BIM Theory and Practice Essay
Building Information Model (BIM) has a considerable impact on the development of the contemporary design, architecture and construction industry. In fact, BIM opens larger opportunities for the efficient communication between all stakeholders involved in construction projects. Therefore, the efficient communication facilitates the work of designers, architects and contractors and subcontractors to meet customers’ needs and expectations. At the same time, BIM is not a mere business model that facilitates construction. In fact, BIM is a new philosophy of construction that is environment-friendly and destined to meet needs and wants of customers with minimal waste and costs. However, many company and customers are still uncertain whether BIM is worth applying or probably conventional construction models are more efficient. In this regard, the analysis of benefits of BIM can uncover key advantages of BIM and help customers as well as designers and constructors to implement BIM wider in their work and life. At any rate, benefits of BIM outweigh their costs consistently providing ample opportunities for constructing buildings, their maintenance and even demolition, covering the full life-cycle of buildings and taking into consideration the position of all stakeholders.
BIM is a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a building (Arayici, 2010). As a rule, BIM involves a shared knowledge of all the information related to the construction project between all stakeholders(Aouad & Wu, 2007). In fact, BIM involves the use of software which helps designers to model the future project and to introduce changes in the project at virtually any stage of the project development. At this point, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the project is created virtually and work on the project carries on until all the issues are agreed upon and the owner of the building or customer agrees on the proposed project. Unlike conventional construction projects, BIM implies the elaboration of the complex plan of the project that focuses on the entire life-cycle of the building. This means that the project involves all stages from the design of the building to its demolition.
BIM emerged due to the progress of new information technologies and the development of modern telecommunication systems, which facilitate information sharing between stakeholders involved in construction projects and allow creating 3D projects of buildings (Bazjanac, 2003). New technologies have opened larger opportunities for planning and designing buildings, while designers have got larger opportunities to communicate with contractors and customers. As a result, the introduction of BIM became a new stage in the development of the contemporary design, architecture and construction. The wide introduction of BIM results from the high efficiency and numerous benefits BIM brings not only to customers but also to designers and contractors, who complete the construction of the building and can maintain the building during its life-cycle until the demolition of the building.
At this point, the analysis of BIM benefits can help to uncover the potential of BIM in the contemporary construction industry and reveal major reasons for the growing popularity of BIM among designers, contractors and customers (Smith,& Tardif, 2009). In fact, BIM is very efficient and its benefits attract many customers above all because BIM helps customers to understand better what they are actually about to receive upon the completion of the project, which they order. More important, BIM allows the permanent communication between stakeholders throughout the elaboration and implementation of the project. However, these are just a few benefits of BIM to mention.
On analysing numerous benefits of BIM, it is worth mentioning the fact that one of the advantages of BIM compared to conventional construction models is the fact that BIM provides three dimensional representation of the building (Fischer& Kunz, 2003). In the past two dimensional representation of the building were used in the construction design and projects (Carr, et al., 2010). However, owners of buildings could not always understand adequately how the buildings will look like upon the completion of the building (Aranda-Mena, et al., 2009). Moreover, many important details could have been omitted in a 2D construction project. Instead, 3D models of the future building have proved to be more efficient not only for customers but also for designers and contractors because they could plan in details every aspect of the future building and every detail could be taken into consideration. In fact, the three dimensional representation of the building provided by BIM gave the real life view of the new building. The higher realism of the projected building helped designers and constructors to forecast possible difficulties and eliminate them before the project had started.
In addition to 3D representation of the building, BIM involves two more dimensions, time and costs (Boehmler, 1998). In fact, the time and costs of the construction project are very important, especially today, when the construction industry is in some decline. BIM helps to save time of designers, contractors and customers because they can plan all details of the project beforehand and they start the construction only when the plan of the building is completed and the customer agrees to accept the plan. The time is crucial for the successful completion of the project and the customer satisfaction. As a rule, customers want to have their buildings constructed fast and, at possibly, lower costs. BIM provides both of these options. The application of BIM prevents considerable changes at the stage of the construction because all issues are agreed upon at the stage of planning and development of the project. Therefore, customers can expect to have their buildings constructed within the timeline determined by the project.
The role of the costs of construction is also extremely important in the contemporary business environment, especially if complex buildings are constructed (GSA, 2006). Naturally customers are interested in saving costs on construction without any compromises with the quality of the building. In other words, customers want their buildings to be constructed fast but at a low price. Conventional construction models are more expansive compared to BIM (Arayici, 2008). BIM allows customers to save costs due to accurate planning of the construction. Moreover, virtually all attributes of the buildings are taken into consideration while applying BIM. Therefore, customers do not normally require changes in the building, when the construction has started. Instead, conventional models often require changes being introduced at the stage of the construction that naturally leads to the rise of costs. In addition, BIM saves time and time is closely intertwined with costs of construction. The longer the construction lasts the higher are its costs. Therefore, BIM saves time and, thus, saves costs. Hence, BIM is beneficial for contractors and customers.
