The Impact of BIM on the Distribution of Cost and Return on Investment in UK Construction Projects

It has been widely documented that when Building Information Modelling (BIM) is used, there is a shift in effort to the design phase. Little investigation into the impact of this shift in effort has been done and how it impacts on costs. It can be difficult to justify the increased expenditure on BIM in a market that is heavily driven by costs. There are currently studies attempting to quantify the return on investment (ROI) for BIM for which these returns can be seen to balance out the shift in efforts and costs to the design phase. The studies however quantify the ROI based on the individual stakeholder’s investment without consideration for the impact that the use of BIM from their project partners may have on their own profitability. In this study, a questionnaire investigated opinions and experience of construction professionals, representing clients, consultants, designers and contractors, to determine fluctuations in costs by their magnitude and when they occur. These factors were examined more closely by interviewing senior members representing each of the stakeholder categories and comparing their experience in using BIM within environments where their project partners were also using BIM and when they were not. This determined the differences in how the use and the investment in BIM impacts on others and how costs are redistributed. This redistribution is not just through time but also between stakeholders and categories of costs. Some of these cost fluctuations and how the cost of BIM is currently financed are also highlighted in several case studies. The results show that the current distribution of costs set for traditional 2D delivery is hindering the potential success of BIM. There is also evidence that stakeholders who don’t use BIM may benefit financially from the BIM use of others and that collaborative BIM is significantly different to the use of ‘lonely’ BIM in terms of benefits and profitability.

Adaptación de la gestión de empresas turísticas al nuevo escenario del sector del turismo: especial referencia a la gestión hotelera

Resulte incuestionable que, en la actualidad, el Turismo constituye un complejo fenómeno con perfiles complejos y heterogéneos dentro del cual son abordados ámbitos muy diversos (económico, jurídico, político, cultural…). De forma inicial, dentro de la pluralidad de las relaciones que circunscriben el mismo, presentan especial transcendencia las conectadas, en mayor o menor grado, con la gestión y el alojamiento turístico. Lo que hace medio siglo resultaba inimaginable o, casi extravagante, constituye hoy una circunstancia común y frecuente en el escenario propuesto, de forma particular, dentro del complejo y escasamente analizado ámbito de la gestión hotelera. Al hilo de lo expresado, en este trabajo se analizará, partiendo del supuesto de que la colaboración interempresarial en el sector turístico puede sustentarse en capital o en relaciones contractuales, sus esenciales trazos conformadores (gestor hotelero y titular del hotel gestionado) sobre los cuales poder elaborar un concepto ordenado y de subsunción del mismo como paso previo para la fijación de su régimen jurídico básico. Con idéntico tenor, se discutirá la posibilidad de integración del hotel determinado en las grandes cadenas hoteleras, la utilización de su know-how estandarizado y marca propia. Finalmente, será estudiada su incidencia en las grandes cadenas hoteleras al objeto de valorar su expansión tanto desde un punto de vista nacional como internacional.