BENEFITS OF APPLYING BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING (BIM) IN PROPERTY MAINTENANCE BY ESTATE SURVEYORS AND VALUERS

Abstract

The traditional reactive approach to property maintenance by estate surveyors and valuers presents huge limitations in today's data-driven world. However, building information modeling (BIM) has emerged as a global transformative technology, offering a proactive, data-centric framework for optimizing maintenance operations. Presumably, the application of this model should be evident in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State as in other countries like United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK), but sadly, the reverse is the case in spite of the enormous benefits accrued from its usage. Hence, this study aimed at evaluating the benefits for applying BIM in property maintenance by estate surveyors and valuers in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the population for this study comprised 80 head of practicing estate surveyors and valuers firms in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State or their representative, using random sampling technique, 66 respondents from the study area were sampled with frequency table as method of data analysis. The findings revealed that efficient facility management (4.00) being the paramount, predictive maintenance (3.84), cost saving and sustainability (3.71), providing accurate and up-to-date information about buildings and their assets (3.65) exist. Inferring from the findings, the study concluded that efficient facility management, predictive maintenance, cost saving and sustainability, regulatory compliance, enhanced collaboration among others are the benefits of applying BIM in property maintenance, generally. Hence, it was recommended that estate surveyors and valuers should learn to apply the contemporary model through seminars and workshops as it will equip them to harness the benefits of applying BIM in property maintenance activities.