Management in Construction Research Association (MiCRA)

Postgraduate Conference

Potential Application of BIM in Construction Dispute and Conflict

Seyed Meysam Khoshnava 1, a*, Alireza Ahankoob2, b

Christopher Preece3, Raheleh Rostami4
1,2
University Teknologi Malaysia, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Malaysia, Johor.
3
Professor of International Construction Business at Razak School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Malaysia,
kuala Lumpur
4
University Teknologi Malaysia, Faculty of Built Environment, Malaysia, Johor.
a
Email: seyedmeysamkhoshnava@yahoo.com, bEmail: alireza.a1982@gmail.com

Abstract— Disputes can be about broken In the bow figure is showed BIM applications in the
contracts, negligence, land use, construction projects, different phases of an AEC project.
business deals, relations with government, debtor-
creditor problems, employment issues, and any other
circumstance where parties are having a
disagreement, but; In the process of construction it’s
existed different causes and conflicts that lead to
Dispute.
Also, in defining the different maturity levels of
BIM, the concepts of 4D, 5D and 6D are used to
indicate the elements and benefits of increasingly
complex BIM models. In this paper, the significant
purpose should be per-suited is the some conflicts and
finding some alternative resolution for disputes
during the life cycle of construction with BIM. These
disputes could be produced with some parts of
construction process that mention them in continuous.

Keywords—BIM, Dispute, Conflict, Construction Process

1. Introduction:
Building Information Modelling (BIM) has emerged
as an innovative way to manage projects. Many
researchers and practitioners have indicated that the BIM
technology is set to become as indispensable to building
design and construction as the proverbial tee square or
hammer and nail. As the use of BIM accelerates,
collaboration within project teams should increase, which
will lead to improved profitability, reduced costs, better
time management and improved customer/client
relationships. On the other hand, teams implementing
BIM should be very careful about the legal pitfalls such
as data ownership and associated propriety issues and
risk sharing. Such issues must be addressed upfront in the
contract documents.
The Architecture, Engineering and Construction
(AEC) industries have long sought techniques to decrease
project cost, increase productivity and quality, and reduce
project delivery time. Building Information Modelling
(BIM) offers the potential to achieve these objectives.
BIM represents the development and use of computer-
generated n-dimensional (n-D) models to simulate the
planning, design, construction and operation of a facility.
Figure 1 - BIM applications in the different phases
of an AEC project
A Building Information Modelling is a data-rich,
object-oriented, intelligent and parametric digital
representation of the facility, from which views and data
appropriate to various users’ needs can be extracted and
analysed to generate information that can be used to
make decisions and to improve the process of delivering
the facility (AGC, 2005).
Also, it is important to note that a building
information model characterizes the geometry, spatial
relationships, geographic information, quantities and
properties of building elements, cost estimates, material
inventories and project schedule. This model can be used
to demonstrate the entire building life cycle (Bazjanac,
2006).
1.1 building Information Modelling benefits:
The key benefit of BIM is its accurate geometrical
representation of the parts of a building in an integrated

