Advancing the Use of BIM Through a Government Funded Construction Industry Competency Centre in Ireland

The main aim of this paper is to develop the early case for a new Competence Centre dedicated to industry led research in the Irish construction industry. It incorporates the results of a survey carried out by the Construction IT Aliance (CITA) and also identifies similiar centres carrying out industry led research around the world. Results from the survey show a clear support for the establishment of such a centre in Ireland and, in particular, a strong interest in Building Information Modelling (BIM) as a immediate priority research area. BIM is having a profound effect worldwide on the construction industry. The development and adoption of BIM technologies is in parallel with other major changes relating to project procurement approaches, such as Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), and the general sustainability agenda. Although slow to take off in Ireland to-date, BIM is becoming extremely relevant in other countries, with over 50% adoption in the United States and an average of 36% in Europe. The authors argue that a government funded Competence Centre will facilitate the Irish construction industry in re-establishing itself, domestically and internationally as a competitive entity.