The Building Information Modeling Technology

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

With the development of information communication technology (ICT) it is becoming familiar to make use of softwares in the real estate sector and also in the whole of the construction industry Recently Building Information Modeling (BIM) is rapidly becoming a very important element in project delivery and facilities management of any real estate portfolio as this sector is subjected to the shared efforts of multiple parties where the project outcome is delivered in an extremely complex actor network. This paper will discuss the attributes of building information modeling (BIM) for the real estate sector with the benefits to the stake holders, the financial and management schemes, the barriers and risks of this technology are to be discussed. It has been noted that the real functionality of BIM technology is not as an information-based virtual building modeling technique and technology, but as information-based, interoperable business lifecycle management processes that enables to present designs in 3, 4, or more dimensions, with data and information links to physical features which makes it only a tool in the process, not the end result. It was pointed out that given the dynamic nature of the industry at all of its phases and the inter relation of the activities a failure in one of these aspects will automatically be reflected on the other there by making it mandatory to think of the preceding and upcoming events simultaneously during the modeling stages so that to have a well organized and efficiently running project and highest possible return on investment (ROI).

Key words:

Real estate, construction, BIM, facilities management, BIM manger, BIM ROl, virtual construction, AEC, developer.

Background

The real estate industry desperately needs ways to increase its productivity and quality, decrease costs and reduce project delivery time. Currently BIM is believed to give answers to these burning issues of this huge industry. Lots of researches have been conducted in this area so as to ensure the essence of BIM for the real estate industry. ‘’In 2006 it was estimated that BIM resulted in the potential savings in construction costs ranging from 15-40% (Holnesss, 2006). Holness (2008) also noted that the construction industry instate estimates savings of 3-7.5% associated with improved coordination and fewer conflicts’’ ( Return on investment analysis of building information modeling in construction by B Geil R R A Issa and S Olbina University of Florida,USA ). The application and use of BIM technology is spreading in all of the real estate sectors although it is observed that its development and best practice varies amongst the stake holders of the industry according to the specific needs and practices of these stake holders concerned. Ongoing researches also indicate the reputation of this technology amongst the industry practitioners and the potentials of its spread in upcoming future. "According to statistics from BIM Trends Smart Market Report 2008 (McGraw Hill Construction, 2008), 62% of BIM users indicated that they were going to use BIM on over 30% of their projects in 2009." (BUILDING INFORMATION MANAGEMENT (BIM) IMPLEMENTATION IN NAVAL CONSTRUCTION By Raymond Rohena B.S.C.E., The University Texas at El Paso, 1999 August 2011)

Research methods

As there was no sufficient time to conduct interviews or producing questioners amongst these technology practitioners of the real industry, it will be tried to make use literature review of internet published sources, different printed sources.

Analysis and statement

Building information modelling (BIM), though it is a young technology with few years from its introduction it is becoming popular among the real estate industry especially in the last 10 years. Building Information Modeling can be explained as an assembly of a single database of fully integrated and interoperable information that can be used seamlessly and sequentially by a every member of the project developer, the design and construction team and also ultimately by owners/operators throughout a facility’s life cycle. BIM is perceived to be a software and process based technology that aims at simulating a construction project in a virtual environment. With BIM technology, an accurate virtual model of a building, known as a building information model, is digitally constructed. By the time it is completed, this building information model contains precise geometry and relevant data which is needed to support the design, procurement, fabrication, and construction activities and also the facilities management concept issues that required being realized and understood for a given facility. Implementing BIM technology is believed to give lots of benefits to the real estate industry for every of the project participants.

CRC construction innovations (2007) dictates the main benefits of BIM as:

Faster and more effective processes: Information is more easily shared and can be value-added and reused.

Better design: Building proposals can be rigorously analyzed, simulations performed quickly, and performance benchmarked, enabling improved and innovative solutions.

Controlled whole-life costs and environmental data: Environmental performance is more predictable, and lifecycle costs are better understood.

Better production quality: Documentation output is flexible and exploits automation.

Automated assembly: Digital product data can be exploited in downstream processes and used for manufacturing and assembly of structural systems.

Better customer service: Proposals are better understood through accurate visualization.

Lifecycle data: Requirements, design, construction, and operational information can be used in facilities management

In this paper it will be tried to discuss the attributes of BIM within all the stake holders of the real estate industry and also issues regarding management, the costs, barriers and risks of this technology

Stake Holders

The main stake holders involved in the implementation of the BIM technology in the real estate in industry includes:

Developers

AEC

Facilities Managers

4.1 Developers

Real estate development is like a game of monopoly, it’s an exercise in risk management. So as a result, developers have begun questioning their long-established development practices. Due to these risks, the profits expected seem to be hinging on slim margins. Therefore, developers are now focusing on reducing or efficiently eliminating cost overruns and the delays normally encountered before and during construction that in no doubt considerably eat into their development profit.