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data environment (CRC Construction Innovation, 2007).
Other related benefits are:
• Faster and more effective processes – information
is more easily shared, can be value-added and reused.
• Better design – building proposals can be
rigorously analysed, simulations can be performed
quickly and performance benchmarked, enabling
improved and innovative solutions.
• Controlled whole-life costs and environmental data
– environmental performance is more predictable,
lifecycle costs are better understood.
• Automated assembly – digital product data can be
exploited in downstream processes and be used for
manufacturing/assembling of structural systems.
• Better customer service – proposals are better
understood through accurate visualization.
• Lifecycle data – requirements, design, construction
and operational information can be used in facilities
management
1.2 Building Information Modeling Application:
Building information model can be used for the
following purposes:
• Visualization: 3D renderings can be easily
generated in-house with little additional effort.
• Fabrication/shop drawings: it is easy to generate
shop drawings for various building systems, e.g., the
sheet metal ductwork shop drawing can be quickly
produced once the model is complete.
• Code reviews: fire departments and other officials
may use these models for building projects review.
• Forensic analysis: a building information model
can easily be adapted to graphically illustrate potential
failures, leaks, evacuation plans, etc.
• Facilities management: facilities management
departments can use BIM for renovations, space
planning, and maintenance operations.
• Cost estimating: BIM software(s) have built-in cost
estimating features. Material quantities are automatically
extracted and changed when any changes are made in the
model.
• Construction sequencing: a building information
model can be effectively used to create material ordering,
fabrication, and delivery schedules for all building
components.
• Conflict, interference and collision detection:
because BIM models are created, to scale, in 3D space,
all major systems can be visually checked for
interferences. For example this process can verify that
piping does not intersect with steel beams, ducts or walls.
In this paper, the significant purpose should be per
suited is the some conflicts and finding some alternative
resolution for disputes during the life cycle of
construction with BIM. These disputes could be produced
with some parts of construction process that mention
them in continuous.
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2. DISPUTE & DIFFERENT WAYS OF
DISPUTE RESOLUTION:
“Conflict is seen to be a normal procedure in the
construction industry and time has come for professionals
to come up with ideas on how to handle the situation to
normal. Disputes are almost inevitable in the fulfillment
of construction contracts and with those of significant
magnitude or time span, the propensity for dispute is
greater”. (Hellard, 1987).
The oxford dictionary defines dispute as a
misunderstanding between two parties, either contractual
or non-contractual but the fact is there is a
misunderstanding between the two it becomes a dispute.
“A dispute is defined as a class or kind of conflict, which
manifests itself in distinct and justifiable issues. It
involves disagreement over issues capable of resolution
by negotiation, mediation or third party
adjudication.”(Brown et al., 1993).
According to Bachner (1988) “a dispute will not
exist until a claim is asserted by one party which is
disputed by the other party”.
At most claims are seen to be one of the causes and
this needs an intervention of a neutral body to solve the
problem if the other party will dispute the said claim. The
designer would not agree when they have made a blander
in their designs but there will always put the blame with
the contractor, claiming he is failing to do his work.
According to Kumaraswarmy and Yogeswaran (1997), “a
dispute can be said to exist when a claim or assertion
made is made by one party is rejected by the other party
and that rejection is not accepted.”
They were referring this to the Institution of Civil
Engineer’s arbitration procedure. Any misunderstanding
between two parties needs an intervention of a neutral
body who will not be biased in awarding the decision. If
the other party suspects that the award given is biased he
then prefers for a better alternative.
2.1 COMMON RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
CONSTRUCTION PARTIES:
Under normal circumstances disputes should not
occur if there is no common relationship between two
parties, there must be a common relationship between the
two then a misunderstanding to be fulfilled and the other
parties fails to fulfill it then it becomes a dispute. There
are five sets of contractual relationships which are
common in the construction program. According to
Hellard (1987) the relationships are as follows;
1- The relationship of the owner to the designer
2- The relationship of the designer to another
design specialist(s)
3- The relationship of the owner to the prime
contractor
4- The relationship of the prime contractor to its
subcontractors and
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5- The relationship of the prime contractor to
suppliers
2.2 ROOT CAUSES OF DISPUTE:
1- The The contract conditions
A) Lack of perfection in the contract documents:
“Owners, contractors, designers, and everyone
involved in construction readily recognize and
are quick to admit publicly the very obvious fact
that a perfect set of contract documents simply
does not exist.” ( Hohns, 1979).
B) Failure to account the cost: “Dispute continually
arises because someone failed to count the cost
at the beginning when the cost should have been
defined” (Jessup et al., 1963).
C) The psychology of people in construction: “It
was noted earlier that construction is not a
science, it is an art. Construction is really
people, and the successful contract
administrator, or disputant to a contract
interpretation or unfortunate occurrence on a
project, is well served to know a little about
people involved.” ( Hohns, 1979)
B) Warranties: The contractor warrants to the
owner and the SO that all materials and
equipment furnished under this contract will be
known unless otherwise specified, and that all
work will be good quality, free from faults and
defects and in conforming to the contract
documents. “Many problems in warranty come
about when the contractor is unable to duplicate
the agreement it made with the owner, its
suppliers, and its subcontractors the typical
national manufacturer of major equipment will
offer a warranty for one year from stat up, a
period that does not coincide with the agreement
between owner and contractor” (Battelle, 1995).
5- Time: The owner with the late facility has all sorts
of extra costs or losses with which to contend in a
delay posture; the contractor suffer the added costs
of stretch-out, escalation of wages and other costs,
and loss from their liability to focus management on
new spheres of work.

2- The design deficiency:

A) The underground or subsurface problem: The
cause of underground problem can be generally
be traced to the handling, display, and
interpretation of subsurface investigations.
B) Risks: The contractor should assess and display
its risks to its advantage in any project it prices.
C) Defective Plans: “A major source of disputes in
the design deficiencies is that categorized as
defective plans” (Hellard, 1997).
D) Methods or Means and specification perforance:
The case in which the designer has specified
both method or means of construction and the
result required and then refuses to accept one of
these two requirements.

