Building Information Modeling For Dummies

Stefan Mordue, Paul Swaddle, David Philp

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781119060086
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Infrastructure
• Index: Business

Everything you need to make the most of building information modeling

If you're looking to get involved in the world of BIM, but don't quite know where to start, Building Information Modeling For Dummies is your one-stop guide to collaborative building using one coherent system of computer models rather than as separate sets of drawings. Inside, you'll find an easy-to-follow introduction to BIM and hands-on guidance for understanding drivers for change, the benefits of BIM, requirements you need to get started, and where BIM is headed.

The future of BIM is bright—it provides the industry with an increased understanding of predictability, improved efficiency, integration and coordination, less waste, and better value and quality. Additionally, the use of BIM goes beyond the planning and design phase of the project, extending throughout the building life cycle and supporting processes, including cost management, construction management, project management, and facility operation. Now heavily adopted in the U.S., Hong Kong, India, Singapore, France, Canada, and countless other countries, BIM is set to become a mandatory practice in building work in the UK, and this friendly guide gives you everything you need to make sense of it—fast.

• Demonstrates how BIM saves time and waste on site
• Shows you how the information generated from BIM leads to fewer errors on site
• Explains how BIM is based on data sets that describe objects virtually, mimicking the way they'll be handled physically in the real world
• Helps you grasp how the integration of BIM allows every stage of the life cycle to work together without data or process conflict

Written by a team of well-known experts, this friendly, hands-on guide gets you up and running with BIM fast.

Part I

Getting Started with Building Information Modeling

Go to www.dummies.com for bonus information about BIM and most any other topic that interests you.

In this part …

Find out how to explain what BIM is in a really simple way and understand what you really need for BIM implementation.

Appreciate that BIM isn’t just for buildings, but suitable for all kinds of infrastructure projects too, and look at examples of how more efficient processes are impacting the industry.

Make it easy to interrogate your project data by filling the model full of structured information, which other project team members can use for a variety of different uses and applications.

Use the right modeling tools to develop accurate 3D object information and see the benefits of detailed modeling.

Set up a common understanding of what BIM is for and agree on the fundamentals of BIM with your colleagues and project teams.

Chapter 1

Defining Building Information Modeling (BIM)

In This Chapter

Exploring what BIM actually is

Comprehending how BIM can help you

Explaining the BIM plans and strategies you need to be successful

Getting excited about BIM and encouraging others

The construction industry has been doing things the same way for thousands of years. Concrete is poured and set, bricks are stacked on top of bricks, and systems for heating and water are designed around corners and over multiple floors. For way too long, the construction industry has done a lot of these processes in isolation. At its worst, the construction industry brings some people involved in the construction of an asset like a building or a bridge onto the project just in time for their part, and the project team has to work around decisions or redo work, often on-site and under pressure of project deadlines.

Even in some of the most collaborative schemes, communication between different teams still has a long way to go, and the other users of building data and outputs, like clients and facility managers, are sometimes the last to know. The quality and quantity of data they receive on a project can vary wildly. What you need is a way to involve the entire project team earlier and coordinate all the project information in clear and accessible forms.

If only a combination of processes and technology existed that provided the framework to improve communication and data exchange across the construction industry, no matter how large or complicated projects may be. Well, interestingly enough, you’re in luck. This chapter serves as your jumping-off point to that very process: Building Information Modeling, commonly shortened to BIM.

Explaining BIM in Plain Terms

Here we provide a good definition for the term BIM so that the three members of your author team and you are on the same page. Frustratingly, BIM actually has lots of definitions, many generated by various organizations, because the subject has changed over the years. To prevent any confusion, we present you with our own definition that we think really clearly explains what BIM is and what it isn’t.

Most people agree that the acronym BIM stands for Building Information Modeling, but a few folks argue for Building Information Management (and, to be honest, some other alternatives too). (The next section takes a closer look at what the three letters in BIM mean.) More often than not, though, BIM is now an accepted acronym, so you don’t need to break it down further anyway, just like RAM for random access memory. We think that BIM is a process, so we could easily use both Modeling and Management in our definition. Here it is:

BIM is a process for combining information and technology to create a digital representation of a project that integrates data from many sources and evolves in parallel with the real project across its entire timeline, including design, construction, and in-use operational information.

