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Bill of Quantities with 3D Views Using Building Information Modeling

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DOI: 10.1007/s13369-015-1657-2

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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

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 Author's personal copy
Arab J Sci Eng
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-
ciency of bill of quantities (BQ) used on construction projects
is presented. The approach was developed to integrate the
quantities obtained from a building information model of the
project into a suitably prepared electronic format of BQ with
3D views. In this format of BQ, the building information
modeling (BIM) technology provides enhanced functional-
ity to a contractor’s quantity surveyor whose primary task is
to accurately determine the quantities from the project draw-
ings. A review of the traditional BQ preparation methods
is presented to highlight their characteristics and to reflect
on their benefits and barriers. Questionnaire surveys were
conducted with various groups of respondents to obtain their
opinions about the proposed BQ format. They included expe-
rienced quantity surveyors from the public and the private
sectors, postgraduate, and undergraduate students studying in
BIM-related courses. The results of the questionnaire survey
showed mostly a positive view toward the proposed BQ for-
mat. Slight differences in the opinions of these three groups
were also present. It is expected that the approach as pre-
sented in this paper for the development of BQ with 3D
BIM views could usefully be incorporated into the standard
quantity surveying practices for quantity takeoffs in various
countries.
B Abid Nadeem
abid.nadeem@nu.edu.kz
Andy K. D. Wong
bskdwong@polyu.edu.hk
Francis K. W. Wong
bskwwong@polyu.edu.hk
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Nazarbayev University,
Astana, Kazakhstan
2 Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong
Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Keywords Building information modeling · Bill of
quantities · Construction estimating · Quantity surveying
1 Introduction
In a traditional construction project setting, a bill of quantities
(BQ) is prepared based on detailed drawings and specifi-
cations. BQ is a document which is usually prepared by
professional quantity surveyors on behalf of the client (owner
and/or contractor) [1]. BQ provides a structured estimating
framework for construction projects and is the part of the
materials management plan of the project [2]. In the pre-
tender stage of a project, the BQ are mainly used for cost
estimating and comparing tender prices submitted by various
contractors [3]. For post-tender work, BQ has applications
for cost planning, cash flow projection, budget allocation,
interim payments, and variation order valuations and final
account settlements [4]. Information from BQ has also been
used for the estimation of construction and demolition waste
volume generation in new residential buildings [5]. Despite
many uses of BQ, its application needs a lot of rework to
suit the needs of construction projects [6]. Bandi et al. [7]
found that the computerization of BQ has not led to any
increased transference of data from the quantity surveyor to
the contractor, so that while the efficiency of BQ production
has increased, the overall effectiveness of the BQ has not
increased. Moreover, Davis et al. [8] reported that the use of
bill of quantities prepared in accordance with the standard
method of measurement is on the decline and only useful as
a tool for post-contract control. There is therefore, a need to
improve the effectiveness of BQ for its use on a construction
project.
The production of BQ is normally based on information
extracted manually from two-dimensional (2D) drawings and
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text-based specifications with little or no presence of three-
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 quantity
surveying.
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Arab J Sci Eng
2 Literature Review
In a traditional project setting, BQ is used in a tender 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 which was inca-
pable of extracting the project data pertinent to performing an
automated bill of quantities and therefore, developed a com-
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Arab J Sci Eng
puter program using C-language to automate the production
of BQ from the standard AutoCAD system.
The use of 3D models for cost estimating to generate a
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 BIM con-
cepts for cost estimating, quantity surveying, and quantity
takeoff [20,25–35]. Without the use of BIM or other automat-
ing techniques, most of the time spent by the estimator 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
and two bathrooms were built in a construction area of 17.25
m × 8.12 m. The 3D views of building before and after con-
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.
The total estimated cost for this project was HK$6.4 mil-
lion (∼US$820,000).
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 offer great potential to
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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
and costing-related services.
For the purpose of BIM application in measurement for
quantity surveying, the BIM model for the project could
be looked upon from three aspects. Firstly, the model pro-
vides the necessary information about building elements.
Secondly, different views of the building can be extracted
from the model, and lastly, building views can be annotated
for the purpose of emphasizing the building parts in consid-
eration to be quantified.
Building elements comprised of two main categories,
which were the main building construction components host-
ing the other non-structural components. Main components
were the walls, floors, roofs, ceilings, stairs, ramps etc., whe-
reas other components were doors, windows, furniture, etc.
The views from BIM model essential for understanding and
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dissemination of model information were floor plans, ceiling
plans, 3D views, elevations, section, schedules, etc. Anno-
tated elements consisted of datum elements which were the
non-physical items used to establish project context such as
levels; column grids; reference plans; and the 2D components
that maintain scale on paper were only visible in one view
such as dimensions, text notes, and loaded tags and symbols.
The BIM model utilized family of properties in elements
which were classified based on type and instance of occur-
rence of the element. Type properties of an element remain
constant throughout the model such as the dimension of a
window and the cross-sectional dimension of a beam. The
instance properties of an element change with the location
of element in the building such as the elevation of win-
dow of same type or the length of beam of similar cross-
sectional dimensions. Such recognition in the model helped
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to automate the measurement of building elements in BIM
model. During the process of BIM model creation, certain
custom fields were defined interrelating different building
elements along with defining data types for these custom
elements.
The BIM model created a unique ID for the building
elements needed to be measured. In the proposed model,
the data linkup for export to other applications was accom-
plished through ODBC (Open Data Base Connectivity) stan-
dard which was an interface by which application programs
could access and process SQL databases independent of any
Database Management System used.
BIM was adopted at the initial design stage on this project.
The client’s representative as the Principal of this school
stated his ideas and requirements. BIM Engineer 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 met. The project used
Autodesk Revit as the modeling tool. Autodesk separates
Revit into three modules. They are Revit Architecture, Revit
Structure, and Revit MEP. The first two modules are used in
this project as per the scope of the project.
The procurement of this project was by lump sum contract
with the standard form of tender documents in Hong Kong
including two volumes of BQ with BIM 3D views dissem-
inated to a numbers of selected main contractors. The BIM
model provided visual presentations to the client. 2D paper
drawings in plan and sectional views were generated from
the BIM model for submissions to the Building and Educa-
tion Authorities of Hong Kong. All the material quantities in
the BQ were generated from the BIM model directly through
the taking off functions of the BIM software.
Fig. 3 BIM model in this
project
3.3 Materials Quantity Takeoff
This project adopts Autodesk Revit as the modeling tools
(Fig. 3). This series of BIM software provided a set of built-
in materials quantities taking off functions. Users can use this
function to generate a new schedule. It is shown in Fig. 4a.
A category of schedule is shown in Fig. 4b.
After choosing schedule categories, the schedule settings
can be defined (Fig. 4c). A walls’ schedule is generated
from the model automatically as shown in Fig. 4d. The total
amounts of different object parameter such as area and vol-
ume are calculated. Using concrete wall as an example, the
total volume of wall is the material quantities of concrete.
Likewise, the quantities of materials can be found in every
single object as shown in Fig. 5.
4 Results and Discussions
4.1 New Format of Bills of Quantities
A new BQ format is created in this study containing all neces-
sary models and graphical images to show for each BQ items.
Together with the traditional 2D drawings and specifications,
the contractors’ quantities surveyors in the estimation process
can comprehend the design concepts easily with the possible
uncertainties and ambiguities to be minimized. The material
and work scope quantities generated from the BIM model
are classified and put into the BQ.
Figure 6 shows a one page sample of the new BQ format
with the graphical information showing the visual detail of
work scope and dimensions of a particular work element
(highlighted in red color). It can be reviewed in 3D along
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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
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’ format to ‘3ds’ for-
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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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Arab J Sci Eng

