BIM for Building Owners and Developers

Making a Business Case for Using BIM on Projects

K. Pramod Reddy

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780470905982
• eBook ISBN: 9781118129791
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Real Estate
• Index: Business

Use BIM to develop strategies, expedite projects, improve outcomes, and save money.

BIM is far more than an "upgrade" to the latest CAD software. It is a process improvement tool that leverages data to analyze and predict outcomes throughout the different phases of the building life cycle. The time for a building owner to get involved with the BIM process is not at the end of the building project but from the very beginning. BIM for Building Owners and Developers is the only guide that will help you, the owner and client, use BIM to increase transparency and create a more integrated design and construction process, which will result in better quality buildings at lower cost and in a shorter time frame. It will also help you understand what BIM can do for you and what you can expect in terms of process and commitments. You'll discover how BIM can help improve your strategic planning, maximize ROI, support the decision-making processes, and fine-tune GAP analysis.

In addition, BIM for Building Owners and Developers can help you:

• Understand, manage, and take advantage of the BIM paradigm shift
• Assemble a building as it would be constructed on site to help eliminate many inefficiencies of the construction process
• Achieve a high level of coordination through better integration of information and process optimization
• Reduce the overall cost of a project by identifying problems while they still can be corrected inexpensively

Make every project easier, faster, and more profitable with BIM for Building Owners and Developers.

chapter 1

Introduction to Building Information Modeling

Building information modeling is most often referred to as BIM. In practice, BIM is defined as the file that is created by the use of three-dimensional (3-D) computer-aided design (CAD) software programs. Unfortunately, this is the broadest definition and is often the root cause of failure in the deployment of BIM. The focus on BIM as being an “upgrade” to the latest CAD software is the first step many firms take in the wrong direction. In reality, BIM is a process improvement methodology that leverages data to analyze and predict outcomes throughout different phases of the building life cycle.

While there are several books in the marketplace addressing the technical aspects of BIM, including software training manuals, the focus of this book has been to look at BIM from a building owner’s perspective. To date, the owner’s role in BIM has primarily been as the recipient of the “BIM” at the end of the project. The reality is that the owner is the most pertinent participant in the BIM process. This book is not intended to be a technology-driven perspective of BIM but rather a tool for an owner to better understand BIM in order to deploy practical initiatives that lead to BIM being beneficial for the owner’s projects.

BIM is a “paradigm shift”—and, in most cases, a paradigm shift happens quickly. For various reasons, however, the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) community is moving through this shift at a much slower pace. The major reason for this lethargic adaptation is due to the nature of the construction system at large. It exists as a highly fragmented environment, supporting an ecosystem consisting largely of influencers that consist of highly repetitive experience with a single decision maker— the owner—with relatively nominal experience compared to the ecosystem. The current state of the AEC processes and the end state of the paradigm shift are both well understood. The adaptation from the current to the end state is creating the most chaos. It is important to understand that the notion of BIM as a process improvement technology is more conceptual than analytical. To deem an improvement of process implies the measurement of existing systems and documentation of these metrics as a baseline for improvement.

BIM instills a vision of what the future of construction can become in terms of “hard” improvements. BIM is also an essential platform today to measure and collect data for existing process metrics. The single mission of this book is to engage with the most experienced stakeholders in the AEC industry. Software is just a tool and, like many tools, is misused by practitioners with the least amount of experience.

The information age has created a platform for transparency in almost every industry, except the construction industry. The challenge has been the ability for the “consumer” (in this case the owner) to drive and demand change.

This book covers both basic and more complex BIM topics. It also incorporates a blend of management consulting and technology principles. It is meant to be used either in parts or in its entirety, based on the needs of the owner. This book contains a lot of content and concepts that are meant to drive awareness for discussion and not necessarily for practical implementation. The majority of the book is derived from years of practical experience in the field. Many practical examples are presented in this book in a special feature called “A Tale from the Trenches.”

The purpose of these tales from the trenches is to demonstrate specific workflows along with the challenges and benefits of using BIM. These were developed from actual projects but modified and made anonymous so that there is a clear and honest insight. One of the single most important challenges within the AEC community is honestly regarding the actual utilization of BIM and the challenges associated with BIM implementation.

In many chapters, there are quotes from other books that are relevant to the subject matter. These should also be considered recommended reading for your organization.

