#2 - What is BIM?

BIM Stands for,

• Building Information Modeling

• Building Information Models &

• Building Information Management

As I mentioned earlier, BIM is the most developing improvements in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction industry. One or more virtual models of buildings are created with BIIM technology. This helps to design via allowing higher evaluation and management than manual procedures. These virtual models consist of accurate geometry and data to assist construction, manufacturing, and procurement practices. Moreover, BIM has the capability to illustrate the lifecycle of a building. A greater coordinated plan and construction process are encouraged by BIM which results in bringing the cost down and reduced project duration. According to National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), BIM is a computable illustration of all of the physical and practical characteristics of a building and its associated project/lifecycle information, which is meant to be a foundation of information for the building owner/operator to use and preserve for the duration of the lifecycle of a building (NIBS 2007). Physical geometry and other practical parameters of building materials are presented by BIM as a virtual illustration. This information is collectively composed of designers to outline a building model, which consists of each physical and functional information saved in BIM objects. Moreover, as soon as the building model is generated; information contained in the model can be used for fabricating, analyzing, construction scheduling (4D BIM), cost estimating (5D BIM), and facility management for operation phase duration of the building lifecycle. The construction industry’s paradigm is shifting from 2D based drawing information to 3D based object information system with the help of BIM technology. This transformation changes the documentation process used in building design and construction, from manual conducts that are human-readable and integrates virtual descriptions of building elements with different information which include time and cost that are computer-readable. This process is called an n-dimensional (n-D) modeling, where a virtual building model contains different dimensions of information. A true BIM model is equivalence to an actual building to be built or already built. BIM models represent what is actually there in the real world. So, these intelligent models are the digital prototypes of an actual building. BIM allows us to simulate a building and helps us understand its actual behavior in the real world.

BIM contains information that helps to manage the facility throughout its lifecycle. BIM also contains information that is not visually represented at all. For example, scheduling information; which clarifies all the resources required or makes it easy to coordinate or anything which is the outcome of the project schedule. Cost is also part of BIM that allows us to see the budget required or to calculate estimated cost at any given point of the project lifecycle. BIM can not only be used in the design and construction phase of the project, but it can also be useful for the whole project lifecycle. As a result, the project lifecycle cost will reduce. This is just one example. There is so much more we can achieve with the help of BIM.

It is important to keep in mind that BIM is not just a technology change, but also a process change. By enabling a building to be represented by intelligent objects that carry detailed information about themselves and also understand their relationship with other objects in the building model, BIM not only changes how building drawings and visualization are created but also dramatically alters all of the key processes involved in putting a building together: how the client's programmatic requirements are captured and used to develop space plans and early-stage concepts; how design alternatives are analyzed for aspects such as energy, structure, spatial configuration, way-finding, cost, constructability, and so on; how multiple team members collaborate on a design, within a single discipline as well as across multiple disciplines; how the building is actually constructed, including the fabrication of different components by sub-contractor; and how, after construction, the building facility is operated and maintained. BIM impacts each of these processes by bringing in more intelligence and greater efficiency. It also goes over and beyond improving existing processes by enabling entirely new capabilities, such as checking a multi-disciplinary model for conflicts prior to construction, automatically checking a design for the satisfaction of building codes, enabling a distributed team to work simultaneously on a project in real-time, and constructing a building directly from a model, thereby passing 2D drawings altogether. It is hardly surprising, then, to find that BIM has also become the catalyst for significant process and contractual changes in the AEC industry such as the growing move towards IPD or "Integrated Project Delivery." With all the benefits BIM has to offer, Don't let your competition get to BIM first then you do!

Next article, The Traditional AEC Business Model

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