Bill of Quantities with 3D Views Using

Building Information Modeling

Abid Nadeem, Andy K. D. Wong &

Francis K. W. Wong

Arabian Journal for Science and

Engineering

ISSN 1319-8025

Arab J Sci Eng

DOI 10.1007/s13369-015-1657-2

13
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DOI 10.1007/s13369-015-1657-2

RESEARCH ARTICLE - CIVIL ENGINEERING

Bill of Quantities with 3D Views Using Building Information

Modeling
Abid Nadeem1 · Andy K. D. Wong2 · Francis K. W. Wong2

Received: 23 July 2014 / Accepted: 13 April 2015

© King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals 2015

Abstract An approach for enhancing the production effi- Keywords Building information modeling · Bill of
quantities · Construction estimating · Quantity
ciency of bill of quantities (BQ) used on construction surveying
projects is presented. The approach was developed to
integrate the quantities obtained from a building
information model of the project into a suitably prepared 1 Introduction
electronic format of BQ with 3D views. In this format of
BQ, the building information modeling (BIM) technology In a traditional construction project setting, a bill of
provides enhanced functional- ity to a contractor’s quantity quantities (BQ) is prepared based on detailed drawings and
surveyor whose primary task is to accurately determine the specifi- cations. BQ is a document which is usually
quantities from the project draw- ings. A review of the prepared by professional quantity surveyors on behalf of the
traditional BQ preparation methods is presented to client (owner and/or contractor) [1]. BQ provides a
highlight their characteristics and to reflect on their structured estimating framework for construction projects
benefits and barriers. Questionnaire surveys were and is the part of the materials management plan of the
conducted with various groups of respondents to obtain project [2]. In the pre- tender stage of a project, the BQ are
their opinions about the proposed BQ format. They mainly used for cost estimating and comparing tender
included expe- rienced quantity surveyors from the public prices submitted by various contractors [3]. For post-tender
and the private sectors, postgraduate, and undergraduate work, BQ has applications for cost planning, cash flow
students studying in BIM-related courses. The results of the projection, budget allocation, interim payments, and
questionnaire survey showed mostly a positive view variation order valuations and final account settlements [4].
toward the proposed BQ for- mat. Slight differences in the Information from BQ has also been used for the estimation
opinions of these three groups were also present. It is of construction and demolition waste volume generation in
expected that the approach as pre- sented in this paper for new residential buildings [5]. Despite many uses of BQ, its
the development of BQ with 3D BIM views could usefully application needs a lot of rework to suit the needs of
be incorporated into the standard quantity surveying construction projects [6]. Bandi et al. [7] found that the
practices for quantity takeoffs in various countries. computerization of BQ has not led to any increased
transference of data from the quantity surveyor to the
✉ Abid Nadeem contractor, so that while the efficiency of BQ production
[email protected] has increased, the overall effectiveness of the BQ has not
Andy K. D. Wong increased. Moreover, Davis et al. [8] reported that the use
[email protected] of bill of quantities prepared in accordance with the
Francis K. W. Wong standard method of measurement is on the decline and only
[email protected] useful as a tool for post-contract control. There is
1
Department of Civil Engineering, Nazarbayev
therefore, a need to improve the effectiveness of BQ for its
University, Astana, Kazakhstan use on a construction project.
2
Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong The production of BQ is normally based on information
Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong extracted manually from two-dimensional (2D) drawings

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and

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text-based specifications with little or no presence of three- quantity surveying.