The purpose of this book is to provide a framework for building owners and developers to drive BIM objectives that substantiate their objectives and guide their AEC vendor community to compliance. Much of the information about the methods of the AEC community at large provides a baseline for how BIM is being used currently and are not necessarily best practices. Owners can demand a better process with greater transparency if they truly understand the opportunities and limitations of the technology, the industry, and the future. This book can be read from beginning to end but is also designed to be used as a reference for owners that are facing a particular challenge.

Technology should drive benefit to the consumer. Prior to the Internet age, a consumer went to a travel agent to book travel, hotels, and rental cars. There was no transparency of flight schedules, rates, availability, and quality. The travel agent acted as a proxy of the consumer to fulfill his or her needs but was compensated by the travel industry. Consumers were required to “trust” their travel agents. The rule of thumb “to trust but verify” was difficult because there was no method of verification. Technology made it possible to shrink the sales channel and disintermediate the supply chain. Consumers were given the ability to both trust and verify the pricing and availability from their travel agents.

The AEC community and the construction industry at large are built with layers of agents that may or may not create value for the owner. In many cases, as in the case of many general contractors, the value may only be the subordinated risk of contracting with a single party. This is of value to many owners, but the value may not be justified by the price. In lieu of purely subordinating risk, an owner should be able to mitigate risk by leveraging data. This type of data is generally referred to as decision support data and is common in most other industries.

The History of BIM

One of the most vivid statements I remember from my father was that the most intelligent people in the room are the ones who are silent. I have really used this in understanding “why BIM matters.” I have found that the discussions around BIM tend to be driven vocally by those in an organization who “know it all” but have never actually built a building. The experienced people tend to remain silent—or, better yet, bored. The most experienced professionals in our industry understand that the success of any technology is driven by the weakest link in the ecosystem. For a better understanding of this, refer to the history of BIM. This, to the dismay of many of my peers, is to ignore the technology aspects of BIM in its entirety because BIM is a paradigm shift, and it is much more than technology. Instead, I have focused on spending my time with the most experienced individuals in the construction industry. This time is spent trying to understand reality versus fiction.

The start of design documentation was the creation of a new language to communicate the three-dimensional (3-D) world (reality) in a two-dimensional (2-D) communication platform. This platform was the first in creating a language in 2-D that could be universally understood. This 2-D platform consisted of plan and elevation views with a level of development (LOD) that was communicated with details, sections, and specifications.

It was also clear that in this 2-D platform there would be gaps in information that would be subject to interpretation. Because, realistically, how could the real world be communicated in a 2-D document? The phrase “do not see the movie, read the book instead” has been heard many times by most individuals. The book leaves so much for our own individual interpretation (and imagination) that reading becomes a highly individualized experience. Conversely, the movie is very specific, and we tend to stretch to develop our individual interpretations of the movie from our own experience. This may work in the entertainment world, but in the world of construction, interpretation leads to so much variability that expectations are hardly in-line with each stakeholder. This interpretation is obviously biased—not only by each stakeholder’s role but also by budgetary concerns.

BIM software by definition is a subset of CAD software, but BIM processes are very different from CAD processes. The traditional process of developing construction drawings began by using mechanical methods (pen/paper, ink/vellum, etc.). With the advent of CAD, this mechanical process was moved to the computer screen, where it was transformed into a computing process. The deliverables remained unchanged, but the speed and precision those computers were able to bring to the development of construction drawings was accelerated. Additionally, the rate of incorporating design changes was vastly affected. Therefore, the design process was not affected by this technology as much as the production process. This is directly analogous to the change from a typewriter to a word processor program on a computer. CAD provided some design-assist tools that allowed for precise dimensioning, easy editing, and cut-and-paste functions. CAD has historically been used as a design authoring tool.

As a result of the increase in computing power and the decrease in price, many in our industry have come to use CAD to collaborate during the design process. With the advent of easy-to-use Internet-based file-sharing technologies, the AEC industry has become fairly efficient during the design phase. These CAD programs have also been capable of producing 3-D CAD models for the purposes of visualization. Additional applications were developed to extend basic CAD functionality to link this information to databases and automated routines (scripting macros). Traditional CAD, however, has played a very minor role in optimizing the overall construction process. To say that BIM is “just another CAD program” would be the equivalent of saying that computer spreadsheets are “just another calculator.”