The way BIM can help real estate developers is at many levels and in many faces of the project from the planning to the preliminary faces of potential projects to the constructions process(by taking friction out of the project, i.e. killing change orders by making the whole process more efficient) and finally to the facility management aspect.

BIM is used in the development process at the early stage as macro BIM which focuses more on the holistic view of a project and it’s primarily used for early cost estimation and design optimisation as in the following cases:

4.1.1 Simulation

On the planning side, especially the micro level you can get an idea of the volume of what is buildable with the implication of those things in terms of run-offs, natural lighting around the site (a quick energy analysis which help select best building orientations and configurations to improve building load and energy consumption profiles by using a simple BIM model during early design stage), circulation etc, and all these things can be simulated by using a simple BIM model.

4.1.2 Market Research

Generally, the initial phase in the development of any project is the determination of the market demand for that particular type of development. In this type of research, one must first study the demographic trends, rent and sales cycles, vacancy rates, future supply and other related factors.

Although BIM does seem to have an influence in helping research in the above mentioned areas, virtual models are being used to create fly-through animations which is a rendered movie (virtual reality environment) that is used to show the entire zone of a projects’ location up to the exterior and interior of the project. It allows users to view a model of a proposed or actual site as if they were inside it and moving through it. It is normally used for marketing related tasks and advertising. Fly-throughs can be cheaper and more effective when crated using BIM and creating it without BIM. BIM has clear dollar-and-cents benefits, according to Simpson. "Firms can provide more design for the same fee. For example, an animation that would have cost $55,000 to complete using traditional methods can be done for $18,000 using Autodesk Revit" (Scott Simpson, president and CEO of The Stubbins Associates)

Also with Second Life which is an online virtual reality world created by Linden Lab; developers can use Second Life to create a project where potential tenants and buyers can have the opportunity to experience the project virtually as compared to the static 2D renderings and floor plans. Again, it could assist developers in the entitlement process wherein development officials and the residents of the surrounding of the project area can virtually experience and understand the project and how it affects the surrounding community and this can help shorten the process as people tend to fear or resist what they do not understand.

4.1.3 Financial Feasibility Analysis

If the market conditions determined are encouraging enough or more promising for new development, the developer must now determine the financial feasibility of the project. A development project can be more beneficial for developers if accurate information concerning the cost of the project is obtained at the early stage of the development of the project. So many BIM tools can help in an easy determination of such information and this would add significant value to the project. One of such tool that is capable and has all the features is the DProfiler. DProfiler is a "macro" BIM solution used in the planning and conceptual design phases to produce an accurate, simultaneous cost estimate of a proposed design tool integrates an object-based, 3D system with a cost database from RSMeans that is updated quarterly and adjusted for location. By this, it allows users to estimate figures for the project cost at the early stage of conceptual design. DProfiler is really by developers, as they can use it to determine project costs early on—even before hiring architects and contractors—and provide the results as the starting point for the design team (Lachmi Khemlani; founder and editor of AECbytes).

4.2 Architectural, Engineering and Construction Industries (AEC)

BIM helps architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) service providers apply the same approach to building and infrastructure projects. Unlike CAD, which uses software tools to generate digital 2D and/or 3D drawings, BIM facilitates a new way of working: creating designs with intelligent objects. Regardless of how many times the design changes or who changes it the data remains consistent, coordinated, and more accurate across all stakeholders. Cross-functional project teams in the building and infrastructure industries use these model-based designs as the basis for new, more efficient collaborative workflows that give all stakeholders a clearer vision of the project and increase their ability to make more informed decisions faster. Models created using software for BIM are intelligent because of the relationships and information that are automatically built into the model

BIM changes the way companies work both internally and externally. Projects have become more and more complex, requiring firms to manage and share immense amounts of data across diverse and distributed teams. By enabling greater insight into the project at any point in its lifecycle, BIM helps AEC service providers to improve accuracy, efficiency, and productivity, resulting in time and cost savings. The significant value-added benefits that BIM-ready firms can provide include: faster project approvals, more predictable outcomes, sustainable design and analysis services, and improved collaboration and information sharing for integrated project delivery strategies.

4.2.1 Different aspects of BIM in AEC

Planners can select optimum sites. Architects can produce more accurate designs with fewer errors, less waste, and closer alignment to the owner’s vision. Engineers can increase coordination with architects and other engineering disciplines, improving the reliability of their designs. Contractors can make sure that constructability issues are flagged early on when changes are less expensive to make.

BIM offers to help enable AEC professionals and owners design, visualize, simulate, and analyze the key physical and functional characteristics of a project digitally before they build it. Using information within the model, everyone on the project team can make better, more informed decisions across the entire project lifecycle of building and infrastructure projects.

4.2.2 Advantage of BIM in AEC 

Quality:

Easily create designs with intelligent objects.

