Survey evaluation of building information modelling (BIM) for health and safety in building construction projects in Malaysia

Abstract

Traditional safety planning methods that rely on manual inspections result in labour-intensive, time-consuming, and inadequate information transmission, which has significant negative social and economic effects on our society, as well as financial and schedule losses for construction projects. Building information modelling (BIM) is useful for analysing workplace safety issues, preventing risks and hazards, and improving safety throughout the project’s life cycle. This study intends to pinpoint health and safety concerns and to understand the role of BIM adoption in enhancing health and safety in Malaysian building construction projects. Following a survey of 302 Malaysian construction industry professionals, statistical data analysis using the relative importance index, reliability, validity, and correlation measures was performed. The results show that implementing BIM can prevent accidents on construction sites by detecting physical spatial clashes, anticipating project dangers, and providing a wealth of parametric data throughout the entire life cycle of structures. A framework was created to improve the application of BIM to enhance health and safety linked with construction projects. The study found that construction industry stakeholders believe that BIM implementation in construction projects can improve health and safety and reduce accident rates in Malaysia.