dimensional (3D) visualization aids of the project facilities
to be constructed. The provision of 3D visualization aids
in preparing and maintaining a BQ can be an indispens-
able capability. Better visualization in 2D design practice
is often difficult to achieve. Modeling tools which can
provide enhanced visualization of the building projects
early in the project lifecycle can be used in preparing BQ.
These tools have great potential for quantity surveyors in
costing building works and can change the design work
culture [9]. Building information modeling (BIM) can be
one of those tools which can produce useful data for
building costing purposes. BIM software can provide
estimating data and 3D visualization which can be used by
the quantity surveyor to produce a BQ in a suitable
electronic format. In this paper, it is proposed how to use
the estimating data from BIM software in an easy to use
electronic format which has a wide acceptability in the
industry.
The portable document format (PDF) as a content shar-
ing tool is widely used at almost all computing devices and
is a well-accepted standard solution for electronic content
sharing over the Internet. Various software exist which can
create PDF documents. The recent releases of Adobe Acro-
bat (version 9 or later) provide more graphical features
such as 3D model and Flash content support. This has
enabled these graphical features to be stored in a PDF file
or port- folios and to be easily shared with other parties.
Therefore, the ability of BIM to produce interactive 3D
models can be combined with the enhanced sharing ability
obtained with PDF format to use it as an assistive tool in
BIM applica- tions.
In this context, this paper shows how the new features
of electronic document format (such as PDF) can be
adopted to produce BIM-based 3D views in an easily
shareable format and enhance the production and usage of
bill of quantities in quantity surveying practices. In this
paper, Autodesk Revit was used to create 3D model and
perform material takeoff, while Microsoft Word and
Adobe Acrobat were used to cre- ate BQ. The aim of this
paper is to present an enhanced approach to quantity
surveying practice by demonstrating an innovative use of
BIM and the electronic document format to cater for the
changing demands created by the introduc- tion of BIM in
project lifecycles. This format provides a BQ solution with
BIM views and is tested on a building extension project in
Hong Kong which is presented as the case study in this
paper. The results from a questionnaire survey conducted in
Hong Kong about the proposed format are also presented
from the views of experienced quantity surveyors and uni-
versity students learning this BQ format. The survey also
highlighted the benefits and barriers of using BIM for BQ
production, and recommendations were made for improv-
ing the existing practices of works measurement in
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2 Literature Review which was inca- pable of extracting the project data
pertinent to performing an automated bill of quantities and
In a traditional project setting, BQ is used in a tender therefore, developed a com-
process for a contractor’s selection. However, it is also
used for a contractor’s post-tender procedures such as
purchasing, plan- ning, and controlling. [10]. Pasquire and
McCaffer [11] cat- egorized the information contained in
a BQ into the prelim- inaries, preambles, and bills. BQ
has also been used as a source by the researchers to
identify safety risks for con- struction activities [12].
Kodikara et al. [4] recognized the use and extent of use of
various forms of information con- tained in the BQ and
concluded that the critical areas where attention is
required in order to reduce the repetition work in the post-
tender use of the BQ are the ‘quantities’, ‘quantity units’
and ‘unit rates’ in the BQ. Odeyinka et al. [13] investi-
gated the discrepancies between the budgetary figures
from the BQ and the actual accounting data for various
types of projects. They found that the discrepancy
increased with the complexity of the projects making
traditional BQ data less reliable for complex projects.
Regarding the use of traditional form of BQ, many
prob- lems have been identified by researchers. Nelson
[14] remarked that the information from BQ cannot be
readily used, and a lot of rework in the form of
information seek- ing, assembling, and interpreting data
from drawings and recalculation of dimensions is
required. This is attributed to uncoordinated information;
quantity takeoff not in the sequence of site operations and
a need to convert units before use in BQ. In this way, both
the operational and elemental format of BQ were deemed
inadequate [4]. Besides, the for- mat of BQ has been
attributed to make the projects costly by using detailed
pattern of individual specialists, specifi- cations, and
schedule of rates [15]. Vine-Lott [15] pointed out that the
computers could be used to great advantage to store
information and present data to the user in a suitable form.
Therefore, the manual approaches for quantity survey- ing
have been replaced by automated techniques that have
changed the way estimates are being produced within last
three decades. This will continue to change as new
software and techniques are being developed.
One of the early approaches to use computers in
quantity takeoff required to prepare BQ is the use of
computer aided drafting (CAD) systems [16,17].
Electronic spreadsheets are also used for the preparation
of pricing sheets to quickly per- form all mathematical
steps for which a quantity estimator spends hours in
preparation and checking the calculations. Some of the
commercially available estimating software can take the
quantities determined either manually, from a CAD file,
or with the assistance of digitizer and apply a database of
unit prices to calculate the total cost. Saleh [16]
recognized the limitation of the standard CAD systems

