By Kenny Ingram, IFS Global Industry Director for Construction, Contracting, Engineering, Infrastructure and Shipbuilding
It’s here and it’s changing everything: Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a digital revolution, transforming the competitive landscape of the construction industry.
BIM makes us see assets differently. It drives change in how we design, price, construct and maintain assets throughout their whole life. For those still not aboard, time is running out. Infrastructure Australia has recommended governments make the use of BIM mandatory for the design of large-scale complex infrastructure projects. In its Australian Infrastructure Plan, IA called for the Australian Government to commission the Australasian Procurement and Construction Council, working with industry, to develop "appropriate guidance around the adoption and use of BIM and common standards and protocols to be applied when using BIM".
There are four key actions construction and infrastructure managers should implement:
Key action #1: Become BIM compliant
In some countries BIM compliance is now mandatory for all large projects. The UK is an example: If a company is not BIM-compliant it will not get any state-funded construction work. London’s Crossrail project is the largest construction project in Europe, with 10,000 workers on 40 different sites building 42 km of new tunnels. All contractors on the project had to gain BIM certification from the UK’s BIM Academy. And it’s not just the UK. Last week I got calls from businesses in France, South Africa, Sweden and Norway, all wanting to know more about BIM. The issue of compliance should be “when” not “if” for all large-scale construction companies.
Key action #2: Use BIM when bidding for projects
With BIM, contractors can add a timeline to the digital 3D model of their asset using a 4D Scheduling tool. With 4D Scheduling they can map every stage of construction and watch it happen, sequence by sequence, before them. 4D Scheduling is becoming an ever more common tool in bidding. In many large projects these days the architect will give contractors a BIM model as a Request for Tender (RFT) and ask them to bid against that. 4D Scheduling is a powerful competitive advantage when bidding. And who knows, maybe it too could soon be mandatory for entering certain projects.
Key action #3: Use BIM to estimate costs
Traditional estimating for construction projects has been based on lists of specifications, and is something of a ‘black art’. And we all know how costing by spec can end up – within months suppliers realise that the costs they committed to on paper are, in reality, unachievable. With today’s tight margins nobody can afford that kind of slippage. A BIM model includes all currently available component costs. Eventfully the model itself will be able to generate an estimate. Of course it will be more complicated in practise than it sounds, but for most businesses the gains in efficiency will be irresistible. BIM means more accurate costing, complete with a feedback loop so that companies can see where they got it right, where they got it wrong and how they can estimate smarter next time.
Key action #4: Reduce the whole life costs of assets with BIM
With growing regulatory demand for sustainable buildings, constructing low-maintenance assets with low whole life costs is essential. The digital Master Data in a BIM model can be handed over after construction and then kept for maintenance and constantly updated throughout the life of the asset. In a project driven by 2D drawings and competing Excel sheets a truly finalised drawing of the finished building may never emerge. The 3D BIM data needs to drive the business process, evolving with the asset over time, growing with the building, and acting as a constant blueprint to be handed over to each generation of the asset’s life.
As societies become more complex and networked all industries are striving to build assets smarter and faster, with a lower cost of ownership. Groups like the UK’s BIM Academy and BIM Task Group recognise the essential similarities between industries, and the common reward that will come with universal best practices. In today’s digital, visual society tomorrow’s engineers are already building multidimensional worlds today on their PlayStations and consoles. The gaps between industries are bound to close. Maybe the last great change BIM will affect in the construction industry will be ending the idea of a separate, specialised ‘construction industry’ itself.
About the Author
Kenny Ingram is the Global Industry Director for Construction, Contracting, Engineering, Infrastructure and Shipbuilding at enterprise applications company IFS and a key member of its Product Direction Board. Kenny has been with IFS for 16 years and is now regarded as one of the top specialists in Project Based Business systems.