Himal Suranga Jayasena – Page 2

12 October 202512 October 2025

AFU: a Framework to Aid BIM Adoption in a BIM Infant Industry

The Affordance-Led Framework of Understanding (AFU) is a structured approach designed to assess the state of BIM affordances at a given moment and study their evolution over time. The term “affordance-led” is used because it centres around the concept of affordances. Affordances represent the perceived, expected, or real opportunities (and constraints) that a technology or system provides to its users. It’s crucial to understand that affordances are not intrinsic to the innovation itself but emerge from the interaction between the user and the innovation. Thus, it represents the complementarity between the user and the technology or the system. This departure from traditional innovation adoption models, which typically focused solely on the “innovation” itself while overlooking the subjective interpretation by users, is a distinguishing feature of the AFU. The subjectivity of what BIM means to different users further emphasizes the significance of this shift.

The AFU is based on a comprehensive framework that categorizes the various states of affordances at any given time. It offers a unified, interconnected framework for comprehending the status and dynamics of affordances within a user’s BIM adoption context. By using the AFU, adopters can assess their position in the BIM adoption process at any specific point and develop strategies to realize the expected dynamics of affordances, thereby ensuring the successful integration of BIM or informed withdrawal from their BIM adoption efforts. The AFU provides a detailed view of the context, enabling experts to focus on critical issues, making it a valuable resource for practitioners seeking to understand the status of BIM adoption within a given setting.

At the early stages of BIM diffusion within an industry, the importance of the AFU is significant because the failure of adoption by a few early adopters can lead to increased user dissatisfaction, negative word-of-mouth, and potential erosion of goodwill among adopters. Negative information spreads more rapidly than positive news, significantly disrupting the effective diffusion of BIM in the industry. Therefore, the success of BIM adoption at the micro-level, for individuals or small groups, is critical for the overall success of BIM diffusion in an emerging industry, often referred to as a BIM Infant Industry in theory.

While we have not explicitly addressed it, after reading this article, you will realize that the AFU can be applied to various other innovation adoption contexts. The AFU serves as a universally applicable foundational framework in the realm of innovation adoption processes. It is not a theory in itself but rather a theoretical framework that can be leveraged to comprehend BIM adoption and decision-making in other innovation adoption contexts. As innovation continues to reshape industries, the insights offered by the AFU will play a vital role in informed decision-making and the promotion of innovation diffusion across diverse sectors. We are optimistic that the AFU will introduce a new dimension to the study of innovation adoption.

This article serves as a condensed overview of the recent publication under the title “The Affordance-Led Framework for Understanding BIM Adoption” in Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, presenting the primary findings from my doctoral research. In this study, a framework was developed to aid BIM adopters, change agents, and other stakeholders in gaining a deeper understanding of the adoption context, thereby facilitating effective strategies for BIM adoption. This research is grounded in the theory of Diffusion of Innovations.

I would like to express my gratitude to my research supervisors, Professor Kanchana Perera and Associate Professor Niraj Thurairajah, as well as Dr Mohan Siriwardena, the chair of the progress panel, for their invaluable contributions that played a pivotal role in the successful completion of my doctoral study. I would also like to express my gratitude to Professor Chitra Weddikkara, who provided guidance and supervision during the initial phases of my study.

Citation to Original Article
Jayasena, H.S., Thurairajah, N., Perera, B.A.K.S. and Siriwardena, M. (2023), “Affordance-led framework of understanding of BIM adoption“, Archnet-IJAR, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-02-2023-0028

Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

Listing in Research Gate

12 October 202512 October 2025

Application of Lean Principles to Reduce BIM Implementation Costs

It is well known that today’s construction industry is undergoing a major technological advancement with Building Information Modelling (BIM), a transformative technology with associated processes that have shifted how construction projects are conceived, executed, and managed. The benefits of BIM have become increasingly obvious; many have already adopted it, and more are trying to do so. This recognition has extended to the point where some governments have mandated BIM for their public sector projects and building approval processes. However, a critical challenge hindering the effective adoption of BIM is the issue of associated costs, especially when implementing BIM in a less developed economy like Sri Lanka.

One of the promising scientific approaches to cost optimization is the Lean concept. Lean Principles are known for their ability to enhance operational efficiency, improve the quality of products and processes, and reduce waste. All of these factors can contribute to optimizing costs, or in better terms: to optimizing value. Costs cannot be considered independently but need to be evaluated based on the benefits they can deliver. However, not all benefits would necessarily align with the user’s needs. For example, BIM can support realistic visualization of the proposed building. If the client does not require regular visualization of that nature, spending a significant amount of money on a high-end computer system and rendering software is a waste. When the system is designed and set up based on the technology, incurring such unnecessary costs is possible. The concern is further emphasized by the fact that BIM means different things to different users, and their BIM expectations could vary.

Therefore, the value-driven approach of Lean Principles is likely to bring value to BIM adoption in a BIM Infant Industry like Sri Lanka. As a result, it became interesting to identify the potential application of Lean Principles to the cost centres of BIM implementation to efficiently implement BIM in the Sri Lankan construction industry. A study was conducted to uncover opportunities for addressing the major barrier of costs associated with BIM implementation by applying suitable Lean Principles, thus enhancing overall value.

Through a literature review, several cost centres associated with BIM implementation were first identified. The application of Lean Principles to address these issues was determined through a qualitative study involving data collection from experts and content analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten experts who possessed expertise in both Lean and BIM. Since there was a limited number of local experts in Sri Lanka, overseas experts with prior experience in the Sri Lankan context were also included.

From the study findings, it can now be concluded that the application of Lean Principles can significantly reduce the costs associated with BIM implementation in the Sri Lankan construction industry. The study identifies several Lean Principles that can be applied to BIM implementation, including value stream mapping, 5S, visual management, and continuous improvement. The study also identifies specific cost centres associated with BIM implementation and offers recommendations for reducing costs in each of these areas. Ultimately, the study suggests that the application of lean principles can lead to more efficient and effective BIM implementation.

This is a synopsis of an article we published in the Benchmarking journal in 2023. The article is titled “Can lean principles assist in reducing BIM implementation costs? A contemporary application of lean principles to the Sri Lankan construction industry.” While many other studies have focused on using BIM to achieve Lean in construction projects, our study differs by examining how to apply Lean principles to achieve value in BIM implementation, making an original contribution to knowledge.

Citation to the original article

Weerasinghe, L.N., Rathnasinghe, A.P., Jayasena, H.S., Thurairajah, N. and Thayaparan, M. (2023), “Can lean principles assist to reduce BIM implementation costs? A contemporary application of lean principles to the Sri Lankan construction industry“, Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-02-2022-0098

Research Gate Listing

12 October 202512 October 2025

Mind Mapping Your Initial Research Interest

Mind mapping is a graphical technique used to visually organize information and ideas. It is a creative and effective tool for organizing thoughts. In this presentation, I explain how you can effectively use MindMup 2, a free tool for mind mapping, to organize your initial ideas when you are starting your research.

Click on double-sided arrow on bottom-right of the presentation to make it full-screen.