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puter program using C-language to automate the BIM con- cepts for cost estimating, quantity surveying, and
production of BQ from the standard AutoCAD system. quantity takeoff [20,25–35]. Without the use of BIM or other
The use of 3D models for cost estimating to generate a automat-
bill of quantities was highlighted by Hartmann et al. [18] to
result in time savings and the increased accuracy in the
esti- mating process. BIM-based tools, for example, were
shown to decrease the time to take off the quantities to
generate the bill of materials, schedule, and estimate [19].
Moreover, the BIM-assisted estimate demonstrated better
performance over traditional estimating methods for the
entry-level user. More complex the estimating tasks, the
clearer the advan- tages were of using BIM-based
estimating tools instead of traditional estimating methods
[20].
Geographical Information System (GIS) was employed
by Cheng and Yang [17] in combination with other software
for cost estimation. They developed a GIS-based tool to
assist planners in quantity takeoff and assessing materials
layout design. The tool uses GIS in combination with CAD
systems to compute quantity takeoff based on the
dimensions of the drawings as well as to generate bill of
material (BOM) by using Map/Info and Microsoft Access.
GIS improved con- struction planning and design efficiency
by integrating spatial and attribute information in a single
environment. However, visualization using GIS is difficult
to achieve [21].
In the traditional BQ preparation process where paper-
based BQ preparation is adopted, BQ is firstly prepared by
the consultant’s quantity surveyors. Depending on the type
of works and the owner’s requirements, the consultant uses
a specific format for the preparation of BQ. For example,
in Hong Kong, HKSMM4 (or its earlier version) [22] is
widely used as the guiding document for preparation of BQ
for building works in Hong Kong. The current edition of
this document adopts a tabular format for the presentation
of various items which describes the rules for defining the
item, measurement, coverage, and supplementary informa-
tion. The tabular format is implemented on spreadsheets
pro- grams for ease in filling the items and their respective
quan- tities. Another format is from the Architectural
Services Department of Hong Kong [23] which itemizes
various costs according to a total project cost model for a
typical building to be constructed by this department.
Similarly, for civil engi- neering works, the Institution of
Civil Engineers had devel- oped a format for BQ which is
called CESMM3 [24]. The pro- duced BQ in current
practice are mostly paper based and not very suitable for
electronic transfer from one party to another. Usually, the
electronic format of the prepared BQ is shared through
compact disk media which although is faster than a
complete paper-based format but much slower than if it is
to be shared by using computer networks in electronic
formats. A number of research and application efforts have
been made and presented in the last 5 years for utilizing

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ing techniques, most of the time spent by the estimator to offer great potential to
create a cost estimate is on quantity takeoffs. BIM can
elim- inate manual takeoffs, save time, cost, and reduces
potential for human error. BIM can help tap the abilities
of estimators toward improving the estimates through
focusing on higher value project-specific factors by
making them to think less about just the simple but
tedious tasks of counting and mea- suring items.
From the above review of different approaches to
prepar- ing BQ, it is evident that BQ in its traditional
format has many drawbacks; most of which result from its
lack of interactiv- ity, repetitive works and lacking
visualization. The automated approaches using CAD, GIS,
and spreadsheets try to over- come these difficulties.
However, these approaches do not fully address these
problems. A BIM-based approach carry- ing the
portability of pdf document viewer may provide such
solution which is explained in the following sections.

3 Research Methodology

3.1 Case Study Project

The case reported in this paper is an extension works’

project for an existing secondary school in Hong Kong.
The exten- sion works consisted of two major parts. The
lower part was located at the ground floor and first floor.
Two additional 40 seats classrooms and one store room at
ground floor were built, whereas at the first floor, three
multi-purpose rooms
m × and
con- 8.12two
m. bathrooms
The 3D views
wereofbuilt
building before and after
in a construction area
of 17.25 struction are shown in Fig. 1a, b.
The upper part was located at the fifth and sixth floor.
At fifth floor, it included one amphitheater with 144 seats
and three additional 40 seats classrooms. All extension
works were constructed on one existing outdoor
basketball court.
The construction area was 19.2 m × 22.5 m. At sixth floor,
one sky garden was built on top of the new amphitheater
and classrooms. On the sky garden, solar panels were rec-
ommended to be installed for providing hot water. These
components are shown in Fig. 2a–d.
Thelion (∼US$820,000).
total estimated cost for this project was HK$6.4 mil-

3.2 BIM Implementation for Proposed BQ

In this project, BIM was utilized for converting BQ from

a manual format to an electronic format. The proposed
for- mat was intended to resolve issues related to
performance and visualization in BQ preparation and use.
The proposed format represents BQ with BIM views
which are easier to visualize than the traditional BQ and

