BIM offers multiple benefits at every stage of a project. But these advantages are often confused with BIM Uses. In fact, a single BIM use can have multiple benefits or advantages. Although, all BIM uses contribute directly or indirectly to one of the three advantages given below, there are multiple other benefits of BIM that are often overlooked.
Cost Benefits
Time Benefits
Better Collaboration
In this article, we will be discussing not just the general benefits of BIM, but the specific ones that are often overlooked during discussion. The whole article is divided on the basis of different dimensions of BIM and what all benefits can be achieved in each aspect. It doesn’t matter what your trade is in the construction industry, BIM has something to offer to you
Table of Contents
3D – Modelling / Design Authoring
- Clash Detection – Automatically identify interferences within design and construction elements.
- Space Management – Optimize space utilization, enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and improve occupant satisfaction.
- Visualize – Improve ability to communicate and visualize design intent.
- Marketing – Use model for marketing purposes.
- Bidding – Use model for bidding on projects.
- Client Satisfaction – Accommodate the appointing party’s needs and wants to help foster a stronger relationship and promote repeat business.
- Parametric Modelling – Improve ability to make changes and have those changes reflect throughout all aspects of the design.
- Annotations – Simplify the annotation process through compiling elements such as notes, table of contents and schedules.
- Revisions – Reduce time to make updates / revisions because of the parametric nature of the drawings.
- Quality – More accurate detailing and sections cut from model which are less error prone/ avoid miss interpreting line styles and projections.
- Quantification – Better visualization of quantities.
4D – Time Management
Constructability Analysis -
- Identify modularization, preassembly, and prefabrication opportunities.
- Record asset information to prevent incidents.
- Identify useful life for structures used and resources on multiple projects.
For Visualization -
- Enable 4D Modelling/ 4D Scheduling/ 4D simulations (VDC) possibilities, optimized schedules.
- Provide a more efficient means for visualizing and communicating the project schedule and critical path to all stakeholders.
For planning -
- Integrate planning of human, equipment, and material resources with the model to improve scheduling.
- Forecast construction plan.
- Create a better production plan with all appointed parties.
For construction -
- Reduce fabrication time.
- Reduce installation time
5D – Cost Management
- Improve cost estimating functions – Integrate planning of human, equipment, and material resources with the model to improve cost estimating functions.
- Minimize documentation cost – Minimize physical documentation required for building turnover information.
- Overall cost savings due to a well planned and structured workflow during planning and construction.
6D – Design Analysis
- Efficient and accurate assessment of design performance – Assess design performance regarding spatial requirements by the appointing party. These includes but are not limited to space requirements – designed versus programmed, equipment requirements, maintenance accessibility, code requirements, etc.
- Optimize energy performance – Assess natural light levels, and evaluate structural integrity, leading to more efficient and sustainable designs.
- Empower stakeholders – Stakeholders can make informed decisions, identify design improvements, resolve conflicts, and ensure compliance with project objectives and requirements.
- Create dynamic occupancy plans – Provide a more efficient means to create dynamic occupancy plans for evaluating swing space and potential conflicts.
- Improve space utilization – Identify underutilized areas and optimize space allocation.
- Enhance design and planning – Provide 3D visualization and simulation capabilities, aiding in informed decision-making to enhance design and planning
- Improve occupant experience – Design spaces to meet the occupants’ specific needs and preferences.
7D – Facility/ Asset Management
Capture existing conditions -
- Create historical documentation / record of the facility.
- Populate facility information management systems.
- Provide the appointing party with a model of the building, equipment, and spaces within a building to create possible synergies with other BIM uses.
Project planning -
- Assess appointing party requirement data such as room areas or environmental performance to as-designed, as-built, or as-performing data.
- Aid in the permitting process (e.g., link to contract with historical data highlights expectations and comparisons drawn to the final product.)
Provide aid in managing assets -
- Enable integration of information with appointing party facility management systems unlocking additional BIM uses.
- Offer benefits to organizations such as improved asset performance, cost savings, compliance, informed decision-making, extended asset lifespans, efficient inventory management, safety and risk management, and stakeholder satisfaction.
- Enhance asset management practices by incorporating 3D models, data integration, and collaborative workflows.
- Create a digital representation of assets, facilitating better planning, maintenance, and utilization throughout the asset lifecycle.
- Provide a reference toward modelling of future renovations.
8D – Safety and Risk Management
- Reducing the potential exposure to unsafe conditions during data capture.
- Create asset information model to enhance safety and risk management.
- By having a model for temporary work, components and installation sequences can be visualized, coordinated with the design model and construction sequence, and analysed in detail. This leads to increased safety, productivity, and constructability.
9D – Lean Management
During project planning -
- Increase efficiency and productivity by decreasing time spent preparing survey data for the field.
- Reduce reliance on field verification and increase accuracy of record documentation
- Verify record information against as-built conditions.
- Improve control and quality control of design, cost and schedule.
- Identify and resolve spatial and sequencing conflicts ahead of the construction process.
- Reduce design errors and omission.
- Decrease layout errors
- Reduce RFIs and change orders
- Reduce the time and increase accuracy of takeoffs, especially counts
During construction -
- Reduce risk of differing site / facility conditions
- Increase accuracy of fabricated elements
- Reduce rework during installation.
- Reduce material waste.
- Reduce rework since control points are received directly from the model.
- Reduce defects in construction phases, below ground and above ground assets/ services.
- Improve communication and a better understanding of complex building systems to benefit workers.
- Reduce changes to schedule during construction.
10D – Industrialized Construction
- Improve efficiency – With BIM’s comprehensive information and visualization capabilities, organizations can make more accurate decisions, optimize resource allocation, and streamline asset management processes, resulting in increased efficiency and improved outcomes. Also improve operational efficiency by identifying inefficiencies and optimizing workflows.
- Enhance sustainability through environmental impact assessment and green practices.
- Enable proactive maintenance to prevent breakdowns and optimize schedules.
- Ensure compliance with standards and regulations.
- Optimize resource allocation – Facilitate data-driven decision-making for optimized resource allocation.
- Foster collaboration and communication among stakeholders and BIM users involved in space management, reducing space conflicts. Enable collaboration between multiple disciplines, along with the automation of work package development.
- Support lifecycle optimization for long-term benefits.
- Better design quality – Deploy project checking rules leading to better design quality.
Conclusion
Ultimately, all these advantages lead to cost and time savings, better cost estimation, improved occupant comfort supporting future modifications and renovations, and a more sustainable and efficient facility overall.