Minimize errors and omissions regardless of how many times the design changes.

Simulate real-world appearance, performance, and cost.

Time and money:

Find and reduce costly design conflicts virtually before construction begins.

Improve team collaboration and more easily manage project data across extended teams and external partners.

Win work and build stakeholder approval more easily using powerful visualizations.

4.2.3 BIM Adoption in AEC

Base on the 2009 Smart Market Report:

Architects: six out of ten architects in the United States create BIM models, with half of those users also performing analysis on the models. According to the 2010 Smart Market Report on BIM in Europe, in Western Europe 70 percent of architects that use BIM believe that it leads to better-designed projects.

Engineers: over the next two years in U.S., the use of BIM is expected to double by structural engineers, triple by mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineers, and quadruple by civil engineers. The 2010 Smart Market Report on BIM in Europe states that in Western Europe nearly 70 percent of engineers report positive ROI and 62 percent found BIM to be of high or very high value during the construction phase.

Contractors: the use of BIM among U.S. contractors has almost quadrupled in the past two years, with half of all contractors currently using BIM. The 2010 Smart Market Report on BIM in Europe reports that 52 percent of contractors in Western Europe found BIM to be of high or very high value during the construction phase.

4.2.4 BIM Implication For AEC

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is being rapidly adopted by architects, engineers and contractors with significant, if only vaguely understood, implications for the practice of architecture.  Changes in design approach, project organization, collaboration, legal and risk parameters, fabrication and construction execution are likely to be profound, as are the ramifications for pedagogy.  This presentation will examine both industry context and teaching implications of BIM in the training of architects, investigate potential relationships with accreditation criteria, and propose strategies for connecting BIM, practice and teaching approaches.

A room, for example, is more than an abstract concept. It is a unique space contained by other building components (such as walls, floors, and ceilings) that define the room’s boundary. With BIM, the model is actually a complex database and the room is a database element that contains both geometric information and non-graphic data. Drawings, views, schedules, and so on are ―live‖ views of the underlying building database. If designers change a model element, the BIM software automatically coordinates the change in all views that display that element—including 2D views, such as drawings, and informational views, such as schedules—because they are all views of the same underlying information.

4.3 BIM in the management of Real Estate/Facilities

The real estate sector is a dynamic sector with many participants and stakeholders working hand in hand. A major stakeholder in the real estate sector is the facility management team. The BIM technology is proven to have the capacity to help facility managers achieve their goals within this sector.

As been discussed a Building Information Model is a digital representation of the physical and the functional characteristics of a facility. As such it serves as a shared knowledge resources for information about a facility (todaysfacilitymanager.com). Generally, the advantage of building information modelling is the ability to create accurate models which are used from the initial design to operation stage of a building i.e the lifecycle of a facility.

By definition, Facility management is in the business of management and co-ordination of people, workplace, processes and technologies to support core business development and delivery of the organizations products and services. It’s a key business function in any organization including real estate business as well. The business of managing real estate and its facilities is continually been faced with the challenge of data formats and information quality which are used to meet daily operational usages and needs.BIM helps in bridging this data Gap! To tackle this issue of data exchange, a common model for structuring facility information and standardization (in the area of BIM data exchange), Industry foundation classes, IFC was provided as an open vendor neutral for interoperability within the building industry. IFCs offer a means to transfer data from a BIM application into affiliated software programs that are capable of cost estimation, CMMS or space management. (Louise Sabol, IFMA world Workplace, Nov. 2008)

4.3.1 Facility Management: Advantages of using BIM

Maintaining, operating & tracking systems/assets in a facility.

The information about a building project created by the project team during the various stages of planning, design and construction are nowadays collected and stored in an electronic data storage room.

This information about the project would tremendously assist the facility manager in maintaining lifecycle information about the building components such as the walls, roofs ,floors etc and as well as operating the equipment serving the building such as mechanical, electrical, plumbing etc to plan and schedule a program of maintenance activities. Using this building information, facility managers can evaluate different maintenance approaches; analyze data to either make repair or replacement decisions. Basically the BIM is considered an electronic manual for the facility manager.

4.3.2 Case Scenario:

A facility manager receives a work order in the computerized maintenance management system. One can view the work order and formulate a plan of action by clicking on the portal interface. The fig. 1&2 below shows a work order sheet received by the facility manager to carry out a maintenance work within a facility.

When the portal opens, a 3D view of the equipment that needs to be serviced. Equipment properties are displayed automatically. The equipment corresponding information (manuals, images etc) are attached and can be assessed immediately.

4.3.3 Improving Space Management

BIM can improve space management. It can show visually where space could be used more efficiently. The technology distributes, manage, track appropriate spaces within a facility (e.g. residential, commercial, industrial buildings etc).

By integrating building information data with Human resources information, a facility manager can reduce vacancy and achieve reductions in real estate expenses. The BIM is incorporated with geospatial information data to create cost-effective space occupancy scenarios.