3- The construction process: Some items that give

rise to dispute in the construction process are failure
to plan and schedule adequately, failure to follow a
plan and schedule, disagreement over what material
is really specified, disputes over what is really an
equal, failure to supply adequate manpower,
responsibility for lack of adequate subcontractor
manpower, equipment changes that cause delay. The
construction process dispute and almost all disputes
involving large amounts of money are time related” Figure 2: All causes of Dispute in summary
(Hellard, 1997).
4- The consumer reaction
A) The public owner: The typical public owner, According to Whitfield in 1994: “Some conflicts and
such as the a school board, division of hospitals, disputes are not avoidable, proper management of
or municipal corporation, is not particularly set conflict will ease the impact it has on the construction
up or organized to display or assert its reaction process, but resolution must follow quickly. Dispute can
to its new building or alteration project if it does be resolved by either using informal such as negotiation
not do what it was supposed to do. and alternative resolution methods (ADR) or formal

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resolution methods such as mediation, arbitration and 2.4 The Impact of Construction Disputes:
litigation.”
The impact of construction disputes can be
Dispute resolution is the part of the practice of law summarized as follows:
that deals with how to solve the various disputes that
people, corporations, and other entities face in the 1) Additional expense in managerial and
process of their daily lives and businesses. Disputes can administration
be about broken contracts, negligence, land use,
construction projects, business deals, relations with 2) Possibility of litigation cases
government, debtor-creditor problems, employment
issues, and any other circumstance where parties are 3) Loss of company reputation
having a disagreement. Cheung, et al., (2000) in their
reviewed paper on project dispute resolution satisfaction 4) Loss of profitability and perhaps business
classification through neural network. They have viability
classified the dispute resolutions into five different
stages. The diagram bellow illustrates the stages. 5) Time delays and costs overruns

6) Extended and / or more complex award process

7) Loss of professional reputation

8) Diminution of respect between parties and

deterioration of relationship and break down in
cooperation

9) High tender prices

10) Rework and relocation costs for men, equipment

and materials.

2.5 INTEGRATION BETWEEN BIM AND

DISPUTE:
Figure 3: Five stages classification of Dispute Resolution
According to the figure 2, with discussing between
the briefing of all causes in dispute and productivity of
BIM, it’s determined the some points and information for
2.3 DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESS IN
preventing of dispute before, during, and after the
GENERAL:
construction process.
1- Most disputes are of a minor nature and are
So, in the first it is divided two parts in separated
settled quickly, fairly and amicably by the
tables and after that is discussed about the integration and
building team.
collaboration of two tables:
2- From time to time, however, more serious the
2.5.1 BRIEFING OF ALL CAUSES IN DISPUTE:
issues come into dispute.
Contract Lack of perfection in the contract
3- When this happens, the building team should
conditions documents, failure to count the cost, the
make mean to reach a fair Settlement by
psychology of people in construction
negotiation
Design Defective plans, the underground or
Deficiency subsurface problems, risks
4- If this fails, it becomes necessary to use one or
more of the dispute resolution mechanisms Construction No damage for delay contract clause, time
available and these are mediation, arbitration Process related problems, changes
and litigation. Caused be Poor communication, over design and
Consultants understanding costs, incompleteness of
5- When the above mentioned methods of dispute drawing
recovery fail, the outcome of the results will be Caused be Reluctance to seek for clarification,
only winning or losing of one of the parties. Contractors delayed works, poor scheduling
Caused by Failure to respond in timely manner,
Clients discrepancies in contract documents,

