AEC sector dominates BIM use in world survey
The architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector is leading the take-up of BIM (building information modelling), according to a worldwide survey carried out by Business Advantage. Nearly 49% of respondents in the AEC sector already use BIM, and this proportion is expected to reach 58% by the end of 2015, according to Chris Turner, CEO/managing director of Business Advantage.
The survey looked at CAD users, designers, engineers, professionals inducing managers and senior executives. 21% of these professional CAD users and managers across all industry sectors now use BIM, and is forecast to grow to 29% in the next three to five years.
Future usage will continue to be dominated by the AEC sector because of its focus on buildings.
The main benefits of using BIM are perceived to be design improvements (69%), savings on design time (54%), cost savings (34%) and faster response time to market (24%).
BIM usage is highest in small companies (26%). Usage in medium-sized companies is 18% and in large companies 19%.
By region, BIM usage is highest in North America (24%) followed by EMEA (21%) and APAC (Asia Pacific, 13%).
There are stark contrasts. For example, in EMEA, UK usage is 36%, and German usage is 11%.