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Fig. 1 a Existing structure.

b View after completion

Fig. 2 a Existing structure. b View after completion of 5/F. c View after completion of 5/F. d View after completion of whole works

contractor’s QS to provide better project-based estimating dissemination of model information were floor plans,
and costing-related services. ceiling plans, 3D views, elevations, section, schedules, etc.
For the purpose of BIM application in measurement for Anno- tated elements consisted of datum elements which
quantity surveying, the BIM model for the project could were the non-physical items used to establish project
be looked upon from three aspects. Firstly, the model pro- context such as levels; column grids; reference plans; and
vides the necessary information about building elements. the 2D components that maintain scale on paper were only
Secondly, different views of the building can be extracted visible in one view such as dimensions, text notes, and
from the model, and lastly, building views can be loaded tags and symbols. The BIM model utilized family
annotated for the purpose of emphasizing the building of properties in elements which were classified based on
parts in consid- eration to be quantified. type and instance of occur- rence of the element. Type
Building elements comprised of two main categories, properties of an element remain constant throughout the
which were the main building construction components model such as the dimension of a window and the cross-
host- ing the other non-structural components. Main sectional dimension of a beam. The instance properties of
components were the walls, floors, roofs, ceilings, stairs, an element change with the location of element in the
ramps etc., whe- reas other components were doors, building such as the elevation of win- dow of same type
windows, furniture, etc. The views from BIM model or the length of beam of similar cross- sectional
essential for understanding and dimensions. Such recognition in the model helped

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to automate the measurement of building elements in BIM 3.3 Materials Quantity Takeoff
model. During the process of BIM model creation, certain
custom fields were defined interrelating different building This project adopts Autodesk Revit as the modeling tools
elements along with defining data types for these custom (Fig. 3). This series of BIM software provided a set of
elements. built- in materials quantities taking off functions. Users can
The BIM model created a unique ID for the building use this function to generate a new schedule. It is shown in
elements needed to be measured. In the proposed model, Fig. 4a. A category of schedule is shown in Fig. 4b.
the data linkup for export to other applications was accom- After choosing schedule categories, the schedule
plished through ODBC (Open Data Base Connectivity) settings can be defined (Fig. 4c). A walls’ schedule is
stan- dard which was an interface by which application generated from the model automatically as shown in Fig.
programs could access and process SQL databases 4d. The total amounts of different object parameter such as
independent of any Database Management System used. area and vol- ume are calculated. Using concrete wall as an
BIM was adopted at the initial design stage on this example, the total volume of wall is the material quantities
project. The client’s representative as the Principal of this of concrete. Likewise, the quantities of materials can be
school stated his ideas and requirements. BIM Engineer found in every single object as shown in Fig. 5.
then cre- ated the BIM model accordingly. Periodic
meetings between the Designer, the Project Manager, and
the BIM Engineer were held to fine-tune the design with
continuous modifica- tions until the client’s demands were 4 Results and Discussions
met. The project used Autodesk Revit as the modeling tool.
Autodesk separates Revit into three modules. They are 4.1 New Format of Bills of Quantities
Revit Architecture, Revit Structure, and Revit MEP. The
first two modules are used in this project as per the scope A new BQ format is created in this study containing all
of the project. neces- sary models and graphical images to show for each
The procurement of this project was by lump sum BQ items. Together with the traditional 2D drawings and
contract with the standard form of tender documents in specifications, the contractors’ quantities surveyors in the
Hong Kong including two volumes of BQ with BIM 3D estimation process can comprehend the design concepts
views dissem- inated to a numbers of selected main easily with the possible uncertainties and ambiguities to be
contractors. The BIM model provided visual presentations minimized. The material and work scope quantities
to the client. 2D paper drawings in plan and sectional generated from the BIM model are classified and put into
views were generated from the BIM model for submissions the BQ.
to the Building and Educa- tion Authorities of Hong Kong. Figure 6 shows a one page sample of the new BQ
All the material quantities in the BQ were generated from format with the graphical information showing the visual
the BIM model directly through the taking off functions of detail of work scope and dimensions of a particular work
the BIM software. element (highlighted in red color). It can be reviewed in
3D along

