Delivering Value with BIM

A whole-of-life approach

Adriana Sanchez, Keith Hampson, Simon Vaux, Adriana X. Sanchez, Keith D. Hampson, Simon Vaux, Adriana Sanchez, Keith Hampson, Adriana X. Sanchez, Keith D. Hampson, Simon Vaux

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781138408616
• eBook ISBN: 9781317313175
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Construction & Architectural Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a global phenomenon which is gaining significant momentum across the world. Currently there is little information on how to realise and monitor benefits from implementing BIM across the life-cycle of a built environment asset. This book provides a practical and strategic framework to realise value from implementing BIM by adapting Benefit Realisation Management theory. It presents an approach for practitioners aiming to implement BIM across the life-cycle of built environment assets, including both buildings and infrastructure.

Additionally, the book features:

• wide-ranging information about BIM, the challenges of monitoring progress towards benefit goals and the greater context of implementation;
• a set of dictionaries that illustrate: how benefits can be achieved, what the benefit flows are and the enabling tools and processes that contribute to achieving and maximising them;
• a suite of measures that can serve to monitor progress with examples of how they have been used to measure benefits from BIM;
• real-world examples from across the world and life-cycle phases that show how these benefits can be achieved;
• and information on international maturity and competency measures to complement the value realisation framework.

Including a blend of academic and industry input, this book has been developed in close collaborative consultation with industry, government and international research organisations and could be used for industry courses on BIM benefits and implementation for asset management or by universities that teach BIM-related courses.

Part I Theory and practice

1 BIM, asset management and metrics

Adriana X. Sanchez and Keith D. Hampson

DOI: 10.4324/9781315652474-1

Introduction

The global financial recession… has highlighted the importance of improving productivity and finding new ways to do business in the industry, and BIM has contributed to that dialogue by supporting efforts to collaborate and use strategies like prefabrication, as well as to reduce the inefficiencies that continue to plague the design and construction industries.

(McGraw Hill Construction, 2014b)

The construction industry worldwide has been facing significant external pressures such as eroding profit margins, higher owner expectations, rapidly changing technology and a dwindling workforce (Roper and McLin, 2005). Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been identified as a socio-technical system ‘that can be used to improve team communication throughout the project life-cycle, produce better outcomes, reduce rework, lower risk, provide better predictability of outcomes and improve operation and maintenance of an asset’ (Sanchez et al., 2014b). This has led countries across the globe to start moving towards the implementation of BIM.

In Australia, the Australian Productivity Commission recently highlighted that a more widespread adoption of BIM could enhance productivity across the industry and in turn have a positive impact on the cost structure of infrastructure projects (Australian Government Productivity Commission, 2014). The Commission’s findings reinforced the recommendations of an earlier Australian visioning initiative that promoted the use of advanced ICT and virtual prototyping for design, manufacture and operation of constructed facilities (Hampson and Brandon, 2004). In the UK, the government identified construction as an enabling sector for their industry strategy and committed to become a world leader in BIM by: (1) committing to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) BIM Programme; (2) aim for growth; and (3) help create their future by continually developing their capabilities (HM Government, 2012). In New Zealand, the BIM Acceleration Committee was established in 2014 with a total initial funding of NZ$250,000 over three years. This committee is based on an alliance between government and industry and aims to coordinate efforts across government, industry and research to increase the use of BIM (Building Performance, 2015; Productivity Partnership, 2014). In Hong Kong, the Construction Industry Council issued a BIM Roadmap in 2014 (HKCIC, 2014) and the Housing Authority has been piloting BIM since 2006 and intends to implement BIM across all its construction projects as of 2015 (HKHA, 2015; Wong and Kuan, 2014). In Singapore, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) issued a nationwide BIM roadmap in 2010 (Das et al., 2011) and mandated BIM in all new buildings projects larger than 5,000 square metres as of 2015 (BCA, 2013).

In the Nordic Region, Finland was one of the pioneers in this area. The RATAS project (which stands for computer-aided design and buildings) originated from discussions in 1982 about the need to integrate information technology (IT) applications in construction. This was part of a coordinated research, development and standardisation effort to bring computer-integrated construction to Finland (Björk, 1993). This project identified BIM as the central issue in using IT for a more efficient construction industry and brought together most of the Finnish industry key players to develop a roadmap (Björk, 2009). Nowadays, Finland requires the use of BIM for government procurement (Mitchell et al., 2012) and is seen as one of the BIM leaders of Europe (RYM Oy, 2014).

Sweden has followed in the steps of Finland and also initiated concerted efforts to increase a nationwide implementation of BIM. This led to the launch of the non-profit organisation OpenBIM (now BIM Alliance) in 2009 to establish BIM standards in Sweden. Public organisations such as the Swedish Transport Administration also mandated the use of BIM from 2015 (Trafikverket, 2013) as part of their nationwide efficiency programme (Albertsson and Nordqvist, 2013).

