Developing Client Leadership to Drive BIM Adoption for WHS Management

The construction sector consistently reports high numbers of injuries and fatalities. Many incidents can be avoided through better planning, design and construction practices, which can be supported by technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM). BIM adoption has been increasing in Australia, but its specific adoption to support work health and safety (WHS) goals remains limited. This paper presents findings from Phase 1 of a four-phase government-funded research project exploring how a large-scale industry-wide shift can be achieved. Phase 1 included a literature review that confirmed a lack of systematic studies that explore the potential use of BIM for WHS management in holistic ways and nine semi structured interviews of expert stakeholders to explore drivers and barriers to the adoption of BIM for WHS management. Using a two-stage qualitative analysis, the research team found four areas that were fundamental to achieving this shift: (1) Client Leadership, where clients with large infrastructure project portfolios created an environment prioritizing the structured, collaborative creation and use of information requirements across supply chains; (2) Tendering Proficiency where BIM for WHS information requirements were specified at early stages; (3) Best Practice, showing use of BIM across six WHS areas and (4) Supply Chain Monitoring.