Fig. 3 BIM model in this

project

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Fig. 4 a New schedule. b Categories of schedule. c Schedule settings. d Walls schedule

with zooming in/out and rotation. To use the reinforcement format to ‘3ds’ for-
concrete footing as an example, the quantity surveyors can
see what has been measured in the provided quantities with
the review coverage on the number, layout, and shapes of
the footing. The approach can mitigate the possibilities of
uncertainties and ambiguities by reading 2D drawings and
is aimed to increase the efficiency of estimation.
In Fig. 6, the material quantities are generated from the
BIM model directly. The main contractor can use these
mate- rial quantities to determine the tender price or
remeasure the materials quantities manually by quantity
surveyor.
Regarding the workflows on the production of new BQ
for- mat, a number of softwares were used. Autodesk Revit
series was chosen as the model creation tool in this project.
After the completion of the design, part of the models were
selected and exported in ‘fbx’ format. Another software
Autodesk 3Ds Max Design was used to convert the ‘fbx’

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mat. The last step was to merge the BQ file (Microsoft
Word) and ‘3ds’ model file in Adobe Acrobat. This
created a new BQ format in zoom-able and rotatable ‘pdf’
format to be finished and ready for presentation. ‘IFC’
(Industrial Foun- dation Classes) format could also be used
to export directly to Adobe Acrobat; however, there was a
risk for materials infor- mation from the model to be lost.
Therefore, extra steps on file format conversion by using
Autodesk 3Ds Max Design were applied.
The pdf file format for this BQ format was adopted
because it is efficient in e-document sharing. PDF reader
is common and free for download and install by users. In
addition, PDF provides security management tools which
can protect the document contents.
Figure 7 presents another example of the proposed BQ
format with BIM views which includes the following fea-
tures:

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Fig. 5 Length, area, and

volume of a block wall object

Fig. 6 A sample of new BQ format

• Bookmarked
esses to each table of contents is provided for easier acc- • Protected fields for the
•
bill item;
Work object of the bill item is high lighted in red color highlighted in light red materials
color. quantities are
• Interactive fields for the
highlighted in blue color input for
of unit
therates are
estimator to
• With
viewsthe
can3D
beviews
subjectexported fromand
to zooming the rotating.
BIM model, such insert unit
rates.

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Fig. 7 BQ with BIM views

under-
• Built-in formulasand
rate is provided forthe
each billamount
total item bywas
quantity
carriedtimes
to the
bill
summary section.
The itemization of this new BQ format with 3D BIM
views is not completely in compliance with the traditional
SMM. For any deviations, it is necessary to iterate in the
Preamble section of the bill of quantities. The way to
produce BIM views from quantity surveying aspect is one
of the crucial steps for the BQ preparation. The quantity
surveyor needs to get familiar with the model viewing in
Revit platform. During the process of quantity takeoff from
the BIM-based model, the selection of 3D BIM views and
the highlight area of the objects have to be decided
concurrently. The consultant’s quantity surveyor should
consider from the viewpoints of contractor’s quantity
surveyors and provide sufficient infor- mation for their
processing of estimation for biddings.

4.2 Testing the Proposed BIM-Based BQ

This part includes the results from the questionnaire sur-

veys conducted with the group of professional surveyors at
a government department in Hong Kong, graduates, and

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graduate students at the Hong Kong Polytechnic

University for their feedback on the proposed BQ with
BIM views after they attended the BIM-based BQ with 3D
views seminar and the forum organized by the Research
Team.
For the analysis of questionnaire survey results, some
sta- tistical ratios were used to explain the results. These
ratios are explained as follows.

1. Average is the arithmetic average of the ratings

obtained by dividing the total of ratings for a
particular question by the number of respondents.
2. Mode is the rating which occurs most frequently
for a particular question. The value of mode is
generally consistent with average. Both average and
mode are measures of mean value of the whole
sample.
3. Standard Deviation (SD) is the statistical measure of
dispersion of responses. Its value shows how much
the response is different from the average value of
the responses. A higher value would show higher
disper- sion of responses.
4. Coefficient of variation (C.V.) is ratio expressed in
per- centage of the standard deviation to the average
of the

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BIM Knowledge Level Perception by BIM Knowledge Level Perception by

Respondents Respondents
4 (Very 0 (No 5 (Expert)
Good) know ledge) 3%
3 (Good)
13% 6% 19% 0 (No
4 (Very
Good) know ledge)
15% 6%
1 (Slight)
2 (Some)
27%
19%
1 (Slight)
43%
3 (Good)
Fig. 8 BIM knowledge level perception by professional quantity sur- 34% 2 (Some)
veyors 15%

% which is a high
Table 1 Statistics of BIM knowledge level perception by
professional quantity surveyors
Q. nr. Average Mode SD C.V.

