Less that one in six building firms are ready to use Building Information Modelling (BIM) on projects, according to a new survey.

The Electrical Contractors' Association (ECA) study reveals just 16% of respondents are 'fully prepared' to utilise BIM.

The government has set a 2016 deadline for mandatory use of 'BIM Level 2' in all Whitehall-procured contracts.

However, 57% of firms said they were not ready, while 27% said they were 'not ready at all'.

Yet 65% of respondents said that BIM Level 2 will be 'good for the sector', while almost 57% describe BIM as the 'future for building services'.


The 'BIM readiness' survey was held in partnership with the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and building services and engineering consultancy BSRIA.

ECA Director of Business Services Paul Reeve said: "The survey results show that 'BIM awareness' is generally high across building services, but many contractors, and others associated with our sector, still have a long way to go to be ready for the government's 2016 BIM deadline.

"The results indicate that while some companies have already engaged successfully with BIM, many more have yet to engage with the aspects that allow effective information sharing with others in their supply chain.

"In addition to flagging up our findings to government and the industry, we will be working with our ‘BIM readiness' partners to tackle the important gaps identified by the survey, as soon as possible."

(LM/CD)