The Importance of BIM
Building Information Modeling (BIM) BIM provides the opportunity for design and construction teams to collaborate effectively on their projects. However, BIM alone does not make a project successful; it is the concerted, collective effort on the part of the entire team that ensures the project's success. This means that there must be a game plan in place (i.e. BIM Execution Plan) for how BIM will be used to enhance the entire process.
When effectively and deliberately integrated into a workflow, BIM is important for the following reasons:
It can serve as the repository for pertinent design data about a project
It can provide the basis for analyses (Cost, Energy, Code, Spatial, Design and Construction Coordination, etc.)
It can provide the owner with timely and useful information about the building ready for use immediately after project handover to begin the facility management process
The last point can prove to be the driving force for using BIM on a project for design and construction once building Owners are able to realize the benefits of having project teams use BIM on their projects. Once this happens, they will begin to incorporate BIM requirements into their contracts which will require teams who have not jumped on the BIM wagon to get on board. The main benefit for building Owners is directly tied the information aspect of BIM since it is the data about products, equipment, and spaces in a building that helps them to better manage their facilities. Data contained in a BIM, as opposed to a specification binder, is 1) graphically linked to objects, 2) computable/searchable, 3) able to be exported from the BIM for consumption in various CMMS databases. The current standard format for exporting data is known as COBIE (Construction Operations Building Information Exchange).
BIM provides a great platform for project teams to collaborate effectively. When a holistic approach is taken in the form of developing a roadmap for its use, the resulting project will benefit tremendously from those efforts with better functionality, greater efficiency, and even ease of operations during facilities management.