1 1.44 1 1.15 80 %
0: No knowledge…5: expert knowledge

sample. It shows in a dimensionless form the

dispersion of data from the average value. Like SD,
higher the C.V., higher the dispersion of data.

4.2.1 BIM Knowledge Level Perception: Professional

Quantity Surveyors

A total of 16 professional quantity surveyors were asked to

rate their knowledge level of BIM. Figure 8 shows the
vari- ation of responses, and Table 1 shows the statistical
analysis of responses. Majority of the respondents rated
their knowl- edge to be either ‘0’ (3 nos.), ‘1’ (7 nos.) or ‘2’
(3 nos.) which corresponds to having some level of
knowledge of BIM on average. Only two respondents rated
their knowledge as ‘3’ and one rated as ‘4’ which
corresponds to good and very good level of knowledge. The
average knowledge level of BIM for full sample is thus on
the lower side (Table 1). The coeffi- cient of variation
shows a higher value indicating a higher degree of
dispersion in the perception of respondents about the
knowledge of BIM.

4.2.2 BIM Knowledge Level Perception: Graduate Students

A total of 33 M.Sc. Project Management program students

in the subject of Construction Information Management
were asked to rate their knowledge level of BIM. Slightly,
more than half the number of respondents rated their BIM
knowl- edge as either good or higher (Fig. 9). Majority of
the other half rated their BIM knowledge as slight. The
average knowl- edge level of BIM for full sample is thus in
the middle range (Table 2). The coefficient of variation is 55
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Fig. 9 BIM knowledge level perception by graduate students

Table 2 Statistics of BIM knowledge level perception by graduate

Stu- dents
Q. nr. Average Mode SD C.V.

1 2.33 3 1.29 55 %
0: No knowledge…5: expert knowledge

Table 3 Statistics of BIM knowledge level perception by

undergraduate students
Q. nr. Average Mode SD C.V.

1 2.21 3 1.35 61 %
0: No knowledge…5: expert knowledge

value indicating a high degree of dispersion in the

perception of respondents about the knowledge of BIM.

4.2.3 BIM Knowledge Level Perception:

Undergraduate Students

A total of 24 final year part-time evening mode

undergradu- ate students were asked to rate their
knowledge level of BIM. Most of these students were
frontline quantity surveyors in the technician grades.
Nearly half the number of respondents rated their BIM
knowledge as either good or higher. Other respondents
rated their BIM knowledge as some or less. The average
knowledge level of BIM for full sample is thus in the
middle range (Table 3). The coefficient of variation is 61
% which is a higher value indicating a higher degree of
disper- sion in the perception of respondents about the
knowledge of BIM (Fig. 10).

4.2.4 Views About Proposed BQ Format:

Professional Quantity Surveyors

In this section, the respondents were asked about their

level of agreement on the improvements introduced into
the BQ preparation using the proposed format with BIM
views which

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BIM Knowledge Level Perception by

