BIM Adoption Expands From 17% In 2007 To Over 70% In 2012, According To New McGraw-Hill Construction Report

NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- According to its latest SmartMarket Report, "The Business Value of BIM in North America: Multi-Year Trend Analysis and User Ratings (2007–2012)," produced by McGraw-Hill Construction, BIM adoption expanded from 17% in 2007 to 71% in 2012, demonstrating impressive growth despite the recent economic pressures.

"Though it may seem counterintuitive to increase spending during a recession, the research indicates that the industry is continuing to invest in a more efficient and productive future by embracing technologies and processes of BIM," said Stephen Jones, senior director at McGraw-Hill Construction and research director of the report.

"The results of the survey validate many key trends we are seeing in North America — notably, the strong growth of BIM in construction and adoption amongst owners, architects and engineers," said Phil Bernstein, vice president, strategic industry relations at Autodesk. "The results also point to the increased business benefits that all users derived from using BIM, such as better profits, more accurate documentation, less rework, reduced project duration, fewer claims and the ability to offer new services."

The report states that owners are becoming an important driving force to this increased adoption.  Patrick MacLeamy, CEO of HOK and chairman of buildingSMART International, predicted, "Over the next ten years, building owners will demand ever-increasing usage of BIM as a precondition, ushering in a new era of accuracy, quality and sophistication for the building industry."

As a way to quantify users' level of commitment to BIM, McGraw-Hill Construction developed a BIM Engagement Index, calculated from each BIM user's skill level, years of BIM experience, and percentage their projects that use BIM. McGraw-Hill Construction found that:

• 13% of BIM users demonstrate a very high BIM engagement level (e-level), requiring expert skill level, five or more years of experience, and implementation of BIM on more than 60% of their projects.  
• 67% of the very high e-level users report a very positive ROI on BIM (25% or higher) versus only 20% of low e-level BIM users, two-thirds of whom are at negative of break-even ROI.
• 52% of very high e-level users experience increased profits from their use of BIM compared to the 36% average for all users.

BIM, an innovative approach to design and construction for pioneering early adopters just a few years ago, is now taking its place firmly in the mainstream of the North American construction industry.

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