BIM – A Collaborative Approach to Working

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.

Building Information Modeling

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.

Benefits of a Collaborative Approach

Despite the obstacles to an integrated approach, such as implementation costs, process changes, change management etc., it has a multitude of benefits, which attract AEC companies that have come of age. Some of the advantages of working collaboratively on a BIM project include:

Reduced cost and risks: Since working collaboratively will ensure that glitches are identified earlier in the construction phase, costs and effort associated with redesigning the model are minimized.

Swift completion of project: Fast resolution of conflicts and immediate attention to issues facilitate the completion of the overall project within the stipulated timelines.

Better building performance and sustainability: There is no guesswork is involved in a BIM approach; each and every aspect of the building lifecycle is taken into account. Therefore, it greatly enhances building performance and sustainability.

A single contract for the whole project: All stakeholders are working towards one single goal in an integrated and collaborative BIM model. Therefore, the possibility of playing the blame game and pointing fingers at each other is considerably diminished. A single contract for architecture, engineering and construction of the project means that this side effect of traditional building approach is eliminated.

Therefore, the benefits of collaborative working relationships are countless. Every team entity is involved in the complete project life cycle from beginning till the very end. This creates a shared vision among all the stakeholders, which encourages them to collaborate and co-ordinate better. All this helps in achieving better management for the ultimate outcome of the construction project.

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About the Author: Hi, I’m Aliya Jennifer from BIMhub, a platform that encourages all players of the AEC industry to collaborate throughout the building life cycle from creation, maintenance, amortization and depreciation. To know more about our BIM services, please visit our site.

Tags: BIM, Construction, Construction industry, Construction services

Category: BIM

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 18th, 2012 at 9:00 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.