Working in construction, it’s easy to get caught up in the process of designing, pricing
and delivering buildings and to forget that those buildings are then around for many decades
afterwards, having a pretty big influence on how we live our lives and run our businesses.
In this video, we’re going to look at 6D BIM and the value it can bring.
If you’re coming into this cold, here’s a quick refresh on what BIM itself actually
is.
Building information modelling (BIM) is a verb. It refers to the process of creating
information models or data sets about a built asset, formed of graphical and non-graphical
information, in a shared digital space known as a common data environment (CDE). The information
builds in richness as the project stages progress until that complete data set is handed over
to the client at completion.
As you create an information model, you can add scheduling data to different components,
generating accurate programme data for your project. This is known as 4D BIM.
You can then link cost data to various components in the information model to generate estimates,
and this process is known as 5D BIM.
Taking it one step further, and adding information on the expected lifespan and maintenance requirements
of a component to support facilities management (FM) is what we call 6D BIM.
That data can include details about the components manufacturer, when it was installed, the necessary
maintenance that it requires and when, how to operate it at its optimum level to enhance
performance or conserve energy, and its expected lifespan.
Just as an aside it’s important to note is that “6D BIM” refers to a particular
way of linking data to an information model – an additional dimension if you like of
data. It is very different to the BIM maturity levels that run from 0 to 3 (and beyond) describing
the supply chain’s ability to exchange information in a digital way. 4D, 5D and 6D considerations
can all occur within BIM Level 2. If you’re working with 6D BIM, it would be wrong to
say that you’re working at “BIM Level 6”.
Once collated and linked into the information model, that 6D data can be used to support
decision making during the design process and to support the operation of the built
asset, once it’s in use. Let’s take a quick look at both of those applications.
Firstly, let’s look at how can 6D data support the design and delivery phase of a built asset
At design stage, 6D information enables teams to consider the impact of proposals over
the buildings lifecycle, simulating their anticipated outcomes and costs.
In that all-consuming delivery phase we spoke about at the outset, it helps switch the focus
from capital cost onto the whole life operating cost of the asset. The earlier you can do
this in a project, the greater the value it will add. Ideally you’d do it right from
inception.
That value, is realised in supporting the operation of built assets once they’re in
use.
At handover, the project team will be able to pass this complete data set (now known
as an Asset Information Model, AIM) over to the buildings end-user. The digital model
provides them with a more controlled, accessible and easily navigable way of managing their
information. It’s much more practical than the bundles of lever arch folders that are
handed over traditionally.
We’ll take a look at how you can hand over a digital model to an end user in a different
video.
With data on maintenance, lifespans and energy performance to hand, building operators can
determine the costs of these activities and create spend profiles over a buildings life,
pre-planning maintenance activities years in advance. It helps them adopt a completely
planned and pro-active approach to facilities management (FM) as opposed to a reactive one
when unexpected events and costs can crop up at any moment.
Where maintenance does occur, or where an asset is extended, refurbished or re-modelled,
operators can update the information model with the relevant points about that event.
Having this available is especially powerful when creating similar built assets in the
future. It enables design teams to hone proposals accordingly based on real in-use data.
And in construction terms, that’s kind of the Holy Grail. That data will enable us to
deliver better buildings and to support numerous other industries that all contribute to our
economy and our way of life. That’s when people will understand the importance of construction
and give it the respect that our industry so badly deserves.
If you don’t work in construction and have just stumbled across this video, you might
be stunned to learn that for the most part our industry don’t really consider the operational
phase, they tend to focus on capital costs. Now that’s largely down to the fact that
winning projects is decided on the price for building them, rather than the value they
can offer in the long term.
If that sounds shocking to you and total madness in the context of what I’ve just explained
in this video… well you’re right.
In the UK, PAS 1192-3 covers the process of managing a built asset using BIM. It’s a
free download from the British Standards website at this link and we have a short explanatory
video about it on The B1M channel.