10 Insider Tips to Drive a Successful BIM Implementation

BIM is a disruptive process that in large part uses disruptive technology. Therefore, it necessitates a change in culture in any organization that wishes to successfully adopt and implement it.

BIM will impact nearly every aspect of your business in one way or another and will impact the way your organization collaborates with others. In more and more cases, the deliverables themselves are changing as a direct result of what BIM offers to building owners and managers. To implement BIM, then, you need to take a different approach than what was done 30 years ago with CAD. Simply investing in new software and sending some people to a class, while certainly a part of the process, is not enough.

There are any number of reasons for a BIM implementation to fail. Fortunately, there at least as many ways to succeed. From someone who has “been there,” following are 10 insider tips to drive a successful BIM implementation:

1.     Choose to adopt BIM: Whatever your motivation for adopting BIM, you must choose to do it. It cannot be forced on you to be successful. You cannot be properly committed to something that is being forced on you from the outside. If you are feeling backed into a corner, step back, look at the situation objectively and determine if there are benefits for you in adopting BIM. If so, focus on the benefits, rather than the pressures that drove you to this point.

2.     Top-down approach, buy-in, leadership must drive: The effort must begin with the organization’s leadership, not just tolerance and support. Leadership must take an active role in mandating the effort and making sure the resources are provided to make it a success.

3.     Excite staff, opportunities for all, market internally: Foster a culture of excitement among the staff. This is a growth opportunity for everyone involved.

4.     Partner with a trusted, experienced resource: Find and partner with a resource that can assist you – someone who has experience and who can help you not only in the initial planning stages but with ongoing support as your implementation evolves.

5.     Reward staff: Provide rewards, incentives and goals for staff to encourage active and willing participation in the process.

6.     Provide support – external and internal: Provide resources, internally and externally, to support your staff as they develop new skills and adapt to new workflows and processes.

7.     Develop and follow a plan: Have a plan and follow it. Make it attainable and reasonable. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Consider developing a plan for a phased implementation with short term, mid-term and long-term goals.

8.     Make course corrections as needed along the journey: All plans will need adjustment along the way, so be prepared to make changes to address unforeseen developments and changes in technology and situations.

9.     Don’t bail – get help: There will be bumps in the road. It is important to power through them and resist the temptation to retreat to more traditional, “comfortable” technologies and processes. These rough spots are your best opportunities for learning and development. Frequently when your staff is experiencing the most frustration, a milestone in your efforts is just around the corner, but you must persevere to realize it.

10.     Be patient – it will take time: Be patient with yourselves as well as your team members. New processes and workflows take time to master and to become comfortable with.

BIM is constantly evolving; therefore, your implementation is never complete. You should be constantly looking for ways to push the boundaries of your current BIM implementation to take advantage of new technologies and capabilities. Adopt a “culture of continuous improvement” and choose to steadily evolve. Spending months or years in the same state of BIM evolution will result in the inevitable realization that once again technology (and your competitors) have passed you by and that you have another long learning curve at the very least to get caught up.

If you make it a practice to be constantly looking for ways to improve and grow your BIM implementation you will find that it becomes easier and less disruptive.

If you need an experienced partner to help you drive your successful BIM implementation, contact Graitec Group today.