BIM Benefits for State Agencies

McGraw Hill Construction (2014) research in UK shows asset owner or construction client’s rating of benefits of BIM in their organizations. They are as follows,

·       BIM Visualisation enables better understanding of proposed design - 89%

·       Use of BIM has a beneficial impact on control of construction costs – 72%

·       Beneficial impact on project schedule – 85%

·       BIM analysis and simulation capabilities produce a more well-reasoned design – 92%

·       There are fewer problems during construction related to design errors, co-ordination issues or construction errors – 85%

The benefits of BIM for State Agencies in the project is shown in below Figure 1.

Figure 1: BIM uses in various project phases

Source: Government roles in implementing building information modelling systems: Comparison between Hong Kong and the United States, Wong, Wong, Nadeem (2011).

·       Concept phase: The use of BIM could enhance and simplify the introduction and adoption of new building materials and methods to a government department in the concept phase. The project team would benefit from using BIM to convey information to government agencies in an effort to shorten the compliance processes prior to final design.

·       Design phase: Up to date information can be readily made available during the permit issuing process. The need to physically take documents to a government authority can be eliminated by sending the documents electronically for immediate inclusion in the design.

·       Construction phase: The government department’s role during construction is mostly that of inspection. The use of BIM both in the office and on the construction site increases the inspectors’ knowledge and ability to compare the plans with on-the-ground practice.

·       Facility management phase: Even if the project team disbands after the initial construction is completed, the benefits of BIM still exist. The information obtained by a government department can be made available to other regulating agencies. The ability of an emergency response team to access this information in the event of a fire, accident or attack could substantially reduce risk to the responders, building occupants and the general public.

·       Demolition/deconstruction phase: BIM will aid in identifying which elements can be recycled, reused and land-filled. It will also provide quantities and sequencing to facilitate safe deconstruction. BIM will help with the redesign, component reuse, and time and cost reduction.

So the State Agencies need to recognise the value of BIM to improve their projects and ultimately, their organization’s information management system.

References:

McGraw Hill Construction. (2014). The Business Value of BIM for owners. Bedford: McGraw Hill construction. Retrieved July 2017 from http://i2sl.org/elibrary/documents/Business_Value_of_BIM_for_Owners_SMR_(2014).pdf

Wong, A. K., Wong, F. K., & Nadeem, A. (2011). Government roles in implementing building information modelling systems: Comparison between Hong Kong and the United States. Construction innovation, 11(1), 61-76.

BIM Definition

The definition of BIM is often misinterpreted and misunderstood by people (Aubin 2012, p44). It is often understood as a 3D model but it is more than that. The “information” part of the word has more importance. It is more of data or information sharing whether it is presented in a graphical model or not. So it is important to understand the concept of BIM and its definition. There are different interpretations of BIM. Some of the definitions are as follows:

BIM is a rich information model, consisting of potentially multiple data sources, elements of which can be shared across all stakeholders and be maintained across the life of a building from inception to recycling. (NBS, 2012)

Eastman, Teicholz, Sacks & Liston (2008, p.1) explains that:

“BIM accommodates many of the functions needed to model the lifecycle of a building, providing the basis for new construction capabilities and changes in the roles and relationships among a project team. BIM facilitates a more integrated design and construction process that results in better quality buildings at lower cost and reduced project duration.”

“BIM is a paradigm shift in the architectural, engineering and construction industries which transforms processes to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness” (Wong, Wong and Nadeem, 2011).

The aim of BIM is to improve the overall project process following the slogan “Better! Faster! Cheaper!” (Saxon, 2013).

While the BIM model is an important component of BIM, BIM is viewed as more of a process change than a new technology. The model may serve as a knowledge resource for all project participants, but BIM is a process that enhances collaboration resulting in improved information management and an overall leaner process (Computer Integrated Construction Research Program (CICRP), 2013). So BIM has become a widely accepted tool used to overcome the many hurdles that currently face the Architecture, Engineering and construction industries (Morlhon, Pellerin & Bourgault, 2014).

From the different perspectives of definition of BIM seen above, BIM can be summarised as a “digital model”, “new collaborative business process” and an “information management and control tool”.

References:

Aubin, P. (2012). Revit Architecture 2012. Clifton Park, N.Y.: Delmar.

NBS (2012). BIM: mapping out the legal issues. Retrieved August 2017 from https://www.thenbs.com/knowledge/bim-mapping-out-the-legal-issues

Eastman, C., Sacks, R., Teicholz, P., & Liston, K. (2008). BIM handbook. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.

Wong, A. K., Wong, F. K., & Nadeem, A. (2011). Government roles in implementing building information modelling systems: Comparison between Hong Kong and the United States. Construction innovation, 11(1), 61-76.

Saxon, R. (2013) Growth Through BIM. Construction Industry Council, London. Retrieved July 2017 from http://cic.org.uk/download.php?f=growth-through-bim-final-1.pdf

Computer Integrated Construction Research Program (CICRP). (2013). “BIM Planning Guide for Facility Owners”. Version 2.0, June, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA. Retrieved July 2017 from http://bim.psu.edu.

Morlhon, R., Pellerin, R., & Bourgault, M. (2014). Building Information Modelling Implementation through Maturity Evaluation and Critical Success Factors Management. Procedia Technology, 16, 1126-1134.

Importance of real time information sharing in construction projects

According to research by McKinsey & Co (2016), construction projects often come in late and over budget. They point out that large projects take 20% longer to finish than scheduled and go over budget by 80 percent. They also highlight that since the 1990s construction productivity has declined in some markets, often resulting in relatively low financial returns for construction firms. They have identified that one of the main reasons for such problems is paper based processes, which don’t allow teams to collaborate in real time (Imagining construction’s digital future, 2016).

It takes longer to share information with stakeholders who often work from different versions of the documents. Some construction companies have moved onto digital formats of drawings, documents and reports but the information is held in different forms, versions and locations that are not structured and centrally co-ordinated. This leads to conflicts of information and risks of inconsistency and incoherence in data (AECOM, 2012). 

In contrast, Building Information Modelling (BIM) as a digital database creates, manages and operates information in a centralised area, making it available for sharing. It facilitates the participants to cooperate more efficiently and to integrate their processes, leading to less chance of losing information (Autodesk, 2002).

Autodesk (2016) explains how collaboration and project information is managed using the BIM process:

“BIM is not one technology but instead introduces a data-driven, rather than drawing-driven, approach to enable practitioners to execute work more efficiently and effectively; integrate contributions from others; make changes; explore alternatives and deliver more suitable solutions that address needs from all stakeholders”.

Thus BIM can enhance the process of generating, sharing, integrating and managing project information among project phases. It can act as an information bridge between different disciplines in a project.

References:

Imagining construction’s digital future. (2016). McKinsey & Company. Retrieved July 2017, from http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/capital-projects-and-infrastructure/our-insights/imagining-constructions-digital-future

AECOM (2012). Getting the most out of BIM - a guide for clients. Retrieved July 2017 from https://issuu.com/jojowasmydog/docs/davis_langdon_-_bim_guide_for_clients_-_apri_l2012.

Autodesk (2002). Building Information Modelling. (White paper). Retrieved July 2017 from http://www.laiserin.com/features/bim/autodesk_bim.pdf

Autodesk (2016). BIM for infrastructure - Is civil engineering facing an age of extinction?. Retrieved July 2017 from https://damassets.autodesk.net/content/dam/autodesk/www/solutions/bim/images/stories/age_of_extinction.pdf