Examining the A-B-Cs of BIM

BIM stands alone as a word in its own right, and you can feel confident using it, instead of having to say “Building Information Modeling” in full every time. But when it comes to understanding what BIM really is and explaining it to other people, those three letters can be a very useful place to begin. The following list gives a bit more detail about the A-B-Cs of BIM, or, more accurately, the B-I-Ms!

B is for banana

One of the best ways we’ve found to describe BIM to someone without any knowledge of it is to grab a piece of fruit. Explain that you could develop a perfect 3D replica of the fruit in digital modeling programs or even by 3D-printing a copy, but that’s only one kind of representation of the fruit. It doesn’t include any of the fruit’s data; for example, its sugar content, calories, use-by date, country of origin, whether it has Fairtrade certification, and so on. The 3D object on its own isn’t enough to represent the fruit. It isn’t Banana Information Modeling. That’s the difference between 3D CAD and true information modeling.

• B: Because the B in BIM stands for building, think of this as the verb to build, and not just the noun, as if BIM was for just physical, discrete buildings. In fact, you can apply BIM to infrastructure, civil engineering, and landscape, along with large-scale public and private projects.
  

  You’re modeling a process, the act of building something. Refer to Chapter 2 for more information on what the B in BIM means and for help on BIM for infrastructure.
• I: The I in BIM is about understanding that unless you have information embedded throughout the project content, the work you’re producing is telling only half of the story.
  You don’t even really need to worry about the modeling in order to start applying BIM; you can put the processes and data exchanges into practice long before drawing work begins on a project. The real value in BIM is the ability to interrogate the model and find the data you need, when you need it. Turn to Chapter 3 for some great examples of information modeling from other industries, like aeronautics and automotive racing.
• M: The M stands for modeling. This aspect of BIM probably has the most history, and hundreds of programs for representing the built environment using 3D CAD techniques and virtual design and construction (VDC) are available. (In fact, the majority of free resources on BIM, especially in the United States, can put too much focus on the 3D modeling aspects of BIM.) Chapter 4 is about how the visual model should evolve in detail, but only as much as you require for the relevant output. The model should allow the output of whatever plan/section or perspective or walkthrough or 3D-printed model that you require.

One of the simplest ways you can explain BIM is that the project should be built twice: once fully modelled digitally and then again for real on the construction site.

After you comprehend the definition of BIM, the next step is to grasp what BIM is actually trying to achieve. BIM processes aim to make you (and the construction industry as a whole) more efficient, and to allow project teams to make savings in terms of cost, time, and carbon, and removing waste across the timeline. Chapter 5 provides a really simple overview of what BIM is trying to do and some of the key fundamentals you need to know.

Understanding the Requirements for BIM

Here’s a list of what you really need for BIM implementation to thrive:

• Digitization: You have to be confident that the future of the industry is digital. Think about how technology has evolved in most industries and how in your experience of the construction industry you may have noticed that it’s still traditional and paper-based. BIM implementation requires a change of direction, toward new tools and software and a digital future.
• The right foundations: In order to build advanced BIM processes, you need the firm bedrock of efficient systems for communication, information exchange, and data transfer. Think about what practical changes you may require and even the type of projects you focus on. We show you how you can describe your BIM readiness in terms of levels of maturity. Chapter 7 discusses the importance of having a foundation before you implement BIM.
• Process: What’s wrong with what you’re already doing? We hope you can see where you can make improvements in your current processes, and that moving toward BIM implementation should have a positive effect on your business. Some essential elements to collaboration exist, and in Chapter 8 we show you an example of best-practice work flow and an explanation of some of the key acronyms you’ll encounter.
• Technology: You need to ensure that you have the right technology to support your BIM aims and objectives. Technology includes software and hardware. Having the right technology enables you to work in a digital environment. In Chapter 21, we show you different types of BIM platforms and software, with some important examples and discussion points for when you have to make decisions.
• Training: All the processes, frameworks, and documents in the world won’t help if people don’t understand them ...