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reluctance to cheek for constructability
2.5.2 Potential and Productivity of BIM:
There is a wide spectrum of possible uses of BIM on
construction projects. In defining the different maturity
levels of BIM, the concepts of 4D, 5D and 6D are used to
indicate the elements and benefits of increasingly
complex BIM models. At the other end of the spectrum,
BIM can provide a collaborative framework among all
project parties, allowing the free-flow of data about what
is being designed and how it will be constructed.
Collaborative use of BIM takes full advantage of BIM's
capabilities.
3D – ModeL
Model walkthroughs: These provide a great
visualisation tool enabling designers and contractors to
work together to identify and resolve problems with the
help of the model before walking on-site
Clash detection: In traditionally design drawings
must be coordinated to assure that different building
systems do not clash and can actually be constructed in
the allowed space. Accordingly, most clashes are
identified when the contractor receives the design
drawings and everyone is on-site and working. With
clashes being detected so late, delay is caused and
decisions need to be made very quickly in order to
provide a solution. BIM enables potential problems to be
identified early in the design phase and resolved before
construction begins
Project visualization: Simple schedule simulation
can show the owner what the building will look like as
construction progresses. This provides a very useful and
successful marketing tool for all those involved in a
project. Contractors can also use project visualization to
understand how the building will come together
Virtual mock-up models: Often on large projects
the owner will request physical mock-up models so they
can visualize, better understand and make decisions about
the aesthetics and the functionality of part of the project.the designer and updated throughout the construction
BIM modeling enables virtual mock-ups to be made and
tested for a fraction of the cost
Prefabrication: The level of construction
information in a BIM model means that prefabrication
can be utilized with greater assurance that prefabricated
components will fit once on-site. As a result, more
construction work can be performed offsite, cost
efficiently, in controlled factory conditions and then
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efficiently installed
4D – Time
Construction planning and management: BIM
models provide a means of verifying site logistics and
yard operations by including tools to visually depict the
space utilization of the job site throughout a project's
construction. The model can include temporary
components such as cranes, lorries and fencing. Traffic
access routes for lorries, cranes, lifts, and other large
items can also be incorporated into the model as part of
the logistics plan. Tools can further be used to enhance
the planning and monitoring of health and safety
precautions needed on-site as the project progresses
Schedule visualization: By watching the schedule
visualization, project members will be able to make
sound decisions based upon multiple sources of accurate
real-time information. Within the BIM model a chart can
be used to show the critical path and visually show the
dependency of some sequences on others. As the design
is changed, advanced BIM models will be able to
automatically identify those changes that will affect the
critical path and indicate what there corresponding
impact will be on the overall delivery of the project
5D – Cost
Quantity Takeoffs: To determine a project's
construction cost and requirements, contractors
traditionally perform material ‘take-offs’ manually, a
process fraught with the potential for error. With BIM,
the model includes information that allows a contractor to
accurately and rapidly generate an array of essential
estimating information, such as materials quantities and
costs, size and area estimates, and productivity
projections. As changes are made, estimating information
automatically adjusts, allowing greater contractor
productivity
‘Real Time’ cost estimating: In a BIM model cost
data can be added to each object enabling the model to
automatically calculate a rough estimate of material
costs. This provides a valuable tool for designers,
enabling them to conduct value engineering. However, it
should be noted that overall project pricing would still
require the expertise of a cost estimator
6D – Facilities Management
Lifecycle management: Where a model is created by
phase, it will have the capacity to become an ‘as built’
model, which also can be turned over to the owner. The
model will be able to contain all of the specifications,
operation and maintenance (O&M) manuals and warranty
information, useful for future maintenance. This
eliminates the problems that can currently be experienced
if the O&M manual has been misplaced or is kept at a
remote location
Data Capture: Sensors can feed back and record data
relevant to the operation phase of a building, enabling
BIM to be used to model and evaluate energy efficiency,
Management in Construction Research Association (MiCRA)
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monitor a building's life cycle costs and optimize its cost
efficiency. It also enables the owner to evaluate the cost-
effectiveness of any proposed upgrades
2.6 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION:
• Potential of BIM for preventing and identifying of
Conflicts during the Design Stage:
On complex projects, conflict identification and
resolution is an extraordinarily expensive and difficult
task. In many instances, designers do not have the time or
budget to fully explore and resolve conflict issues. In
other instances, full coordination cannot be accomplished
during the design phase because the contractor later will
design key systems, such as HVAC or life safety
equipment, that are not reflected in the design drawings.
Even in a complete design-bid-build project, construction
details and layouts may require information regarding the
actual equipment that will be installed.
This information deficit typically is addressed by
warning the contractor that the design is “diagrammatic”
and that coordination will be required. Traditionally, the
contractor coordinates physical drawings of different
systems by overlaying them on light tables to determine
if the various systems actually can be constructed in the
allowed space. Alternatively, drawings for each
discipline are merged and printed as color-coded
composite drawings. Conflicts that are identified are
brought to the designer’s attention through the request for
information process, where solutions can be developed
and clarifications issued. Light table resolution, however,
is inherently a two dimensional process applied to a
three-dimensional problem. It is notoriously difficult and
fraught with error, and thus conflicts are a primary source
of contractor claims.
Building information modelling greatly reduces
conflict issues by integrating all the key systems into the
model. Design BIM systems can detect internal conflicts
and model viewing systems such as Navis-Works
software can detect and highlight conflicts between the
models and other information imported into the viewer.
The solution can then be checked to ensure that it
resolves the problem and to determine if it creates other,
unintended, consequences. In a complex project, the
savings derived from coordination can completely offset
the model’s cost.
Take-offs and Estimating The model contains
information, or can link to information, necessary to
generate bills of materials, size and area estimates,
productivity, materials cost, and related estimating
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information. It avoids the processing of material take-offs
manually, thus reducing error and misunderstanding.
Moreover, the linked cost information evolves in step
with the design changes. The estimating advantages are
so significant that some contractors will create models on
2D-designed projects to use the model’s estimating
capabilities.
• Potential of BIM for preventing of Conflicts in
Fabrication before Construction Process:
In some instances, the models in BIM can provide
construction details and fabrication information. This
reduces costs by reducing the detailing effort and
increases fabrication accuracy. In addition, because
conflicts are resolved through the model, there is greater
confidence that prefabricated material will fit when
delivered. This allows more construction work to be
performed offsite in optimal factory conditions.
Subcontractors in the steel and MEP trades regularly use
models to fabricate their products.
Reduced Fabrication Costs and Errors can be another
significant character of BIM. The ability to use
information in the model to directly create fabrication
drawings avoids a problematic and difficult step in the
construction process. In a traditional workflow, the
fabricators must review the plans and specifications,
prepare fabrication drawings, compare them to other
fabrication and design drawings, have them reviewed by
the design team, and eventually release the drawings for
fabrication. Errors can occur at any stage. By using the
data in the model, dimensional errors, conflicts, and
integration errors can be avoided or significantly reduced.
In addition, the model can be updated with as-built
information, allowing accurate fabrication of custom
components, such as building facades.
Also, integration the fabrication process and BIM in
construction process can lead to enhance erected and
constructability in this stage. Some conflicts are produced
in this stage among all parts that involve, so; these two
methods can collaborated together and prevent this some
disputes in this stage.
• Potential of BIM compared to traditional models for
Conflict:
The descriptor “all the physical and functional
characteristics” expands BIM beyond earlier three-
dimensional design tools. In BIM, the building is not just
a three-dimensional picture. Instead, it is a digital
simulation of the facility that can be viewed, tested,
designed, constructed, and deconstructed digitally. This
promotes iterative design optimization and the ability to
“rehearse” construction before ever moving labour,
material, and equipment into the field.
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Traditional construction practices require the same

