China’s construction information industry is still in its early stages, with many technological gaps in construction informatization. Industry leaders have increasingly recognized that adopting Building Information Modeling (BIM) software is essential for reforming China’s construction sector and advancing modernization. As a result, efforts have been made to introduce BIM technology, including the establishment of BIM engineering research institutes and collaboration with major universities to offer BIM-related courses and train specialized technical professionals.
The Application of BIM Technology in Guangzhou
In November 2014, the Engineering Survey and Design Industry Association in Guangzhou hosted the first special evaluation event for building information model design. This event highlighted the achievement of the “three savings, two improvements, and one environmental protection” objectives in engineering projects, focusing on energy conservation, cost reduction, and quality enhancement through extensive use of digital BIM “visualization” technology.
This technology enabled automatic synchronization of changes and updates across the plan, interior, section, and related drawing views, eliminating inconsistencies between previous section, elevation, and plan drawings. Consequently, engineering design efficiency and quality improved significantly, construction timeline utilization increased, and repetitive work, errors, and inter-disciplinary clashes were greatly reduced.
The Application of BIM Technology in Zhejiang Province
Zhejiang province currently hosts the largest scale of private construction enterprises, surpassing even Jiangsu. However, compared to central enterprises, local state-owned companies, and Jiangsu’s state-owned and private enterprises, Zhejiang’s construction firms lag behind in BIM adoption.
Several factors contribute to this delay:
- First, the traditional core competitiveness focuses heavily on short-term market survival rather than management capabilities.
- Second, under the conventional project contracting model, frontline engineering departments exercise significant autonomy in management methods, which dilutes higher-level strategic intentions and impedes BIM implementation.
- Third, resource allocation for BIM execution is insufficient. Rapid market and scale expansion have led to shortages of skilled engineers and frontline personnel. The current workforce quality and skills fall short of BIM application requirements, weakening project managers’ control over middle management and hindering BIM adoption in engineering departments.
- Fourth, construction companies lack strategic planning for BIM integration. BIM remains undervalued at the strategic level, and only a few Zhejiang firms, such as Hangzhou Raffles City, have begun exploring BIM applications.
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