Episode 66:

Hello and Welcome to the Part3 with me podcast. 

The show that helps part 3 students jump start into their careers as qualified architects and also to provide refresher episodes for practicing architects. I am your host Maria Skoutari and this week we will talking about the importance of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in construction. Todays episode meets PC2 & PC3 of the Part 3 Criteria.

I’m sure you are all aware of BIM and its growing importance within the construction industry and I just wanted to expand today on its value and how it benefits construction projects providing you a better understanding of what it consists of and why its so widely used in the industry. 

So lets start by defining, what Building Information Modelling, aka BIM, is:

The Government Construction Strategy first published the BIM strategy in 2011 following the publication and recommendations made in the Latham Report and the Egan Report which included a phased roll-out of Building Information Modelling. The Governments BIM Task Group website defines BIM as, value creating collaboration through the entire life-cycle of an asset, underpinned by the creation, collation and exchange of shared 3D models and intelligent, structured data attached to them. 

So essentially, BIM uses advanced computer systems to build 3D models of infrastructure bringing together all the information about every component of a building including its design, operation and condition in one place, making it possible for anyone to access that information for any purpose resulting in the reduction of mistakes and discrepancies made when different consultants coordinate information minimising abortive time and costs. So BIM embeds key product and asset data in a 3D computer model that can be used for effective management of information throughout the assets lifestyle, from concept to operation. BIM objects are intelligent in that they assess the objects around them and react to any change in the parameters they have been assigned which as a result highlight clashes and coordination issues with other systems when they can’t adjust to the information adjacent to them. 

But BIM is not just the software, it is also the process which the enables the whole team to collaborate and coordinate the design towards a common output. 

So what are the keys benefits of using Building Information Modelling (BIM)

• BIM enables collaborative working among project teams to achieve sustainable outcomes
• Provides complete coordination of components of the building, facilitating the review, analysis and elimination of discrepancies and clashes 
• Enables pre-fabrication and design for manufacture opportunities
• Provides automatic scheduling and costing of elements and components 
• Monitoring of the design environmental targets and production of early visualisations for user and planning consultants
• Enables measurements of whole-life costs and Life Cycle Analysis including embodied energy calculations
• Promotes elimination of waste within the design, construction and maintenance processes
• The online cloud base model provides 24/7 access
• And it enables the facilities management teams to measure actual performance and record future changes and upgrades

So how does it assist the different parties to a project benefit from its use:

The client can decide at Stage 1 whether they will adopt a BIM approach or leave the choice of methodology to the design team. 

At planning stage BIM enables designers, owners and users to work together to produce the best possible designs and test them before they are built through the use of 3D imagery, cutaways and extracts derived from the BIM model to exam plain design decisions. 

At construction stage, it enables engineers, contractors and suppliers to integrate complex components cutting out waste and reducing the risk of errors. It can also be used for extracting data that can be used for maintaining and operating an asset from the Manufacturing and Construction Information. 

And, at the operational stage, it provides customers with real-time information about available services and maintainers with accurate assessments of the condition of assets. 

But in order for BIM to be successful, all parties must be willing to collaborate as BIM demands collaboration and an integrated team working by all contributors to the design, manufacture, construction and operation of an asset. 

BIM is widely used by the UK Government and it has made it mandatory for the use of BIM on all centrally funded public sector projects regardless of scale and it is a key driver in the Government’s pursuit of efficiency savings. The benefits are not only seen by public sector projects but also the private sector which are pursuing its use. 

It is important to highlight that BIM isn’t just a piece of software by also a technology-enabled process that utilises interoperable software and methodologies and it is a way of creating digital information about an asset. In simple terms, it is a digital model of a building that is data enriched and defines spaces, systems, products and materials and addresses how those components inter-relate physically and technically and looks ahead to future maintenance costs.