contrary to existing practice in which detailing is finalized
Respondents
in the construction stage leading to many post-contract
5 (Expert) changes. Another respondent noticed that all-in rate has
been used
4% 0 (No in BIM-based BQ instead of breakdown rate. This would
4 (Very
know increase difficulties in assessing variations. One
ledge) 13% respondent commented that the proposed system may not
Good)
1 (Slight)
8% comply with current measurement practice. It needs more
21%
input by BIM producer to provide more details for each
3 (Good) element to gener- ate accurate measurements from the
37% system. One respondent mentioned a few barriers to BIM-
2 (Some)
17% based BQ. These include the revamping of SMM,
establishing common data format, training to both
technical and professional personnel, partic-
Fig. 10 BIM knowledge level perception by undergraduate students
ipation from contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, and
the need for better visualization by using animations in
was presented in the seminar to them. The statistics represent-
elec- tronic tendering. One respondent argued for the
ing the mean values and variation of responses are
broader change needed in the whole pricing mechanism for
presented in Table 4.
a con- struction contract instead of just changing the BQ
Respondents were agreed on most of the factors for format. The traditional practice appears grossly insufficient
intro- ducing improvements in the BQ preparation process in this IT age. A respondent remarked that BIM would
with the help of BIM. Overall view on the risk of reducing require more detailed and completed design at the initial
missing items was neutral with relatively higher degree of stage. Another respondent mentioned that improvement in
disagree- ment. Majority of respondents agreed that the the QS field is needed to embrace the benefits from BIM.
new format would reduce the lengthiness of compilation of One respondent cautioned with the use of BIM as its
bill items, increase the efficiency of BQ preparation from technology is still devel- oping. People would hesitate to
the perspec- tive of consultant’s and contractor’s QS, invest too much money/time/ effort in BIM. The
enable contractor’s QS better understand the physical technology tends to become better and at the same time
nature and cost of project and enhance the accuracy of cheaper. Due to this reason, some peo- ple would avoid
estimation process. There was slightly more degree of spending now fearing that despite spending
disagreement on a few items as is evident from the money/time/effort, the technology would soon become
coefficient of variation values above 25 %. This is obso- lete.
understandable as the format is new was not much
practiced by the respondents. Overall, it can be said that
the respondents who were experienced QS were mostly 4.2.5 Views About Proposed BQ Format: Graduate Students
agreed to the expected benefits from the proposed format of
new BQ with BIM views. The respondents were asked about their level of agreement
Apart from the given choices, a few respondents on the improvements introduced to the BQ preparation
provided additional comments. One respondent commented using a format with BIM views which was presented in the
that input data to BIM at design stage should be as seminar. The statistics representing the mean values and
complete as pos- sible. However, it would take up variation of responses are presented in Table 5.
additional resources. It is

Table 4 Responses about proposed BQ format—professional quantity surveyors

Q. nr. The use of BQ with BIM views may Average Mode SD C.V. (%)

1. Reduce the lengthiness and complication of bill items in 3.56 4 1.03 29

comparison with traditional BQ
2. Reduce the risk of missing items 3.13 3 1.02 33
3. Increase the efficiency of BQ preparation from consultant QS 3.69 4 0.95 26
4. Enable contractor’s QS a better understanding on the project 4.31 4 0.60 14
through the provided visualization for the estimation
5. Enable contractor QS’s estimation a better consideration on the cost 4.38 5 0.72 16
of construction method

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6. Increase the overall efficiency of estimating from contractor’s QS 3.81 4 0.98 26
7. Enhance the accuracy and enable more realistic estimation 3.88 4 0.72 19
from contractor’s QS

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Table 5 Responses about proposed BQ format—graduate students

Q. nr. The use of BQ with BIM views may Average Mode SD C.V. (%)

1. Reduce the lengthiness and complication of bill items in comparison 4.03 4 0.59 15
with traditional BQ
2. Reduce the risk of missing items 3.97 4 0.64 16
3. Increase the efficiency of BQ preparation from consultant QS 3.85 4 0.71 19
4. Enable contractor’s QS a better understanding on the project through 4.15 4 0.71 17
the provided visualization for the estimation
5. Enable contractor QS’s estimation a better consideration on the cost of 3.76 4 0.71 19
construction method
6. Increase the overall efficiency of estimating from contractor’s QS 4.00 4 0.61 15
7. Enhance the accuracy and enable more realistic estimation from 3.97 4 0.77 19
contractor’s QS

Table 6 Responses about proposed BQ format—graduate students

Q. nr. The use of BQ with BIM views may Average Mode SD C.V. (%)

1. Reduce the lengthiness and complication of bill items in comparison 3.67 4 0.92 25
with traditional BQ
2. Reduce the risk of missing items 3.92 4 0.65 17
3. Increase the efficiency of BQ preparation from consultant QS 3.79 4 0.88 23
4. Enable contractor’s QS a better understanding on the project through 4.04 4 0.81 20
the provided visualization for the estimation
5. Enable contractor QS’s estimation a better consideration on the cost of 3.71 4 0.75 20
construction method
6. Increase the overall efficiency of estimating from contractor’s QS 4.04 4 0.62 15
7. Enhance the accuracy and enable more realistic estimation from 4.00 4 0.51 13
contractor’s QS

