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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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- 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 pable of extracting the project data pertinent to performing

an automated bill of quantities and therefore, developed a
In a traditional project setting, BQ is used in a tender 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 which was inca-

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puter program using C-language to automate the cost estimating, quantity surveying, and quantity takeoff
production of BQ from the standard AutoCAD system. [20,25–35]. Without the use of BIM or other automat-
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

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ing techniques, most of the time spent by the estimator to performance and visualization in BQ preparation and use.
create a cost estimate is on quantity takeoffs. BIM can The proposed format represents BQ with BIM views which
elim- inate manual takeoffs, save time, cost, and reduces are easier to visualize than the traditional BQ and offer
potential for human error. BIM can help tap the abilities great potential to
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

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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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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 under-

• 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

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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%

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 Table 3 Statistics of BIM knowledge level perception by undergraduate
dispersion of data from the average value. Like SD, students
higher the C.V., 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 the middle range (Table 2). The coefficient of variation is 55
% which is a high
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

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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

Respondents
5 (Expert)
4% 0 (No
4 (Very
know ledge)
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 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 4.03 4 0.59 15

comparison 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 3.76 4 0.71 19
of 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 3.67 4 0.92 25

comparison 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 3.71 4 0.75 20
of 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 4.00 4 0.51 13
from 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.
4.3.1 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

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.
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

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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 3.69 3.85 3.79
preparation 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

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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