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From Awareness to Implementation: BIM–IoT Adoption Gaps, Barriers and a Context-Sensitive Framework for Nigerian Construction Projects

Babangida Ruma Kabir, Mu’azu Jibrin Musa, Muhammad Surajo Aliyu

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Babangida Ruma Kabir Corresponding Author

Maryam Abacha American University of Niger, Maradi, Department of Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Niger Republic.

Correspondence: mjmusa@abu.edu.ng

Received
18 Oct 2026
Published
10 Nov 2026

Abstract

Digital technologies have the potential to be useful in the construction industry, but the awareness of this doesn't necessarily lead to the use of digital technology within the construction process. This paper discusses the awareness gap and utilization of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and the Internet of Things (IoT), ranks the implementation barriers, and suggests a context-sensitive route to implementation in the construction projects of Nigeria. A total of 220 questionnaires were distributed, of which 186 (84.5%) were returned, giving a survey summary. With this, the mean scores for BIM awareness were 4.12, while the mean scores for IoT awareness were 3.08, whereas the mean score on BIM usage was 3.76 and for IoT usage was 2.41. These descriptive awareness-usage gaps were 0.36 for BIM and 0.67 for IoT. Implementation cost (RII = 0.91), lack of skilled personnel (0.88), poor ICT infrastructure (0.85), resistance to change (0.82), and limited government support (0.79) were the five leading reported barriers. Proposed pathway of 7 steps: Use-case Definition, Readiness Assessment, Leadership and resourcing, Pilot integration, Workforce development, Evaluation and scale-up, Governance. Comparative ratings, where reported, were generally higher for BIM-IoT than for traditional approaches in four performance measures, but further reporting of comparative data is needed to allow for independent assessment of the underlying comparative data. The paper's contribution is an implementation-oriented description of the transition from awareness to use of BIM-IoT in a construction organization.

Keywords: Adoption Gap, Building Information Modelling, Digital Construction, Implementation Framework, Internet of Things, Nigeria, Relative Importance Index
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How to Cite

APA

Kabir, B. R., Musa, M. J., & Aliyu, M. S. (2026). From Awareness to Implementation: BIM–IoT Adoption Gaps, Barriers and a Context-Sensitive Framework for Nigerian Construction Projects. British Journal of Advanced Research, 1(5), Article 014. https://doi.org/10.68263/BJAR-R8NDYRYZ

MLA

Kabir, Babangida Ruma, Mu’azu Jibrin Musa, and Muhammad Surajo Aliyu. "From Awareness to Implementation: BIM–IoT Adoption Gaps, Barriers and a Context-Sensitive Framework for Nigerian Construction Projects." British Journal of Advanced Research, vol. 1, no. 5, 2026, article 014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.68263/BJAR-R8NDYRYZ

Chicago

Kabir, Babangida Ruma, Mu’azu Jibrin Musa, and Muhammad Surajo Aliyu. "From Awareness to Implementation: BIM–IoT Adoption Gaps, Barriers and a Context-Sensitive Framework for Nigerian Construction Projects." British Journal of Advanced Research 1, no. 5 (2026): 014. https://doi.org/10.68263/BJAR-R8NDYRYZ

References

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ISSN 3153-709X
Tracking ID BJAR_OCT_26_049
Article No. 014
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Article Info
Journal BJAR
Volume Vol 1, No 5
Year 2026
Type Review Article
Licence CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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