4 Ways BIM Can Benefit Your Construction Projects

There are those in the construction industry who believe that the building information modeling (BIM) process is a “nice idea,” but they still don’t believe it’s a wise use of their company’s time and money. The challenge has been to overcome the traditional way shop drawings have been produced and jobs have been coordinated. If you’re asking yourself whether BIM is worth investing in for your company, you should consider the benefits it can bring.

1. Answers:  The BIM construction model provides answers to a plethora of questions. On a job using the BIM process, the engineer can respond to questions with certainty. Contractors can find correct dimensions for their portion of the job on up-to-date drawings – even for things that are hidden behind walls or above ceilings. Cost, location, quantity, size, source, and many other details are contained in a BIM model.
2. Assets:  The BIM model can contain manufacturer-specific information about a building’s assets that can be imported into a facilities management database for long-term asset maintenance. This is an invaluable benefit to owners, and the ability to provide it is a strong selling point when trying to win work.
3. Accessible:  The BIM model is incredibly useful, so access to it can be in great demand. The more people on the job who can access model information with collaborative software the better. With proper training and technology, project engineers, superintendents and even contractors can augment the BIM manager’s responsibilities to answer questions, review conditions and derive information from the construction model.
4. Agreement:  In the real world, coordination and constructability of the designer’s overall “intent” may not reflect what ultimately gets purchased, fabricated and installed on the job. Rather than a simple design-intent model – primarily produced for permitting – an information-rich, 3D production model can be created by collaborating with trades contractors; after all, they know the products, pricing and availability, among other details. By collaborating up front during the design phase and agreeing on these details in advance, the cumbersome process of getting formal design team approval for items installed by subcontractors can be avoided. 

For many construction firms, the train of thought needs to change in order to fully and properly implement the BIM process on projects and realize its real-world benefits. Putting BIM at the forefront of each project will bring your company the highest impact and value.

If you want to explore the ways the BIM process can be a wise use of your company’s time and money, contact Applied Software today. The Revit and BIM experts at Applied will help you set goals and choose the technology that makes the most sense for your individual needs.