It helps to distribute more easily identify and allocate space for appropriate building use. In managing it allows the facility management team to analyze the existing use of space and effectively apply transition planning management towards any applicable change and to track appropriate spaces within a facility.

It proficiently tracks the use of current space and resources and increase the efficiency of transition, planning and management.

Tenant Leasing Optimization: In optimizing tenancy issues been faced Includes managing Portfolio of properties, Millions of square meters, Hundreds of tenants

The BIM 3D feature helps to present existing properties and spaces to future tenants explain space properties, furniture and staffing projections, Virtual facility presentation.

4.3.4 Energy Efficiency Initiative.

Commercial and industrial buildings are responsible for almost 20% of the energy consumption, the real estate sector have a responsibility to analyze options to improve energy performance (green building/passive house initiatives)

Real-time monitoring of a building’s temperature, humidity, ventilation, air quality, pressurization, isolation, integrated into the BIM.

To facilitate the analysis and comparisons of various energy alternatives to help facility managers reduce environmental impacts and operating costs.

Management Aspect

The other important aspect that shall be well noted is the way how we can manage our BIM model within all the stake holders for a given project. Managing a BIM model requires the understanding of the actual construction sequencing and procedures that are adopted. Hence BIM model managers at the different stake holders can be comprised as:

5.1 BIM Manager

A BIM implementation plan should include the definition of coordinator(s) and, after the initial goal is set, the BIM coordinator for each one of the parties can develop and carry out the detailed implementation of BIM. Therefore, the main function of a BIM Manager is to manage people in the implementation and/or maintenance of the BIM process.

The BIM Manager works within the company as responsible for coordinating the team and the production and use of the model. For this, he should examine and evaluate the goals of the BIM process and then to develop a plan to fit the demands and desires of customers, the experience of the project team and the availability of resources. The BIM Manager may serve various additional functions such as setting design templates, coordinating the integration of entity models, coordinating the access to the model, etc. But its most important function is to guide the team in decision making.

5.1.1 Project Model Manager, Modeling Manager or Model Manager

The Model Manager focuses on the production model and interacts with the system and with the other project actors. The need for a Model Manager working within the firms is still a debated issue and their duties and responsibilities are still not uniformly defined across the AEC industry. Their duties vary according to the requirements and procedures of the project and are defined by the parties that contribute to the model.

This job’s main function is to integrate information from different stakeholders of the construction which, according to Foster (2008), will ensure no dilution of responsibility between the project design team and the contractor.

Other functions of the Model Manager are: configure all new projects that require BIM standards; create a standard structure for modeling library objects, convert the objects delivered by staff based on that standard, modeling additional non-standard components, modeling complex geometries that require programming BIM tools and defining the structure and level of detail of the model.

The Model Manager will also facilitate the management of information in terms of storage and data flow, maintenance of local file transfers, control of access rights, and compilation of information from smaller models of other members; make available the model files to the general contractor, facilitate communication protocols, identification of communication errors and improve the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) skills of the staff.

Working in MEP and HVAC Design Firms, the Model Manager can be called BIM Detailing Manager whose functions will be to manage the detailing team providing support to detailing modelers and helping in the establishment and implementation of BIM standards. This BIM expert should promote an integrated detailing effort interacting with pre-construction, engineering, construction and project management departments. He should also provide detailing budgets for cost estimates.

5.1.2 BIM Manager at Design Firms or Chief BIM-Officer

Working in Design Firms, the BIM Manager will be responsible for implementing BIM, for the coordination of project teams and for establishing the connections necessary for communication between multiple offices. Therefore, he or she should attend the meetings of the development plan for implementing a BIM project.

Other duties include planning training for employees to keep them updated on current and future versions of BIM software. For this, the Chief BIM-Officer should remain constantly informed about BIM trends and know the vision of other companies, attending conferences and participating in industry organizations.

The Chief BIM-Officer also should develop marketing materials to inform customers of the company's BIM capabilities, evaluation of new products and verification of technical problems and deficiencies in hardware, software and the net. Finally, the Chief BIM-Officer should ensure the commitment of everyone on the project by creating a procurement system so that each agent takes its responsibilities.

The advantages of BIM in the design industry across multi-disciplines fully depend upon which "BIM Concept" is being utilized and implemented. We will discuss this at length in the implementation strategy section of this hand-out.

Representation of Conceptual design.

Enhance the process of visualization for owner and all disciplines involved.

Multi-Discipline Integration.

Early detection to resolve conflict between disciplines in the model.

Tracking volumes, floor area utilization and efficiencies.

Introducing project cost tracking at design phase.