So BIM has four levels of maturity that you may have heard of which range from Level 0 to 3:

• Level 0: is the more traditional ‘unintelligent’ CAD, word and spreadsheet level of information and its outputs and distribution is via paper or electronic prints. 
• Level 1: is of a higher level of 2D and/or 3D CAD and other information that has been produced in
• a more collaborative manner. Meaning roles and responsibilities have been agreed, naming conventions should be adopted, arrangements have been made for the creation and maintenance of the project specific codes and spatial coordination, and an electronic document management system has been adopted. 
• Level 2: is the provision of 3D modelling and data produced by professionals and contractors individually and then produced and coordinated into a federated model made subject to BIM protocols.
• Level 3: is even more sophisticated, whereby all different team and discipline members use a single shared project model and can be accessed and modified by everyone. This is known as Open BIM. 

So looking more closely at BIM Level 2: 

This is the method of working set in 2016 as the minimum target by the UK Government for all public sector work. So as mentioned, all parties produce and use their own 3D Cad models but not necessarily working on a single, shared model. The collaborative element under BIM Level 2 is from how the information is exchanged between the parties, whereby design information is shared through a common file format, enabling any organisation to be able to combine the data with their own to create a federated BIM model so the CAD information provided by each party should be exported to ether an IFC model to COBie model. 

So at Level 2 BIM it is anticipated that the participants will each produce their contribution to BIM in the form of a model. This model is progressively enriched with data relevant to their discipline, scope of work and project stage, then combined with information from other participants before being ‘federated’ into a combined model. A key feature of Level 2 BIM is therefore that BIM principles and practices are adopted by all parties in the project, whether they be clients, consultants, main contractors, subcontractors, specialists or product suppliers, etc. in order for the ‘federated BIM model’ to be produced and for that to represent a comprehensive digital representation of all aspects of the asset.

Now under BIM Level 3: 

This method utilises full collaboration between all disciplines through the use of a single, shared model held in a centralised location whereby all parties can access and modify that same model removing the final layer of risk for conflicting information. 

In terms of who owns the centralised model under Level 3, any consultant may step up to the role, but the RIBA highly recommends architects take on this role.

Within BIM, there are also additional subsets designed to meet different types of analysis scenarios, such as:

3D BIM - for 3 dimensional data modelling, which is basic BIM

4D BIM - adding construction sequence within the modelling to support programming analysis. This is primarily used by contractors during the tender process to unlock the most efficient way of manufacturing and constructing the building.

5D BIM - adding cost data to aid the cost of modelling, budget analysis and budget tracking

6D BIM - including facilities management specific data 

7D BIM - adds sustainability information to the information set 

8D BIM - adds health and safety information 

The benefits of 4D,5D and 6D BIM is that they provide more efficient site planning and scheduling, more efficient handoffs between steps in construction stages, real-time cost visualisation, simplified cost analysis, reduced energy consumption, better operational management of the building or structure after handover.  

In order to promote and encourage the use of BIM, British Standards have been publicised to promote coordinated construction documentation and information by setting out a method for managing the creation, dissemination and quality of construction information. Publicly Available Specifications have also been put together to encourage the use of BIM, the most important one for a BIM enabled project is PAS 1192-2 for the Specification for information management for the capital/delivery phase of construction projects using building information modelling. This documents introduces the use of:

1. Employers Information Requirements (EIR): a pre-tender document setting out the information to be delivered, and the standards and processes to be adopted by the supplier as part of the project delivery process. This may define the Asset Information Requirements (AIR), the maintained information model used to manage, maintain and operate the asset.

2. BIM Execution Plan (BEP): a plan prepared in response to the EIR to explain how the information modelling aspects of a project will be carried out.

3. Master Information Delivery Plan (MIDP): a primary plan for when project information is to be prepared, who will prepare it and using what protocols and procedures, incorporating relevant task information delivery plans.

4. Project Information Model (PIM): an information model developed during the design and construction phase of a project. The PIM is developed firstly as a design intent model, showing the architectural and engineering intentions of those responsible for design. The PIM is developed into a virtual construction model containing all the objects to be manufactured, installed or constructed. These are combined to allow design, manufacture and construction.

5. Industry Foundation Class (IFC): IFC is an object-based format, to enable exchange of information between different software and collaborators. IFC is an official standard and contains geometric as well as other data.

6. Common Data Environment (CDE): a single digital source of information for any given project, used to collect, manage and disseminate all relevant approved project documents for multi-disciplinary teams in a managed process.

