A Case Study of BIM Application in a Public Construction Project Management Unit in Vietnam: Lessons Learned and Organizational Changes

Abstract

Public construction projects in Vietnam are managed by project management units (PMUs). A PMU should consist of the board of directors, a project office, functional and project executive departments. Functional departments are in charge of investor’s responsibilities, while project executive departments are in charge of project execution. This paper discusses the practice of BIM adoption in a case study of a PMU (SPMB) in a public project. Lessons learned include the fact that, while BIM could provide certain benefits to the project, it also extended the project's duration and increased project costs. The SPMB, previously departmentalized by project phases, has changed its organizational structure by establishing a task group made up of professionals from various project executive departments, leading directly by the SPMB leaders, to address BIM issues, though only some basic uses of BIM have been applied. The functions of the project executive departments have also been adjusted due to the application of a new procurement form and the emergence of new processes, and the requirements for a new type of capability (BIM). Subsequently, other elements of the organizational design have been changed accordingly. The lessons learned contribute to the current understanding that PMUs need substantially organizational restructuring for BIM implementation effectively and efficiently while also well-prepared for negative impacts.