5.1.3 BIM Manager at General Construction and Subcontractor Firms - BIM Construction Officer

The identification of a BIM Construction Officer is the first step to implement the BIM process on a construction firm. Once identified, the BIM Construction Officer helps estimate the costs and time for implementation and use of BIM software. Then he/she will develop a plan that will start by formatting a small group that, after receiving training, will perform some work with BIM. BIM Construction Officer should learn everything about all the tools used by the company and then provide support to the creation of a BIM department within the construction firm.

This specialist will also be responsible for the management of resources (hardware, software and people) that are involved in developing the model and for choosing the right people for each project activity, recruiting qualified BIM modelers, providing training and to keep employees updated. Another function of this specialist is to promote confidence and credibility in BIM on the project team, internal team members, sub-contractors and customers, strive to achieve 100% customer satisfaction with BIM projects, as well as to maintain and expand various relationships and project partnerships.

The Construction industry realizes the overall value of BIM specifically in the areas of construction cost savings and profitability for owners and builder.

Visualizing and mocking up the design before construction.

Better construction process and fewer RFIs.

Fewer field coordination issues.

Significant quantity and cost tracking improvements.

Less fabrication on construction sites.

Cleaner Construction sites.

Some savings passed on to the owner depending on contract negotiation and outline.

Currently, every owner, designer, construction manager, or trade contractor are not familiar with the capabilities and applications of BIM technology and do not utilize BIM construction practices in their design and construction processes. Change is not easily implemented into the construction industry which prohibits quickly implementing BIM into all construction projects. While this project team (owner, architect, and contractor) has worked together on previous projects, they possess little to no BIM experience prior to this project.

The intent of the company that we choose and found for our first example was to find a way to apply Building Information Modeling technologies across the entire team, in a way that was effective, inexpensive, and beneficial to the overall project objectives.

Case Studies

6.1 Case 1

6.1.1 Project Description

One of the case studies that we choose is about the Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn Atlanta, GA. This project is a consist of a 14-story Hotel, 242 room, a 700 parking lots and 25,000 square foot of retail space at the ground level. The cost of it is $46 million for a 484,000 square foot facility. Construction began in June 2006 and it was finished in March 2008.

6.1.2 Initial BIM Objectives

Since there was limited BIM experience on the project team, the initial BIM objectives for the Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn project were limited. The owner was not necessarily interested in exploring new construction technologies with a project team possessing limited experience.

With limited input or experience from the other project team members, the contractor and owner decided that the Building Information Modeling technology would be utilized for visualization, understanding and enhancing the design, and for collision detection. These BIM applications are simple and relatively easy tasks associated with 3D BIM technology, especially considering some of the more aggressive applications such as energy analysis and performance monitoring, structural design analysis, optimization of various mechanical systems, 4D production scheduling, quantity extraction, cost estimating, and code checking.

Despite the limited initial BIM objectives for this project, the project team was bound to discover some additional emerging uses and benefits for the application of the 3D models.

6.1.3 General Contractor’s Perspective

For the Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn project the direct project costs associated with BIM were $40,000. Holder Construction utilized a three-person BIM modeling team over a 12-month duration for design document and construction document model completion. There were no additional costs to the design team, trade contractors, or the owner for their model use because they were able to utilize a free model viewer distributed by Holder for the project team’s usage.

All software and hardware costs were incorporated into the corporate overhead for the project. The software and hardware technology used on this project:

Software:

Graphisoft ArchiCad v9.0, v10.0

Graphisoft Constructor 2005

NavisWorks 5.0-5.2

NavisWorks Redline Tool

AutoCad 2007

AutoDesk DWG True View 2007

Graphisoft Change Manager 2005 Hardware:

19" Dell M90 Laptop, 2.16 Dual Core Processor, NVDIA Quadro FX 2500M video card, 4gig RAM (Office use)

HP Compaq nc6230 Laptop, Processor x86 Family 6 Model 13, Stepping Genuine Intel 1862 MHz Total Physical Processor 512.00MB (Field use)

Projector

HP laser Printer

Holder Construction used a three person team for BIM to produce models from 2D CAD files on two occasions; 50% design documents, and 100% construction documents. The also used a Filed BIM coordinator once the project construction began to facilitate BIM uses on the project site.

The three person BIM team at Holder Construction during the design development phase developed 3D models of the architectural, structural, and MEP systems of the proposed building design. These initials models were used for visualization, scope verification, and initial clash detection. They truly helped the owner understand the layout and ‘look’ of the proposed design and quickly identified potential design conflicts prior to beginning actual construction.

Throughout the project, the contractor identified some additional applications of the 3D model which became helpful during project execution. One of the big uses was trade contractor coordination. In the field, the 3D models were used to identify and coordinate trade contractor work in order to avoid delays caused by poor scheduling.

