Obstacles and Potential in the Course of Digitalization in the Bavarian Construction Industry for KMUs

Small and medium-sized enterprises in the construction industry receive very little attention in construction research. However, according to a study conducted by the Bavarian construction industry in 2023, 63% of all employees in the main construction sector work in companies with fewer than 50 employees. The needs of smaller companies often play no role, particularly in the development of applications for digital products. Instead, many digital tools are developed for larger companies or for large-scale projects. As a result, the degree of digitalization in these companies is still quite low compared to larger companies in the industry and also compared to other industries.

Even with a central development in the field of digitalization in the construction industry, Building Information Modeling (BIM), consistent interoperability is not guaranteed. Although the IFC standard should actually be used in the BIM world, there are still problems with data exchange between the systems of different providers. BIM is by no means a complete reflection of digitalization in the construction industry, but it is a very important hub. Here, the planned construction product is digitally mapped, thus creating the conditions for digital interfaces in operational construction. The use of BIM in operational construction, and especially in SME companies, remains very low.

Methodologically, the focus is not on digital “tools” and exploring their possible applications, but rather on sketching out so-called planning and production models from different companies and using these models to record the potential for digitalization. This means that a perspective is taken that takes the actual working methods and needs of the companies as the central starting point and derives the potential from this. However, one focus of the study will be on the difficulties involved in data exchange (e.g., IFC standards) and examining these in more detail. The thesis that there are market barriers here that cause difficulties for SMEs will be investigated. Furthermore, the study will also address the question of whether open source software (e.g., Open BIM) offers new opportunities in this area.

The study is being conducted in collaboration with the Bavarian construction industry.