الفهرس 
Chapter 1. IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Project planning is an essential element in the success of projects. Most Planners face difficult tasks during the initial planning phase of each new project. Each project is uniquely designed and includes numerous complex details. The use of conventional planning techniques and depending on the planner’s prior experience is insufficient for planning and controlling new projects successfully. According to prior studies regarding BIM and its dimensions, 4D-BIM has proven its efficiency to improve project timelines, enhance project quality, and reduce costs and time. This is based on providing planners and project teams access to project concepts, details, phasing, and time-associated data to simulate constructing sequences. Despite the advantages and success that BIM has achieved in many developed countries, especially in mega projects, most planners choose to depend on traditional methods for planning and scheduling. Also, BIM is still seen as a 3D visualization tool by many stakeholders and project managers and not a strong, efficient project management tool.
Several research investigations have been carried out on this topic in different countries and have addressed the application limitations of BIM and 4D-BIM as separate variables within interviews and surveys in terms of effect only, without taking into consideration the probability of happening of each variable, as well as the causal connection between the observable barriers dimension and the latent variables. This research proposes a structural equation model (SEM) that focuses on estimating the BIM barriers and their weights in offshore construction projects using a hybrid methodology. The methodology starts by collecting and identifying the challenges holding the construction industry at BIM Level 1 (3D) through a literature review stage, the relations between these barriers through the Delphi approach with BIM and construction experts, the assessment of the probability and impact of each barrier using a questionnaire, and then applying the concept of Fuzzy set theory (FST) to the collected data. The data were then exported to the developed model, and the model’s goodness and fit were tested. The model results show that the most significant latent variables were management, demand, risk, and awareness. The uncertainty of return on investment, lack of experienced users, uncertainty over design, lack of awareness of long-term benefits, contract or project delivery method, lack of academic support, organizational structures that do not support workflow change, lack of standards and guidelines, clients refusal to request new techniques, insufficient government leadership, and lack of marketing for such advanced tools and their impact on the construction industry are the most significant factors.
A case study of a maritime project in Egypt was done to validate the model. The proposed SEM model helps to accurately identify the obstacles facing planners and project teams that prevent them from relying on BIM in project planning and management and make them prefer to use traditional methods in newly designed projects. The reasons why BIM has not been used in planning offshore works before can also be reported. By knowing the most influential latent barriers and observable dimensions, appropriate measures are recommended at the end of the study that can be taken by project managers, governments, policymakers, and organizations to improve and expand the popularity of using BIM and move forward to the next BIM level.