these problems.

Case study one was carried out by interviewing the main parties involved in delivering the project, including: members of the client committee, the client representative on- site, the project management company and the contractor. Information about the delays was collected from each partner individually and then analysed and categorised into a number of groups based on their significance in terms of time and cost. Each group of problems were then traced back to their main causes to identify the key actions that could be taken in the future to avoid such problems. These were then reflected into the various phases of the process protocol.

Case studies two and three involve on-going projects in the UAE, where BIM and collaboration have been used to improve the design and construction process. The aim of these cases was to validate the process protocol and its various components. These two cases are specifically selected to ensure that the proposed process protocol can handle possible variations in procurement systems, particularly in competitive tendering requirements. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the client representatives, consultants, contractors and subcontractors. These interviews focused on validating the various components of the process protocol both during the design and construction stages. The interviews were conducted with managers to capture their views towards the process and its management as well as with technical staff (engineers, planners and quantity surveyors) to ensure that the detailed description of each process is valid and comprehensive.

Case study two has been selected because it is the first IPD delivery in the UAE where the maturity level of the local construction industry to deliver projects with an IPD approach is very low. This case study involves high levels of collaboration where all the project stakeholders including the facility management company, which will be responsible for operating the project, are on board from the start. The client organisation led the process of implementing BIM/IPD by employing a BIM management company to educate project stakeholders and bring them to the right maturity level, introduce BIM standards to ensure that information exchange can be done easily and quickly, and to set up the IT infrastructure to ensure full collaboration can be achieved. Case study three is specifically selected where the collaborative

environment is established at the end of the schematic design. In this case study, LoD300 is developed beyond the definition set by AIA to include a complete structural and MEP design to generate accurate quantities for tender documents. The BIM capability of the main contractors is given greater consideration in the selection process. In addition, both the main consultant and contractor have to develop BIM models and are given a good margin of freedom to use their own tools to do that. Both case studies two and three are also used to validate Phases 1 to 6. Very useful information can also be captured to understand the type of activities that are taken by the various project stakeholders concerning the facility management phase of the building. In addition, the client’s representatives are in a good position to feedback on Phase 0, which mainly relates to setting a BIM strategy for the client organisations. The final process protocol will be drawn based on the three case studies mentioned above and will be recommended to be client organisations as a guide to be adopted for future implementation of BIM/IPD on new construction projects.

5.7 Summary

This chapter has provided a summary of the research methodology employed in executing this research. A qualitative and quantitative approach has been adopted to meet the objectives. Case study has been used as a research strategy, which focuses on understanding the dynamics present within single settings, and allows for the exploration and understanding of complex issues. In-depth data collections have been carried out through semi-structure interviews to validate the findings. The contents of interviews were initially evaluated by relevant industrial partners through comments and recommendations.

This study has adopted the principles of the process protocol, which was developed by the University of Salford. An extensive literature review was also conducted from which the initial process protocol of this study has been proposed. Seven project phases have been proposed for BIM/IPD implementation for client organisations to ensure that a strong client leadership is exercised throughout the design and construction of projects. Chapter 6 will now highlight and discuss the proposed

process protocol and then chapter 7 will report and discuss in detail all three case studies.