In general, there is a great deal of anecdotal and qualitative evidence regarding overall benefits from BIM with some contractors and designer firms stating that they use BIM even if not required by the client as a risk management strategy (Gilligan and Kunz, 2007). However, although some firms are measuring some benefits from using BIM (McGraw Hill Construction, 2014a, 2014b), it is unclear whether they have quantitative benefit measurement that can capture all potential benefits. Unclear business value and return on investment (ROI) have additionally been often identified as a barrier for adoption (Barlish and Sullivan, 2012).

Academic literature acknowledges that identifying, monitoring and managing benefits throughout the life-cycle of a project or asset is a way to ensure success during implementation of new technologies (Yates et al., 2009). Outlining the way in which each benefit will be measured and providing evidence for expected levels of improvement that will result from changes provide a basis for the development of rigorous and realistic business cases and financial arguments for investment (Ward et al., 2007). Capturing and disseminating information to ensure intelligent decision-making can also help reduce risk and deal with the large number of variables characteristic of construction projects (Roper and McLin, 2005).

Additionally, the already fast pace of technology and process development is expected to continue to increase in speed. For example, the report Built Environment 2050 published by the Construction Industry Council in the UK provides an outlook of the next 35 years and expected evolution of BIM into a digital era (Philp and Thompson, 2014). This socio-technological frontier includes milestones such as self-assembly, industrial 3D printing, autonomous vehicles and advanced robotics. All of these advances will significantly increase productivity and reduce cost, but will also require a high level of digitisation of information and integrated systems.

Within this context, proactively establishing quality improvement cycles based on standardised work processes and corresponding measures of effectiveness will ensure better project outcomes, driven by continuously improving systems and organisational knowledge and understanding. Metrics play a critical role in driving this process (CURT, 2005). There is a great deal of literature on BIM adoption and benefits for specific applications and stakeholders (Bryde et al., 2013; Arayici et al., 2011; Migilinskas et al., 2013; Eadie et al., 2013; Azhar and Brown, 2009; Kasprzak and Dubler, 2012; Teichholz, 2013). However, there is a lack of comprehensive studies that focus on mapping and measuring the benefits of implementing BIM across the whole-of-life of built assets. This book aims to help fill this gap and provide a framework for buildings and infrastructure assets to assess the actual benefits of implementing BIM throughout planning, delivery and management.

Building Information Modelling

BIM is a verb to describe tools, processes and technologies that are facilitated by digital, machine-readable documentation about a building, its performance, its planning, its construction and later its operation. Therefore BIM describes an activity, not an object.

(Shou et al., 2015)

BIM is often defined by international standards as ‘shared digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of any built object […] which forms a reliable basis for decisions’ (Volk et al., 2014). However, BIM can be much more than that. For example, in this book the authors acknowledge that the term ‘BIM’ also includes a set of interacting policies, processes and technologies generating a ‘methodology to manage the essential building design and project data in digital format throughout the building’s life-cycle’ (Succar, 2009). Mature BIM is a socio-technical system that extends to emerging technological and process changes within the architecture, engineering, construction and operations industry.

In the broadest sense, BIM can also be described as a way of working that:

• allows the development of a strategy for project design, construction, and management ‘based on the computer-aided modelling and simulation technologies of the object and its development processes’;
• ensures ‘the integrated management of graphical and information data flows combined with descriptions of process, all this performing under the integrated software environment’;
• transforms ‘individual executors into teams and decentralised tools into complex solutions, to integrate individual tasks into processes’; and
• allows performing ‘life-cycle operations of a construction project faster, more effective, and with lower costs’ (Migilinskas et al., 2013).

At the most basic level, however, a BIM model is characterised by a three-dimensional representation of an asset based on objects that include information about the object beyond the graphical representation (CRC for Construction Innovation, 2009). Here the term ‘BIM’ refers to a 3D design and modelling technology and database that provides enduring and transferrable digital information for the design, construction, management, logistics and material requirements of built environment assets (BEIIC, 2012). It can also support the use of 4D models, which include scheduling functions allowing just-in-time delivery of information, materials, parts, assemblies and required equipment and resources (3xPT Strategy Group, 2007). The model can be further leveraged to include other layers of information leading to for example 5D models (includes cost) and 6D models (includes operations management). BIM therefore promises the ability to create models that combine data that was traditionally spread across multiple documents and databases along with the ability to share information between different models for the production of superior design solutions (McGraw Hill Construction, 2008).

Thus, the use of BIM promotes clearer, more accurate, up-to-date communication by consolidating currently disparate project information. It allows all team members to contribute to the establishment and population of the databases underpinning the planning, design, construction and operation of the asset (APCC and ACIF, 2009).

In asset management, having a data rich model where all components are objectified and have properties and relationships attached to them offers a plethora of opportunities for efficiency gains. For example, information generated automatically as the design model is created can be used for cost estimating, project planning and control, and sustainability and general asset management (Kivits and Furneaux, 2013).

From the procurement point of view, BIM offers the potential for streamlining processes to increase efficiencies. Decision-making can also be made easier by having access to an integrated system that makes apparent abstract ideas as well as more concrete issue such as cost and materials (BSI and buildingSMART, 2010). As...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• List of equations
• Notes on contributors
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• List of acronyms
• PART I Theory and practice
• PART II Dictionaries
• Index
• Dictionary indexes