Companies such as Toyota and Boeing in the manufacturing sector have been using digital design models for decades and now seem to have become masters in the art of collaborative projects. For the construction industry to reach that level where collaborative thinking is second nature, the industry needs to expand its view and come out of its safe haven. Clashes between architects and engineers, or between contractors and suppliers are not uncommon. Building Information Modeling, with its very core of collaboration, attempts to bridge these gaps between different stakeholders. Slowly and steadily, the AEC industry is also moving on to that plane where an integrated approach is fast replacing the traditional methods.
Integrated practice is the key to collaboration in any domain. An integrated approach is when all the stakeholders involved in a construction project life cycle – architects, designers, engineers, contractors etc. work together. Throughout the whole building life-cycle, they can, together, do their bit of value addition towards the final structure. Such a collaborative way of functioning offers enhanced quality and efficiency for all building processes, thereby resulting in achieving cost effectiveness as well as client satisfaction, which is crucial to any project.