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Introduction
The Seychelles is a small country with a population estimated at 94,205 (National Bureau of Statistics, 2017). This indicates that its construction industry is very small compared to many other countries. Nevertheless, the construction industry is an important contributor to the Seychelles economy. The records from December 2016 showed that construction contributed 3.1% to gross domestic product in 2015 (National Bureau of Statistics, 2016), and there is continuous improvement in the industry. The potential benefit of building information modelling (BIM) in terms of promoting further improvement in Seychelles construction cannot be overemphasised. This is from the backdrop of gains made in other countries as a result of BIM adoption. However, in order for the Seychelles to make meaningful efforts towards BIM adoption there needs to be some readiness among the industry professionals (Succar et al., 2013).
Currently, there are many construction professionals working in the Seychelles, performing different roles. However, their level of BIM awareness and readiness is unknown. Although several studies on BIM adoption have been undertaken in several countries, no study has been undertaken to explore the subject of BIM readiness among professionals in the Seychelles (Rogers et al., 2015). To address this gap, this research, therefore, looked at the BIM readiness of construction professionals in Seychelles, particularly in terms of their BIM awareness and competence. The paper commences with a review of literature on BIM, covering its benefits, implementation challenges and competency requirements. The research design is then outlined followed by findings, discussion and conclusions.
Literature review
The review of literature commences with an overview of BIM, including its benefits and challenges and the review subsequently focuses on aspects of BIM relating to readiness.
Building information modelling benefits and challenges
Succar (2009) defines BIM as “a set of interacting policies, processes and technologies generating a methodology to manage the essential building design and project data in digital format throughout the building’s life-cycle”. Generally, BIM is considered as a strong driver for new ideas, modernisation and productivity in the construction industry (Bui et al., 2016). The way that buildings are designed, constructed, operated and maintained has changed dramatically due to the rapid improvements in computerisation throughout the industry (Eastman et al., 2011). The aim of BIM is to...