Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a form of systems thinking. It is a full system for facilitating interactions between architects, engineers, customers, and construction firms. Anyone that has worked at a construction site or manufacturing process will tell you that managing a complex system is challenging. Given this fact, a system that helps everyone to be on the same page is priceless, such as BIM. Therefore, we will list several ways BIM can save an organization money.
Table of Contents
Collaboration
Collaboration reaps many benefits, especially in the construction industry. BIM seeks to promote collaboration by creating consistent information models throughout the design and construction process. BIM also seeks to bring greater standardization. Hence, it results in less waste and fewer costly revisions on projects.
Building information models allow members of various teams to check in with each other at regular intervals. These teams can then ensure that designs, systems, and structures are coordinated. This makes it easier to know what other people are working on and how much progress they have made on their work. Consequently, the collaborative process ties into the time-saving aspects of BIM.
Increased Time Efficiency
Most project managers know that keeping various companies on the same page can be a huge headache. This is also true for smaller to medium-sized projects. BIM allows everyone consistent access to the same detailed models. Hence, it cuts down on the time spent checking in with various companies, creating a huge time-saver.
Transparency
Transparency is important in a building project. Spending countless hours responding questions from different parties can be tedious and pointless. This can lead to delays in progress, mistakes, and incorrection assumptions. With BIM, the information is freely accessible to every party, so there is no need for responses. Every member of a team can see the progress and changes made by each other.
Detailing
BIM is not only revolved around sharing information, but it also focuses on the quality of that information. The level of detail available on BIM models surpasses what the construction industry has been working with. Those details can include information on the exact made, model, specifications, quantities, and materials used in construction.
Accountability
A neat feature embedded within BIM software is the ability to manage the collaborative process by setting ownership of models. When setting accountability, it makes it easier for teams to work together without interfering with their respective work. Furthermore, it ensures that ultimate responsibility is clear, reducing potential points of conflict between teams.
Cloud Integration
In most scenarios, workers on a project will vary in terms of location. Some may work at the construction site, in an office, at home, and other locations. Therefore, having easily accessible information is an enormous benefit. Cloud integration ensures full accessibility to information on all devices by the appropriate parties. By decreasing the time, it takes for a team to access information they need, time and cost saving increase.
Records
BIM maintains meticulous records. These records include who version file histories, along with noting of who made which changes. This really helps when members of a team are disputing about who made changes to a file, because that information is easily accessible. Another scenario would be if the data became corrupted, then you could just return to the most recent version. Therefore, this allows for built-in transparency and reliability.
Conclusion
When added together, all these features of BIM allow you to increase your time, agility, and efficiency. Over time, seeing small improvements in these areas can lead to large savings when applied over time. However, one thing to note is that BIM depends on the people, process, and technology to achieve results on your project.
Are you interested in seeing BIM in your project? Call Sabio Engineering Services at (929) 381-0300 or visit our website.
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