Building information modelling and future quantity surveyor’s practice in Sri Lankan construction industry

Abstract

Sustainability has been an often mentioned goal of businesses, non-profit organizations and governments in the past decade, yet measuring the degree to which an organization is being sustainable or pursuing sustainable growth can be difficult. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a new paradigm in the thriving Sustainable construction industry, from which the triple bottom line of the Sustainability can be greatly achieved. As the significance of BIM has become increasingly appreciated, most of the activities in the building industry have focused on BIM with sustainable design strategies. BIM has a great potential for integration into construction projects life cycle which will lead to pave the way towards becoming the industry standards for construction projects. Hence BIM would be a key tool in the project procurement in the future. However, BIM is not yet implemented in Sri Lankan construction industry where incorporation of BIM into construction projects life cycle would create differentiation in traditional procurement systems. Consequently, the role of Quantity Surveyors whose building procurement is based on BIM would be revolutionized drastically from the existing role where BIM permits to analyse the building, the structure, materials and performance in real time as it is being designed. Hence, a research is conducted with broader aim of exploring the potential expansions of QS roles, changing key roles and responsibilities of future Quantity Surveyors in a sustainable BIM based project delivery in Sri Lanka, which will lend a hand in training Quantity Surveyors to face future challenges. This paper contains the preliminary findings of a literature review conducted on the current key roles and responsibilities of Quantity Surveyors in local building procurement and future expectations in a BIM based project delivery.