Make no mistake about it. BIM is here and we want more businesses to reap the rewards. A co-ordinated, BIM-led approach to design, build and property management can help you make more informed decisions, save you time and reduce your property portfolio costs.
BIM, or Building Information Modelling, is a digital framework in which architects, engineers, building owners, facilities managers, builders, project managers and clients can collaborate to visualise, monitor, manage and develop or redevelop infrastructure.
As the world of construction moves toward a more sustainable model, building information modelling (BIM) is helping us get there in many ways.
First, digital design data is far more accurate than traditional hand drawings which enables a client to make much more informed and confident decisions before any steel or concrete is poured.
One of the most important benefits to using BIM is that it allows product manufacturers, architects, engineers, contractors and Clients communicate better with one another – through data exchanges. This increased control over project specifications between stakeholders also reduces errors made from misaligned expectations or unclear descriptions.
This greater control and real-time access to information covers all aspects of the design and construction process which significantly helps the producer audit costs more precisely, as well as speed up production.
BIM also enables more complex, coordinated, sustainable and efficient building models to be built in order to reduce waste both on-site and off-site during construction. For example, as a BIM consultancy, our architectural design house can check weather conditions, building codes, material compatibility and many other parameters and best determine how a Client’s project proceeds to the next stages of the production at the right (and most cost-effective) moment in time.
A BIM approach to design and build also allows us to maximise the longevity of the structures we build and manage.
Long after the diggers and cranes have left, a BIM-based starting point allows our facilities managers to preserve the safety and integrity of facilities, with maintenance plans updated every time building materials are replaced or layouts are changed.
You can also create a more sustainable project by reducing energy consumption through modelling that includes your building’s envelope design.
Architects Jim Tingle, my colleague who heads up Projectsure’s Architectsure Design House, strongly advocate BIM.
A few years ago, Jim’s enthusiasm for BIM convinced me it was the way forward if we wanted to provide big-business service-standards, at any affordable rate, to Clients who previously may have assumed such a level of service was out of their range. And, with every year, as we grow, he’s been proven right again and again
“BIM is the future of everything and because cloud technology, production tools and software have become incredibly precise and reliable, with more and more stakeholders completely at ease using dashboards and 3D models right from their phone, I’m a firm believer that the BIM approach shouldn’t just be available to businesses with deep pockets or restricted to use on huge infrastructure or massive building projects.” explained Jim.
