Mitigating the Risks of Offsite Manufacturing through the Application of BIM

The Iranian construction industry is facing several problems including low productivity and immense housing scarcity. It is generally believed that industrialisation and offsite manufacturing can increase the productivity of the Iranian housing industry. Yet, one of the major issues of the Iranian construction industry is defective management during design and construction processes which has considerably increased the risks of offsite construction in Iran. BIM could theoretically address these issues thanks to its potential advantages such as improved efficiency, productivity, and quality. As one of the key stakeholders, architects have a major role in the current situation of the Iranian construction industry. A questionnaire survey was conducted in architectural SMEs to study the normal practices of architects during design and construction processes on site. Frequent design changes and defective communication between stakeholders were identified as the major issues. The results reveal that BIM in general and integrated design in particular could effectively address the aforementioned issues mitigating the risks of offsite construction in Iran.