Majority of respondents agreed to the benefits for the 4.3.1 BIM’s Knowledge Perception
use of the proposed BQ with BIM views. The collective
responses about each perceived benefit of the BIM-based Although quantity surveyors were much experienced per-
BQ were nearly similar. This shows that the proposed BQ sons, they rated their BIM knowledge lower when it is
format should be well received by the users. com- pared with what the graduate (master degree) and
undergrad- uate students perceived. This is generally true as
4.2.6 Views About Proposed BQ Format: BIM is more popular in younger generation than senior
Undergraduate Students professionals in the construction industry. However, this is
not necessarily meant that the views from the experienced
The respondents were asked about their level of agreement on quantity surveyors are inferior to the views from graduate
the improvements introduced into the BQ preparation and undergraduate stu- dents. Rather the reverse is
using a format with BIM views which was presented to considered true because of the vast experience of this first
them in the seminar. The statistics representing the mean group of respondents. Also the quantity surveyors’ group
values and variation of responses are presented in Table 6. provided many additional com- ments which are very
The majority of respondents agreed to the list of useful.
benefits to be gained from the use of BQ format with BIM
views. The collective level of agreement to each perceived
benefit of BIM-based BQ format was nearly similar for 4.3.2 Views About Proposed BQ Format
each benefit.
A quick look at the results in Table 7 for views about the
4.3 Discussion on BIM Survey Results benefits of proposed BQ format shows that there was no
sig- nificant difference among the overall views of three
Table 7 shows the comparative results of BIM survey for groups of respondents for all the benefits presented except
all three groups presented before. The results are discussed the reduc- tion in the risk of missing items. This shows that
as follows. proposed BQ format was well disseminated among the

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respondents and

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Table 7 Range of responses on survey questions

Parameters Professional quantity Graduate students Undergraduate
surveyors students

BIM knowledge perception 1.44 2.33 2.21

Benefits of BQ with BIM views
1. Reduce the lengthiness and complication 3.56 4.03 3.67
of bill items in comparison with
traditional BQ
2. Reduce the risk of missing items 3.13 3.97 3.92
3. Increase the efficiency of BQ preparation 3.69 3.85 3.79
from consultant QS
reductions, efficiency, and accuracy of BQ preparation
4. Enable contractor’s QS a better 4.31 4.15 4.04
understanding on the project through the
provided visualization for the estimation
5. Enable contractor QS’s estimation a 4.38 3.76 3.71
better consideration on the cost of
construction
method
6. Increase the overall efficiency of 3.81 4.00 4.04
estimating from contractor’s
QS
7. Enhance the accuracy and enable more 3.88 3.97 4.00

they were more or less almost equally able to understand

the benefits from the proposed BQ. The notable
disagreement in the reduction in the risk of missing items
was from the quan- tity surveyors group of respondents
who perceive this benefit at slightly lower level compared
with other two groups. This is because of their vast
practical experience and adeptness to HKSMM in their
day-to-day routine at their workplaces. While the proposed
BQ format is close to HKSMM, it does not fully comply
HKSMM which was rightly perceived by the quantity
surveyors group and due to this, a number of such
respondents were of the view that adopting this new format
may not reduce the risk of missing items to be quan- tified.
However, this may not be a serious deficiency of the
proposed format and could be rectified in future.

5 Conclusions

This paper described the development of a new form of

BQ for tendering process. The new format uses BIM
technology to produce BIM views in the proposed format
which is sup- ported on the recent versions of portable
document readers. Such a format has the versatility of
being easily shareable using electronic transmission, being
able to provide zoom- able and rotatable BIM views and
providing data security among other benefits. The
proposed format was tested on a building extension project,
and views were sought from expe- rienced professionals.
The respondents were mostly agreed on the perceived
benefits regarding visualization of process, time

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process. There was slight disagreement about the risk of

missing items in BQ which was primarily because of the
complexity of the standard method of measurement docu-
ments and the proposed format being in its initial version.
This can be rectified in future. It is hoped that the
proposed BQ format would pave the way for overall
reengineering of the quantity surveying practice from the
traditional SMM based approaches to BIM-based
approaches like what was presented in this paper. It would
help to elevate the status of the quantity surveyors by
letting the scope of their ser- vices expand in the currently
promoted collaborative and integrated project
environments.

Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledged the

funding support provided by The Hong Kong Polytechnic
University (Project account 1-ZVOA). The support from Mr. Rex
Lau in the collection of data is also appreciated.

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