Fig. 5 Length, area, and

volume of a block wall object

Fig. 6 A sample of new BQ format

• Bookmarked table of contents is provided for easier acc-
esses to each bill item;
• Work object of the bill item is high lighted in red color
• With the 3D views exported from the BIM model, such
views can be subject to zooming and rotating.
• Protected fields for the materials quantities are highlighted
in light red color.
• Interactive fields for the input of unit rates are highlighted
in blue color for the estimator to insert unit
rates.

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Fig. 7 BQ with BIM views
• Built-in formulas for each bill item by quantity times rate
is provided and the total amount was carried 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 under-
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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)
34% 2 (Some)
Fig. 8 BIM knowledge level perception by professional quantity sur-
veyors 15%

Fig. 9 BIM knowledge level perception by graduate students

Table 1 Statistics of BIM knowledge level perception by professional
quantity surveyors
Table 2 Statistics of BIM knowledge level perception by graduate Stu-
Q. nr. Average Mode SD C.V. dents
Q. nr. Average Mode SD C.V.
1 1.44 1 1.15 80 %
0: No knowledge…5: expert knowledge 1 2.33 3 1.29 55 %
0: No knowledge…5: expert knowledge

sample. It shows in a dimensionless form the dispersion Table 3 Statistics of BIM knowledge level perception by undergraduate
of data from the average value. Like SD, higher the C.V., students
higher the dispersion of data. Q. nr. Average Mode SD C.V.

1 2.21 3 1.35 61 %
4.2.1 BIM Knowledge Level Perception: Professional
Quantity Surveyors 0: No knowledge…5: expert knowledge

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 % which is a high
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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Arab J Sci Eng

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

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 comparison 3.56 4 1.03 29
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 through 4.31 4 0.60 14
the provided visualization for the estimation
5. Enable contractor QS’s estimation a better consideration on the cost of 4.38 5 0.72 16
construction method
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 from 3.88 4 0.72 19
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
use of the proposed BQ with BIM views. The collective
responses about each perceived benefit of the BIM-based
BQ were nearly similar. This shows that the proposed BQ
format should be well received by the users.
4.2.6 Views About Proposed BQ Format: Undergraduate
Students
The respondents were asked about their level of agreement on
the improvements introduced into the BQ preparation using
a format with BIM views which was presented to them in
the seminar. The statistics representing the mean values and
variation of responses are presented in Table 6.
The majority of respondents agreed to the list of 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 each benefit.
4.3 Discussion on BIM Survey Results
Table 7 shows the comparative results of BIM survey for all
three groups presented before. The results are discussed as
follows.
4.3.1 BIM’s Knowledge Perception
Although quantity surveyors were much experienced per-
sons, they rated their BIM knowledge lower when it is com-
pared with what the graduate (master degree) and undergrad-
uate students perceived. This is generally true as BIM is more
popular in younger generation than senior professionals in the
construction industry. However, this is not necessarily meant
that the views from the experienced quantity surveyors are
inferior to the views from graduate and undergraduate stu-
dents. Rather the reverse is considered true because of the
vast experience of this first group of respondents. Also the
quantity surveyors’ group provided many additional com-
ments which are very useful.
4.3.2 Views About Proposed BQ Format
A quick look at the results in Table 7 for views about the
benefits of proposed BQ format shows that there was no sig-
nificant difference among the overall views of three groups
of respondents for all the benefits presented except the reduc-
tion in the risk of missing items. This shows that proposed
BQ format was well disseminated among the 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
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 better 4.38 3.76 3.71
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
realistic estimation from contractor’s QS

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.
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.

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 reductions, efficiency, and accuracy of BQ preparation
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