The 3D model became important for 4D phasing of construction task particular in the unique concrete placements which were required for the parking decks. Because of the various elevations between parking deck floors and hotel floors, the coordination of concrete formwork became difficult. The field team was able to cut specific cross sections of the concrete structure to identify exactly how the formwork needed to be placed and developed a 4D schedule using the BIM model and the MS Project schedule to synchronize these construction tasks. This coordination saved valuable construction time and reduced materials

Another BIM advantage realized by Holder during the construction phase was code official review. Because of the detail of the 3D model city building officials were able to better understand the design concept and conduct code reviews. "This is the first good thing I’ve seen that really shows what the building will look like. This will really help me better understand the building", Mike Powell, City of Atlanta Building Inspector.

One of the difficult tasks of utilizing Building Information Modeling is being able to manage to model and all the associated updates, revisions, and changes associated with it. For this project, Holder was the model creator and the model manager. Since all of the design was in 2D, they utilized the 2D drawings to create the 3D models. Although all of the project team was able to view the model through NavisWorks, they could not modify or change anything on the model.

6.1.4 BIM Benefits Realized

Enhanced design coordination, conflict detection and resolution, the avoiding of additional costs and the easy accommodation of design change are all benefits readily attributed to BIM use on the project. Also, indirect benefits surfaced as a direct result of Holder implementing BIM. These include: BIM Champions instated at their regional offices, initiation of Holder MEP BIM action plan, updated version of BIM purchasing language, development of an automatic collision detection program and the capability of quantity extraction.

Traditionally, trade subcontractors install their systems without considering what space the other systems will occupy. This is not due to careless behavior but rather the difficult task of translating a 2D drawing into 3D. Through BIM, the trade subcontractors were able to visualize their systems within the building in 3D allowing for efficient installation with other teams and systems in mind. For this reason, most of the benefits seen as a result of incorporating BIM were experienced during the shop drawing phase. By supporting design through the sharing of the structural and architectural models as well as minimizing changes with MEP coordination, project members were able to minimize inefficiency and costs while at the same time producing a superior product.

Another benefit of this project is the visualization capabilities of modeling in 3D. By enabling design review in which team members can virtually walk through the model, all members of the project were able to better visualize the final product as well view concrete beams protruding through ceilings and develop a quick, collaborative solution.

Overall, the implementation of BIM into the Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn proved to be beneficial to all members involved. From financial benefits, avoided delays and developments that will affect not only the future of the teams involved but the construction industry as a whole, BIM proved well beyond its worth during the project.

Some of resultant uses of BIM technology in one form or another on this project included:

Preconstruction trades scope and verification

Weekly jobsite meetings

Trade contractor coordination

4D phasing and scheduling animations and workflow sequencing

3 week look-ahead schedules

Site logistics

Document quality control and constructability review

Quantity extraction and cost estimating

Code official review

Owner sales, presentation, and marketing

6.1.5 Lessons Learned

With any construction project, there are always things that went well and were successful and lessons learned about areas that need to be improved on for next time. One of the first was in the area of software interoperability. This agreement would establish clear procedures for sharing and transferring files between various project team members and enable better communication between the groups. In this project, there was not a transfer agreement or standard procedure identified early in the project.

Another lesson learned is to have the trade contractors brought on board as early as possible. It is important to get trade contractors involved early in the design and constructability phase of the project. These trade contractors have the expertise and knowledge to identify potential design and constructability issues early when they can still be resolved inexpensively and with major schedule delays. The use of trade contractor coordination is important to identifying potential collisions and good collaboration between the project team.

Finally, although the project team was not BIM savvy at the beginning of the project, they quickly understood the potential savings and benefits of 3D technology. The ability to visualize the design and truly understand the design intent was invaluable to the project team. The 3D models enabled the owner to see exactly what he was getting for the construction cost and be able to provide knowledgeable feedback about the design and construction. One issue identified by the team was once they had a 3D model it became difficult to translate between 2D drawing and 3D models. There was particular difficulty in anything that had not been modeled in 3D. It seemed as though the project team quickly grasped the 3D concept and most the problems on the project were associated with items that had not been modeled in 3D.

6.2 Case 2

6.2.1 Project Descriptions

In our second example we decided to get help from a research that compared on two similar conventional post-tensioned concrete condominiums constructed by Company X. Projects C and D are comparable in terms of size, scope, contract value, delivery method, and construction type and for the purpose of this study, as shown in Table 5, are considered to be equivalent.

6.2.2 Estimated return on investment (ROI)

Multiple BIM -preventable issues occurred on Project C. Perhaps the most noteworthy was a major drafting error in the site plan that left the original building’s footprint falling outside the existing property lines and resulted in a $24,862 change order. There were several change orders that resulted from 2D error in the construction documents due to dissimilarities between the architectural and structural drawings and discrepancies with the plumbing drawings. In addition, multiple BIM-preventable direct clashes were uncovered on Project C which also resulted in change orders. Some of the most significant conflicts resulted from limited plenum space and errors with the designed ceiling heights. Table 6 illustrates a detailed listing of all direct costs associated with these preventable change orders on Project C.

