Reasons to consider adopting BIM

/ Adoption / By

Benefits of BIM

Real-time collaboration is possible

Remember the days when design teams had to upload CAD files to an FTP each week? And then you have to update the plan, RCP, section & elevation before you’ve “coordinated” what change another consultant proposed? No one misses that. For the past few years, BIM360 and similar platflorms enable one team to be syncronizing and and the other team reloading that exact change within minutes.

It also opens the door to Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) which is a shared riks/reward delivery model that is often seen in Public-Private Partnerships, like the LaGaurdia airport renovation that’s progressed rapidly over the past 5 years, while maintaining full operational capacity the entire time.

Improved accuracy, productivity and reduced “busywork”

  • Callout/Section/Elevation references
  • Schedules derived from modeled elements
  • Material quanitification
  • Interoperability with other software, including but not limited to:
    • Structural tools: SAP, Etabs, Tekla, etc.
    • HVAC/Energy tools: IES VE, Sefaira, etc.
    • Other tools: Google sheets, excel, etc.
    • Facilities management/IWMS/CMMS tools: Archibus, etc.
    • Automation: Python, C#, Dynamo (built-in)

Reduce errors / coordination “busts”

Where most BIM documentation is 3D, this process is commonly known as Virtual Design and Construction (VDC). Clash Detection tools such as Autodesk Navisworks Manage and Solibri Model Checker are used to automate checking for collisions between models from different disciplines.

Other reasons to adopt

Owner/client/jurisdiction requirements

A wide range of organizations are adopting standards that define how design projects must be delivered, partly because they’re already seeing the benefits of BIM, or they intend to make use of these in the future. Just to name a few:

  • United States:
    • General Services Administration (GSA) requires all Federal buildings be documented in BIM, including “soft” metric dimensions.
    • NASA
    • Penn State University
  • United Kindgom – All projects must achieve BIM Level 2
  • Singapore – BIM Mandated on any project over 5,000 M2

Contractor requirements

A large number of general contractors and construction managers have made BIM an integral part of the workflow on every project, every time.

  • Turner Construction Co.
  • Gilbane Building Co.
  • Skanska USA
  • Stucturetone
  • Lendlease
  • Balfour Beatty

A full list is here