TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose A number of governments are making building information modeling (BIM) a mandatory requirement for all public works construction projects. While main contractors may be ready to comply with such requirements, the supply chain as whole may be vulnerable as lower-tier suppliers may not be able to adopt BIM. There is currently no objective approach to assessing BIM maturity; hence, this paper aims to develop a new approach to determine suppliers’ current vision and execution-based capabilities to exploit BIM and their capacity to reach a higher maturity level.Design/methodology/approach Based on UK Government BIM maturity levels, the authors exploit a unique data set made available by a main contractor, to determine a data-driven approach, using K-means, to assess the capabilities and vision of its supply base.Findings The authors find a direct comparison between our suggested K-means clusters and the UK Government’s BIM maturity levels. However, in interrogating specific cases, the authors find that using a subjective approach would have wrongly categorized certain companies. The authors also determine what capability and strategic developments are required for companies to move to a higher level.Research limitations/implications The method aligns with the existing UK BIM maturity model and enhances the model by determining the likelihood of a supplier in progressing to a higher level of maturity. The research was with a single case company, exploiting their existing survey instrument and data. A more comprehensive study could be adopted with a generic survey questionnaire.Practical implications The research may be exploited by companies to take a strategic approach to assess suppliers in BIM adoption and to establish supplier development mechanisms.Originality/value The data-driven approach avoids ambiguity of categories and mis-categorizing suppliers.
VL  - 19
IS  - 3
SN  - 1471-4175
DO  - 10.1108/CI-10-2018-0087
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/CI-10-2018-0087
AU  - Wang Yingli
AU  - Gosling Jonathan
AU  - Naim Mohamed M.
PY  - 2019
Y1  - 2019/01/01
TI  - Assessing supplier capabilities to exploit building information modelling
T2  - Construction Innovation
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 491
EP  - 510
Y2  - 2024/04/19
ER  -