7. Asset Information Model (AIM): a maintained information model used to manage, maintain and operate the asset. This is generated from the PIM.

8. COBie (from Construction into Operation of Building information exchange): a structured facility information for the commissioning, operation and maintenance of a project, often in the format of a neutral spreadsheet that will be used to supply data to the employer or operator to populate decision-making tools, facilities management and asset management systems.

9. Level of Definition (LoD): the minimum level of graphical and non-graphical information detail required at each stage of the project together with the responsibility for its incorporation into the BIM.

10. BIM Protocol: which creates the obligation for suppliers to provide specified BIM at defined levels of detail and also provides necessary additional protections for the producers of information through the inclusion of BIM-specific licences.

11. Government Soft Landings (GSL)/Soft Landings: GSL is a UK government-initiated project handover protocol. The phrase ‘soft landing’ is used to describe the need for a smooth transfer from the design/construction stage to the operational stage of a newly built asset. GSL has been developed to help drive better outcomes for assets undergoing design and construction.

12. And Classification: A consistent approach to data classification is necessary, which can be shared across the professional disciplines, the manufacturing and construction industries and by operators.

Now looking at the BIM Protocol process more specifically:

The use of a protocol is the most effective way of ensuring the activities of all project participants are controlled so that BIM mechanisms and standards are applied from concept through to the delivery of the project. So where BIM is to be used, it is now recognised as important for contracts to clarify the parties’ rights and obligations as they relate to BIM, which can be done through the use of a protocol and the incorporation of that protocol into the contract. The parties can use standard forms available or may wish to develop their own bespoke protocol. 

The BIM Protocol document will commonly sit as an appendix to the appointment documentation for professional consultants and to the main contract for the contractor with a requirement for the protocol where applicable to be stepped down to the contractor’s supply chain. To be of most value to the complete life cycle of the asset, BIM requirements should be defined at the outset and led by the Employer.

In considering the common features of a BIM Protocol it is instructive to refer to the CIC BIM Protocol. This includes obligations on the members of the project team to produce models at certain stages, which must be produced and delivered in accordance with “the Information Requirements”. A BIM Protocol should set out who will be responsible for ‘Information Management’. The person allocated will most likely be an existing member of the project team, albeit the responsibility may pass to different members of this team over the life of the project. For example, the Information Manager may be a member of the design team to begin with and this responsibility may then pass to the contractor if the contractor is to be responsible for the completion of the design as well as for construction. The Protocol provides the means for ensuring models are produced as required throughout the project’s design development and construction phase.

The specific amendments required to any contract for the incorporation of a chosen BIM Protocol should be

considered on an individual basis and care should be taken to ensure that there is no conflict between the relevant contract provisions and the chosen BIM Protocol. JCT considers that in the event of any conflict between the contract provisions and the chosen BIM Protocol it is the contract provisions that should prevail.

So to sum up what I discussed today:

• BIM uses advanced computer systems to build 3D models of infrastructure and hold large amounts of information about its design, operation and current condition. 
• It enables collaborative working among project teams and provides complete coordination of components of the building, facilitating the review, analysis and elimination of discrepancies and clashes 
• Enables measurements of whole-life costs and Life Cycle Analysis including embodied energy calculations
• BIM has 4 levels of maturity, Level 0 to 3
• Level 0: is the more traditional ‘unintelligent’ CAD
• Level 1: is of a higher level of 2D and/or 3D CAD and other information that has been produced in
• a more collaborative manner.
• Level 2: is the provision of 3D modelling and data produced by professionals and contractors individually and then produced and coordinated into a combined model
• Level 3: is even more sophisticated, where all different team and discipline members use a single shared project model and can be accessed and modified by everyone.
• BIM Level 2 is the benchmark for all public sector projects
• To promote and encourage the use of BIM, British Standards and the Publicly Available Specifications have publicised a number of BIM Standards as they are known setting out methods for managing the creation, dissemination and quality of construction information.
• The most key is the BIM Protocol which provides the most effective way of ensuring the activities of all project participants are controlled so that BIM mechanisms and standards are applied from concept through to the delivery of the project.