Table 1: Project C And D Results

Project C (Pre-BIM)

Project D (BIM-Assisted)

Contract Value:

$41,757,618.00

$44,400,000.00

Cost Of Change Orders:

$5,097,222.00

$513,632.00

Original Schedule Duration:

601 Days

652 Days

Schedule Delay:

426 Days

0 (60 Days Early)

Contract Type:

GMP

GMP

Delivery Method:

Negotiated Bid

Negotiated Bid

Square Footage:

439,760 SF

456,594 SF

Use:

Mixed use- res. condo/ garage

Mixed use- res. condo/garage

Number of Stories (Towers):

14 Stories

7 Stories

Number of Units:

311

218

Type of Construction (Towers):

Conv. formwork w. Conv. Reinf.

Conv. formwork w. cast in place tables

Type of Construction (Garage):

Post- tens. conc. w. conc. cols.

(DB) post tens. conc. w. steel cols.

Scope:

CM - all conc. self- performed

CM - all conc. self- performed

In addition to Project C's multiple BIM-preventable direct costs, its schedule was delayed a total of 426 days past its original 601 day duration. This resulted in two delay claim settlements between the owner and contractor. Though some of this delay was the result of outside variables, a large proportion of Project C's schedule overruns may have been eliminated by BIM. Analysis of the two delay claims conducted by Company X found that a total of 221 delay days were attributed to BIM-preventable issues including: the drafting error in the building's boundary survey, major structural dimension conflicts, conflicts between the foundation and sidewalks, the relocation of columns due to grid misalignment, and limited plenum space in the ceilings of most units.

The data revealed Project C’s predicted BIM ROI to be roughly 1,654% and uncovered that 9.3% of the total cost of change orders may have been prevented by BIM. Due to a lack of direct cost data, Project D's ROI was also estimated solely on indirect savings. The daily costs of time overruns saved by the owner on Project D were instead calculated using its 60 days of early completion.

Costs of BIM

Like any other technology implementing BIM will incur costs on the firm that is going to make use of it. For implementing BIM any construction firm shall in advance be aware of the costs so that it can be able to estimate its return on investment (ROI) from the technology applied. The basic costs related to implementation of BIM technology can be comprised as:

Software and hard ware costs

Software upgrading costs

Staff training costs

Organizational and work flow process change costs

The costs of this technology depend on the scope the BIM to be implemented as the scope covers more aspects the cost becomes more as it directly increase the costs of the above stated points. Rather than calculating directly the incurred BIM costs firms usually indirectly calculate their ROI as a result of implementing. One of the leading BIM software production companies Auto desk produces a standard formula for the calculation of first year ROI from implementing BIM that can be given as:

Where:

A = cost of hardware and software (dollars)

B = monthly labor cost (dollars)

C = training time (months)

D = productivity lost during training (percentage)

E = productivity gain after training (percentage)

For applying this technology for a typical project parties are believed to in advance agree on who will the costs of the BIM. In traditional procurement processes the cost of a BIM model is usually borne by the AE, but the savings benefit multiple sources—the AEs, CMs, subcontractors, suppliers, manufacturers and, of course, the owner of the project. The cost of building an integrated model surpasses the usual cost of producing typical Construction Documents and so, in projects where AEs are paid a traditional fee, the AE objects to the idea of assuming the total responsibility of managing and developing an integrated model. However, in a Design-build, Bridging or IPD project it can be agreed among the management committee to fund and staff the required effort and the extended team can contribute resources with respect to the BIM implementation costs. Therefore, it can be paid for by the project not by a single project participant as the benefit is to the project.

Barriers and Risks

It has been discussed in detail regarding different attributed of this technology for the real estate industry and is observed that implementing BIM has got loads of advantages to offer to this huge industry. However challenges are also there which are accompanied by the implementation of this technology that can arise in advance to implementation of BIM or during the process of implementation or after. These barriers and risks may be comprised as:

Initial investment costs: costs such as training, software costs and required hardware upgrades, are costly and it takes a lot of time to implement them into an existing process making the initial investment costs to be higher especially for medium and small firms.

Software and hardware constraints: it is evident that BIM technology need quiet powerful hardware devices relative to the traditional CAD technology but again despite faster and more sophisticated computers and more efficient software, the model slows down as it enlarges. Consequently, models for large buildings are typically divided into sub models that can be updated faster. Special software is usually needed to integrate the different parts of the model and run the clash detection routines.

Senior management buy-in: the senior management is usually reluctant and uncommitted to implement this technology as it needs some time to fully integrate with the already existing system and it is difficult to guarantee quick ROI

Quick software changes: this aspect is also another obstacle for firms for implementing BIM as it requires to upgrade your softwares annually (usually trend among the software vendors) so as to stay competitive in the market and this will ignite fear among the industry practitioners in such a way that it may expose the company to continual operating costs.