The current standard of construction documentation is interpreted to build the “reality” 3-D model (i.e., the building), while BIM is used to create a “virtual” 3-D model to build construction documentation (CDs). These CDs are then interpreted and used in a traditional construction process. In essence, today’s construction environment sees BIM being used as a CAD application. This process is changing quite rapidly and being mostly driven by owners and contractors. CAD is used to develop information that is used in the life cycle of the building which is then aggregated into the building. BIM is used to develop an aggregation of building information that is then extracted throughout the life cycle of the building.

In summary, BIM is a database-driven representation of the building throughout the building’s life cycle. While 3-D is an important part of BIM, it is only a small part of its capability.

The construction industry moves at a very deliberate pace. While this pace may not seem aggressive, it is indeed progressing. The goal of this book is to provide a guideline for owners to create a plan that is evolutionary and iterative in nature. It is easy to know where owners are (as-is condition) in comparison to where they need to be (to-be condition) in a paradigm shift. The challenge is all of the steps in between. These are analyzed through a process called gap analysis, and I will explore these concepts—as well as how to apply these tools—in later chapters.

BIM can be broken down into different but similar database sets that are based on the author and use of the information:

• Design intent model (by the designer for the designer)
• Build intent model (by the contractor for the contractor)
• Fabrication intent model (by the subcontractor for the subcontractor)
• Facility management model (by the owner for the owner)

Most new systems are first misunderstood and then misused, which consequently results in poor outcomes that are soon after dismissed. Due to the similarity of information, there is a belief that information created by the designer for the designer will somehow be useful for the contractor. The management of building data is a role that is commonly used on large projects. With the advent of BIM, it is becoming a necessity on projects of any size. The amount of data created by BIM is (at a minimum) tenfold that of typical projects using 2-D plans and specifications only. Simply managing data is now becoming a full-time job.

BIM is a transformative technology, very similar to the Internet. Much like Internet adoption, it is initially being used to automate known workflows and legacy information. As this technology becomes better understood, it will soon be used to change and improve construction processes. Fundamentally, the owner community has not benefited from the information age, while the advent of technology has created a high level of transparency to the consumer. BIM is changing the owners’ processes and shaping the way they do business.

Future Trends

Discussing future trends prior to current trends may seem counterintuitive, but the future opportunities of BIM will spur the current investment required to take advantage of these future trends. Current BIM adoption and use is on a project basis for managing and driving successful project outcomes. The most interesting aspect of BIM in the long term is the application of data mining and analysis. Once the aggregation of sufficient structured data about buildings throughout their life cycle has taken place, there will be amazing applications. This data can be organized and used as benchmarking and knowledge base data. For instance, the ability to “load” a BIM model and a construction schedule, analyze potential construction delays based on a building system, and determine the average durations of past projects will ultimately help optimize design.

Predictive Maintenance

The use of BIM data to drive predictive maintenance on a building is still in its early stages but is, in fact, growing. Analyzing the BIM data across a portfolio of buildings while being able to determine maintenance cycles on major and minor building systems allows for fewer unplanned outages as well as greater precision in operational budgeting. Additionally, being able to benchmark against similar buildings (and portfolios of buildings) will assist in assessing comparative performance.

Constructability Analysis

Constructability analysis is an area that is also growing rapidly. The concept of simulating the construction process and predicting outcomes has a tremendous benefit to owners. It has become the next generation of a traditional plan review service. While a plan review service can create value, because it functions as a peer review, it is indeed quite limiting. A BIM-based constructability analysis provides the base benefit of a traditional plan review in addition to the by-products of BIM-based simulation. The ability to aggregate constructability data and analyze it against actual outcomes allows owners to understand the quality of the work product from their design teams and, more specifically, how it drives construction delays and budget overruns. An example of BIM analytics and the extension of these analytics to the owner’s benefit is the iBIM Constructability Index (CI). Our team at ARC developed this tool to assist owners in scoring the constructability of a b...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Title
• Copyright
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1: Introduction to Building Information Modeling
• Chapter 2: BIM with a Purpose
• Chapter 3: BIM—The Paradigm Shift
• Chapter 4: Strategic Planning
• Chapter 5: Tactics
• Chapter 6: Execution
• Chapter 7: BIM Analytics for the Enterprise
• Chapter 8: Summary
• Biographies
• Index