It’s the question on everyone’s lips as soon as they’ve worked out what BIM actually
is: “Where the hell do I start?”
In this video we’re going to give you our advice on where to begin depending on your
role in the construction industry.
This is just a starter for 10 and you can find out loads more through our YouTube channel
or some of the many guidance documents that are available online.
First here are some general tips that we think are applicable to everyone.
It’s essential to have a good understanding of the BIM concept and terminology – and
there are loads of helpful videos about that on our channel – but when it comes to embracing
it yourself you need to be led by the benefits that it can realistically bring to your organisation.
Start by considering your current approach to information management and ask yourself
how that process could be made easier and more efficient through digital techniques.
That might mean short term investments in things like software or training are required,
but you need to consider those in the long term view of the efficiencies that it can
bring you.
It’s worth starting out on a pilot project and learning as much as you can.
Identify the members of your team who are most open to giving it a go and get them working
on it together.
When you come to use BIM on future projects, these people can help motivate and educate
other members of your team.
Now let’s look at some specific advice depending on your discipline.
Where should you start as a Client?
If you’re procuring a built asset these days you shouldn’t have to put up with a
poorly designed product that doesn’t support your business outcomes.
To help avoid this you need to let your project team know as much as you can about how your
organisation functions and operates.
If they know what you are ultimately trying to achieve, they can create a built asset
that will really support you in getting there.
You’ve probably got a good idea about the information you’d like to see from your
project team during the design and pricing stages.
You’ve probably also got a pretty good idea about the information you’d like to see
at handover to be able to run your building and get the very best out of it.
You’ll need to set this all out in something called the ‘Employers Information Requirements’
(EIRs) right from day one, so that your appointed team know the levels of service to provide
you.
Teams working without EIRs in place will struggle to ensure that the right information is issued
at the right time to support decision making.
Worse, they’ll be creating excessive amounts of information just for the sake of it, rather
than efficiently focusing on what’s needed.
There is a good template for an EIR at this link and we have a short explanatory video
on The B1M.
Now let’s take a look at where you should start as a Designer.
The key is to consider how you currently generate and share information.
That could include graphical information (such as drawings) or non-graphical information,
such as specifications or schedules.
BIM is going to require you to work in 3D and to regularly federate models for better
spatial co-ordination.
Unfortunately you’re in the category that’s likely to have to make the larger investment
in terms of software authoring tools.
But again, make sure you stay focused on the long term efficiencies this can bring.
If you haven’t worked in 3D before, it can be very different to working in a 2D environment.
Components need to be created correctly in 3D form for classification purposes.
Many manufacturers make their products available in component libraries, and we’ll talk more
about that later.
You’ll need to become familiar with linking your non-graphical specifications and schedules
to specific components, creating an information model.
And with how you share that model at different stages with your project team peers, in a
digital space known as a common data environment (CDE).
How about if you are a tier 1 or 2 contractor in the supply chain?
Start by considering how you currently use information for pricing and construction,
and how you could pass this information onto your client at the end of a project.
How can you make this process easier and quicker, to help save time and money?
The good news is that implementing BIM forces people to consider and challenge many long-established
industry gripes – things like risk transfer, competitive tendering, and the focus on capital
costs.
You can expect to be engaged earlier in the project process and to offer your expertise
up front.
In software terms, you’ll need to be able to open, view, interrogate – and if necessary
contribute to – information models in a common data environment (CDE).
Many software vendors offer tools that do this, that aren’t as expensive as the native
authoring software itself.
That is essential to successful tendering and project delivery.
Depending on the procurement route, you may be a main contractor charged with managing
the design process.
If this is the case you’ll need to set out the systems and protocols in something called
a BIM Execution Plan (BIM EP) and the deliverables in a Master Information Delivery Plan (MIDP),
and share them with all parties before you start.
You’ll also need to designate an Information Manager who will set-up and manage the common
data environment (CDE).
It isn’t there job to do BIM for everyone, they are there to facilitate the process.
Normally this would be the Design Manager or Project Team Lead.
So where should consultants start?
Well it depends on the type of consultancy you offer.
Project management firms will need to be very familiar with the requirements of managing
the BIM process, things like the EIRs, the BIM Execution Plans (BIM EPs) and the common
data environment (CDE) we introduced earlier.
Cost consultants will need to get their heads around the process of linking cost data to
components within an information model to generate estimates.
This process is known as 5D BIM.
There’s a useful guidance video explaining more on The B1M channel.
Finally, where should you start if you are a product manufacturer?
You’ll need to consider what information people need about your product, when they
need it, and how easily they can get their hands on it.
Depending on what you product is, it’s useful to get it modelled in 3D and to link in the
key data about it – such as its size, installation tolerances, weight, price, optimal performance
criteria and expected lifespan.
Make it as useful as possible without overloading people with unnecessary data.
The standardised product data templates (PDTs) can be a good place to start.
Its then worth registering with an online product library and uploading your component
so that designers can use it.
You shouldn’t fear making it freely available for people to download.
The easier it is for your product to be used the more chance you have of being specified
and ordered as the project progresses.
As we said at the beginning, this video is literally intended to give you some pointers
for taking your first steps into the world of BIM.
There is lots more out there to watch and become familiar with.
So why did we make this one video and not split it into multiple clips that would have
been perhaps more relevant to you?
Well BIM demands collaborative working and having an appreciation of the view point of
your team peers.
We hope that this way you’ll not only understand what you need to do to get started, but the
steps that others will have to take too.