information to be used multiple times by multiple
organizations. Identical information is entered into
different programs that provide specific solutions, such as
structural analysis, code compliance, material quantities,
or cost estimates. Every repetition is an opportunity for
inconsistency and error. Moreover, even if information is
digitally translated from one program to another,
translation can alter or corrupt the data. Versioning can
be a nightmare, even with compatible programs. Drawing
backgrounds is a recurring example of this problem. The
architect’s consultants need to upload and maintain the
basic design backgrounds they receive from the architect.
These backgrounds, however, will change as the design
develops and each party must take considerable care to
ensure that each is working with the latest versions of the
basic documents. The contractors and vendors must take
the information provided by the designers, often in paper
form, and enter it into their systems. As the design
develops, changes in one party’s documents must be
transferred back to the others. Errors begin to creep into
the documents because updates are incompletely or
incorrectly entered, and work can be wasted because
parties are working from outdated information.

Therefore, traditionally design drawings must be

coordinated to assure that different building systems
don’t clash and can actually be constructed in the allowed
space. Accordingly, most clashed are identified when the
contractor receives the design drawings and everyone is
on-site and working. With clashes being detected so late,
delay is caused and decisions need to be made very
quickly in order to provide a solution. BIM enables
potential problems to be identified early in the design
phase and resolved before construction begins.
Illustrating the advantages of BIM, one project for the
General Services Administration in America saw BIM
model reviewers find 257 constructability issues and
7213 conflicts. On the same project, traditional plan
reviewers found six constructability issues and one
conflict. So, these are significant distinction between
BIM and traditional model for reviewing and finding
conflicts in construction process that lead to prevent of
disputes among of different construction parties.

REFERENCES

[1] Associated General Contractors of America. (2005). The

Contractor’s Guide to BIM, 1st ed. AGC Research Foundation,
Las Vegas, NV.

[2] Bazjanac, V. (October 23, 2006). Virtual Building

Environments (VBE) – Applying Information Modeling to
Buildings [WWW document]. URL
http://repositories.cdlib.org/lbnl/LBNL-56072

[3] CRC Construction Innovation. (2007). Adopting BIM for

Facilities Management: Solutions for Managing the Sydney Opera
House, Cooperative Research Center for Construction Innovation,
Brisbane,
Australia.
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