At this point, the question concerning benefits of designers and contractors arises since one may wonder why the construction that costs less is beneficial for designers and contractors. Low costs of the construction and development of the project seem to bring lower profits to designers and contractors. However, in actuality, BIM allows designers to save their time that allows them to decrease the costs of the construction because they can complete more projects and, thus, increase their revenues. For instance, using conventional modelling, a construction company can complete three projects in a year and earn 450,000 Euros with each project bringing 150,000 Euros. At the same time, the same construction company can complete five projects in a year using BIM. Even if each BIM project will bring the company 100,000 Euros, the total revenues of the company will be 500,000 Euros that is more than the total revenues of the company using the conventional model. Consequently, BIM is efficient financially and attractive for both construction companies and their customers.
BIM takes into consideration spatial relationships, light analysis, geographic information, and quantities and properties of building components.These issues are extremely important and are not fully taken into consideration while developing construction projects. Conventional models developed by construction companies and designers fail to provide such detailed information and take into consideration such issues as geographic information, quantities of properties of building components, light analysis and spatial relationships. Instead, BIM models provides the wide information on these issues that help customers to explain their needs and wants better to designers, while designers can take into consideration environmental impact and other issues related to the construction of the building.
In this regard, BIM also opens opportunities for designers and contractors to negotiate specificities of the construction. For instance, construction companies have to take into consideration geographical specificities of the area, where the building is located. Designers should take into consideration that information to maximise the efficiency of the building. The geographic information is extremely important for the construction of energy efficient buildings. For instance, buildings located in Northern areas need the higher level of energy efficiency, while buildings constructed in Southern areas may need lighter materials because they do not need such high energy efficiency level as buildings in Northern areas. Similarly, the light analysis helps designers to plan the building in such a way that the building will be energy efficient since owners will have an opportunity to use more daylight and minimal use of electricity.
All stakeholders have access to BIM information. In actuality, the access to information on the construction project is crucial for the successful completion of the construction. To put it more precisely, the construction process has to be carefully planned and the access of stakeholders to the construction information can help to increase the efficiency of the planning and implementation of the project. In fact, BIM helps to share information between owners of buildings and designers, between constructors and designers, between designers and architects and other stakeholders. The efficient information sharing helps to elaborate a detailed project that takes into consideration all specificities and attributes of the building respectively to available resources, geographic conditions, and customers’ wants and needs. The accomplishment of such project is likely to be successful, fast and economically efficient because all issues are agreed upon at the stage of the development and planning of the project.
Customers and designers can negotiate the model of the building until the customers are fully satisfied with the proposed model. Only after that the model can be implemented. In fact, this is one of the main advantages of BIM since customers can see what they will receive on the completion of the project and they can share their ideas with designers and constructors, while the latter assess possibilities and practical opportunities for the implementation of the customer’s wants. Designers take into consideration custoemrs’ wants and make propositions of the building plan with all specificities of the building, while customers give them feedback, which designers evaluate and make a new offer, if necessary. Eventually, designers and customers come to agreement on the final project plan, which contractors start implementing.
However, BIM does not limit the communication to the communication between designers and customers solely. Instead, designers have to maintain the close communication with constructors to coordinate their design with technical opportunities for its implementation (Tse, et al., 2005). For instance, designers can create the plan of a building that matches customer’s needs and wants, but constructors can find out some weak points and suggest changes, for instance, replace some materials by others. Designers should consider such a change and communicate the change to the customer. The customer should provide the feedback on the proposed change and either to accept or to decline it. If the customer accepts, the change is introduced into the project plan. If the change is not accepted by the customer, designers consider alternative options, coordinate them with constructors, receive the approval of constructors, and make the new proposal to the customer. The negotiation process lasts until all details of the project are agreed upon and only after that the construction begins.
BIM software links all objects to each other (Ibrahim&Krawczyk, 2003). Therefore, if an object of the building is changed, other objects will change too (Dickinson School of Law, 2007). In such a way, BIM makes the project flexible and time efficient since the project team will not need to work on all changes, if they need to introduce a new object or change an object of the building. Instead, the software will make all the necessary changes. In such a way, the project team will save time and can increase the efficiency of its performance because the time saved on the introduction of changes may be used more efficiently for the further planning and implementation of the project. BIM software contributes to the automation of the project planning and development that facilitates the work of the project team and helps to increase the effectiveness of the project team’s performance.
