Status of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the Developing Economy: A Case of Malawi

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has changed the landscape of the architectural, engineering and construction industry in the recent past decades. However, BIM is not well-researched in most of developing countries such as Malawi; few or no studies address BIM adoption in the country. Therefore, this study seeks to examine the status of BIM in the Malawi construction industry through a well-structured survey. A non-probability and purposive sampling were adopted in this study. A total of 265 questionnaires were sent out. A total of 143 questionnaires were filled that is a 54% response rate. The research has revealed that construction experts are aware of BIM though the level of up take is quite low. Architects in Malawi are the most knowledgeable, seconded by land surveyors and then engineers. Similarly, it was revealed that majority of construction experts in Malawi have less than two years’ experience in the use of BIM. And have applied BIM in less than two projects using basic software such as AutoCAD, seconded by Civil 3D. Hence, this is clear evidence that BIM usage is in the initial stage and is just picking up in the country. And the research has shown that the majority of experts in Malawi are on level 1 of BIM usage which is the first stage of BIM adoption and is characterized by use of 3D models and output representation. Therefore, there is need for robust sensitization on the benefits of BIM and the training to improve its uptake in the construction industry in the country.