Interoperability: As the a real estate project involves the combined involvement of different parities and each participant using different BIM tools it quite difficult to manage the different data coming from these sources within one plate form. this is the term used to describe the capability of different software programs to exchange data via a common set of exchange formats, to read and write the same file formats, and to use the same protocols

Cultural issues: those main actors of the real estate industry seem to be quiet satisfied with the existing trend there by making them resistant to change to the new BIM system.

Model ownership: If an Owner pays for a design, they may feel they also have ownership rights to the electronic model. But if professional consultants have contributed proprietary information to that model, their propriety rights need to be protected. This means the issue of Ownership is not an easy one to resolve, and would possibly need to be unique to each project, depending on the involved contributors. The objective of resolving this issue would be to avoid disincentives for each participant to realizing and using the full potential of the BIM model.( Lynn McGregor 2012)

Design licensing: Licensing of Design contributors may be another issue that complicates the use of BIM. For example: A vendor of mechanical equipment contributes the offer of an equipment design to a design professional, in an attempt to both save that professional time - and to make a sale. But if that contributor is not licensed to practice in the region of the project - who assumes responsibility for that piece of the model, and it’s compliance with local codes, etc. Is the contribution adequately attributed to the correct individual (Lynn McGregor 2012)

Professional liability insurance: this is insurance for the BIM model within a particular project. It is necessary that the model should have a professional insurance but it still is unclear on who cover this model insurance cost. "But for those who obtain good insurance rates based on how many problems or errors & omissions happen in a year - they run the risk of having their insurance providers back away from them. In today=s world, this is a real risk that needs to also be addressed by the industry, before BIM teams can completely share open electronic models." (Why Does there Seem to be Resistance to this New Technology?, by Lynn McGregor April 20,2012)

Conclusion

Looking at the Automobile and Pharmaceutical industries which are very successful today in implementing technology in the industry used to face or were unable to shift their mindset to entertain an elemental change in technology. Consequently, decades passed before designers in these industries really came to terms with technology. This case is an unfortunate reality that applies to nearly every industry including the real estate industry. Industries normally have laborious way through a period where the innovation is twisted and manipulated to conform to similar practices of the past. But eventually, many of these industries embrace the innovation for the pathway it makes towards freedom from old limitations.

BIM can be considered as one of these innovations, and it is evident that the AEC industry is either avoiding this innovation or unreasonably abstaining trying to cram into the traditional methodologies. The issue in terms of resistance to change can be said to be one of the major contributing factors to the massive inefficiency cost in the AEC industry. BIM is a chance for a fresh start. "As we move into BIM, because it’s so new, there is an opportunity for the industry as a whole to think more strategically and say, ‘Let’s work together’"( Ken Sanders, chief information officer of San Francisco-based architecture firm Gensler).

Using Building Information Modelling in the implementation of a project as many benefits which are well recorded and obvious - there is no disputing this. Projects can be executed more cost effectively, more accurately and more quickly such as in our Case Study 1 where the use of BIM in the contract type such as GMP(guaranteed maximum price) for two different projects led to a success for the second project as compared with the first project where the traditional method was used.

But it is obvious that standard forms of construction contracts will require BIM addendum/supplements as a minimum and may well require amendment especially for higher level BIM projects. The alternative argument proposes the incorporation of legal issues in a BIM protocol which would be a set of amendments to the main contract to make them suitable for BIM. The amendments could then be incorporated into the various agreements used for the project, ensuring that there is a similar set of BIM related rights and obligations flowing through the different contracts. This allows parties to retain the contracts they are accustomed to while adopting BIM. This seems the better approach, and has wide support (March 2011 report, the JCT Public Sector supplement and the US BIM protocol documents).

Inorder to avoid problems like copyright, risk sharing, contribution and the other practical considerations of BIM it will be easier if these issues are been addressed upfront in the contract documents. Often, however, this is not easy to accomplish. As a result therefore, all participants must recognize the risks and liabilities associated with this process. Courts and other tribunals may provide guidance in the future. And with time, all these issues can be easily dealt with.

Normally, a BIM model consists of contributions from various parties and inorder to avoid liability for infringement of third party intellectual property rights, the protocol should ensure that all contributors warrant that they hold the intellectual property rights over the contributions they make and provide an indemnity to all other parties who may use such contribution in the event of a third party intellectual property dispute.

It is also critical to define who has responsibility to ensure the quality of contributions to the model or models, as well as the level of reliance to be placed on such contributions. This is particularly important where the model contains intelligent objects that may change on account of information derived from other contributors

BIM product modelling barriers are very consistent with the motivations for an interoperable environment. The barriers such as lack of modelling guidelines, input/output mappings, and one-way conversions call for stronger interoperability support. The interoperatabilty issue between the different software is gradually coming to rest with the help of the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). Larger research and development agendas outside the construction and property domain will perhaps provide a push towards interoperatabilty. The semantic web is one of them.