BIM provides not only cost estimates but also allows material tracking and ordering (Arayici, et al., 2011a). In such a way, customers can track and order all the material needed for the construction. Hence, BIM increases the transparency of the construction process and facilitates the process of ordering and tracking of materials used in the construction process.
BIM enables the virtual model of the building to be handed from designers to contractors and subcontractors and to the owner/customer (Arayici, et al., 2011b). Each professional adds specific data to the single shared model (Arayici, et al., 2011b). In fact, such close interaction between all stakeholders increases the efficiency of the performance of designers, the project team and contractors working on the project. At the same time, customers can introduce the changes they want in the plan developed by the project team, while the project team coordinates and agrees upon all technical issues that arise because of the change introduced by the customer with other stakeholders, such as constructors, suppliers, and others.
Hence, BIM reduces information losses, saves time and costs (GBS, 2007). The time efficiency and relatively low costs of BIM are accompanied by the reduction of information losses. Conventional models are vulnerable to considerable information losses, when customers do not receive the detailed information on the construction process or when constructors have little information on specific requirements of the customer (Smith & Tardif, 2009). The lack of information widens gaps between stakeholders and may raise considerable communication barriers which may outgrow into unsurpassable barriers on the way to the successful accomplishment of the project.
At the same time, BIM reduces conflicts during construction substantially (McDuffie, 2006). Since all stakeholders can communicate efficiently using BIM and since information losses are minimal, stakeholders do not come into conflicts because they can solve all issues that arise at the stage of the elaboration of the project before its implementation. Moreover, even at the planning stage the risk of conflict is minimal, if BIM is applied, because BIM allows stakeholders to share information and to negotiate debatable issues, until they come to agreement.
Furthermore, BIM provides greater predictability of construction projects (Eastman, et al., 2008). When information losses are minimal and the communication is efficient, the predictability of construction projects arises substantially and BIM provides such opportunities for the high predictability of construction projects. The predictability of construction projects is the result of the high level of transparency and efficient communication and information sharing between all stakeholders involved in the project. In such a way, BIM helps to clarify all details of the project and coordinate actions of all stakeholders. As a result, the risk of unexpected development of the project or some complications is minimal.
Consequently BIM reduces safety risks (Otto, et al., 2000). At any rate, the accurate planning and taking into consideration all details of the project are primary conditions of the successful accomplishment of the project and prevention of safety risks. In fact, safety risks arise, when designers fail to take into consideration specificities of the environment, geographic conditions, and other factors that may affect safety. However, BIM provides ample opportunities to take important issues and factors that affect safety into account and prevent any risks to safety of employees as well as owners of the building.
BIM eliminates the need to redesign the project because designers create the project respectively to customers’ wants and needs and taking into consideration contractors’ demands and specifications (Ibrahim& Krawczyk, 2004). In fact, BIM contributes to the development of the project that does not need changes in the course of the implementation. Even at the stage of design, changes are few because stakeholders share information on the project at any stage of the project’s development (Tanyer& Aouad 2005). As a result, designers come up with the prepared project that takes into consideration customers’ needs and wants and specificities of materials and environment, where the building is to be constructed.
BIM focuses on the full life-cycle of the building from the design and construction to the demolition of the building (Liston, et al., 2000). In the contemporary business environment the full life-cycle planning is very important because it provides customers with an opportunity to assess the project adequately and to make any changes they need before the construction has started. In this regard, BIM provides effective approaches to the maintenance of the building throughout the life-cycle (Bazjanac, 2008). Therefore, customers can assess whether the maintenance costs are affordable for them or probably changes are needed.
Moreover, BIM contributes to the reduction of waste (Messner, et al., 2006).The reduction of waste occurs due to the efficient planning and project development. If there is no need in redesign and changes, while the efficiency of the building is high, then the waste is minimal. BIM creates conditions for such minimisation of waste because BIM helps to construct efficient buildings with high level of energy-efficiency, well-developed infrastructure adapted to needs of the building owner. Therefore, the waste reduction occurs not only at the stage of the construction of the building but also in the course of maintenance and even demolition of the building. In addition, BIM lays the foundation to the continual improvement since, in the course of the implementation of the project, the project team feeds back the information about the performance of processes and items of equipment, driving improvements on subsequent projects.
Thus, BIM opens new perspectives for planning and development of construction projects which involve all stakeholders and allow them to communicate and interact efficiently. In fact, BIM has a number of benefits, such as low costs, high efficiency, minimal loss of time and resources, the reduction of waste, and others. These benefits are crucial because they contribute to the customer satisfaction, reduction of conflicts between stakeholders and make the construction and further maintenance and demolition of buildings environment-friendly. Therefore, BIM can improve consistently the quality and efficiency of construction.
