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AECbytes "Builin! the "uture" Article #Se$tember %&' ()%*+
Say NO! to Hollywood B"#$ %n %dvanced
"ntegration o& the B"# 'rocess at a Builder
%ntonio Ruivo #eireles
Innovation Manager, Mota-Engil
,e ha-e o.ten seen Builers im$lementin! B/M. But in reality' in most cases' it0s more o. a 1olly2oo B/M
than B/M itsel.. ,hat 2e0-e accom$lishe at Mota3En!il' a builin! com$any hea4uartere in 5ortu!al' is a
more a-ance inte!ration o. the B/M $rocess. This article escribes ho2.
Mota3En!il is a &) year ol com$any' 2ith more than ()'))) em$loyees 2orl2ie. Thou!h the com$any has
se-eral sub3holin!s' construction re$resents about 6)7 o. the total turno-er. Last year #()%(+' its turno-er
2as o. (())M euros' an it has a $resence in more than () countries.
Our B/M im$lementation strate!y 2as i-ie into se-en ste$s8
9 Benchmar:in!
9 Strate!y 5lans an ;oals
9 5eo$le an Culture<Chan!e
9 5rocess De.inition
9 Choice o. So.t2are
9 Trainin!
9 5ilots an E-aluation
All o. the abo-e ste$s are escribe in this article. To2ars the en' the :ey $ointers that emer!e .rom our
o2n im$lementation that shoul be hel$.ul to other construction .irms ao$tin! B/M are iscusse. There is
also an e=tene iscussion o. the main bene.its o. B/M .or a builer' base on our o2n e=$eriences 2ith it.
Benchmar:in!
To a-oi re3in-entin! the 2heel' 2e starte o.. our B/M im$lementation 2ith Benchmar:in!. ,e :no2 that
there ha-e been other com$anies 2ho ha-e stru!!le 2ith their o2n $rocesses an so.t2are' creatin! their
o2n 2or:arouns an solutions' so it 2as really im$ortant that 2e try to learn .rom others an thus ma:e a
smaller in-estment than 2e 2oul ha-e to other2ise. So 2e -isite %> to () international com$anies 2ho 2ere
tryin! to im$lement this methoolo!y. The iea 2as to tal: 2ith them' communicate' share e=$eriences' an
a-oi re$eatin! their mista:es. This 2as' o. course' accom$anie 2ith a biblio!ra$hical stuy an a lot o.
research o. mar:et stuies to better unerstan 2hat 2oul be the best strate!y $lan to im$lement in Mota3
En!il. This $rocess starte ? years a!o.
,e also mae an internal Benchmar:in! stuy. ,e are a com$any 2ith &) years o. history an a lot o.
e=$erience' but 2e are in an inustry that oesn0t a$$ly @a lot o. scienceA in 2hat it oes. Builers are
sometimes seen more as @artistsA an less as @scientists.A
No2 that the technolo!y is mature enou!h' 2e .eel that it0s time to collect more ata .or better $reictions an
.orecasts. Thou!h 2e ha-e no2 more ca$ability o. $rocessin! ata' 2e shouln0t unerestimate em$irical
:no2le!e.
Our o2n benchmar:in! 2as mae u$ o. many inter-ie2s an analyBin! internal $rocessesCthe real ay3to3
ay se4uencin! o. 2or: .lo2 bet2een i..erent $layers in the com$any. This 2or:3.lo2 2as laboriously
ocumente 2ith the @s2im3laneA techni4ue. Then' a statistical stuy 2as unerta:en on ho2 much time each
$erson too: on their o2n tas:s. This 2as o. !reat im$ortance to try an $reict later the RO/ #Return on
/n-estment+ o. im$lementin! B/M' es$ecially on time3consumin! an ine..icient tas:s.
Pgina 1 de 8 Say NO! to Hollywood BIM: AECbyte !B"ilding t#e $"t"%e! A%ti&le
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Strategy Plans and Goals
The second step in our BIM Implementation was to define a Strategy Plan and our Goals. Since the beginning,
we were aware of three important pillars: oordination, ost, and Time. !e "oined a #nowledge international
group that shared regularly their e$periences, which were %ery similar to our own.
&fter defining our goals, we create a program called SIG&BIM and started the implementation. !e didn't start
off training e%eryone. !e started by defining some standards, e%en if simple ones in the beginning. Then we
defined which software to buy. There are se%eral software pac#ages, with different prices, ranging from ())) to
*+))) euros. Thus, it was %ery important to figure out what we needed and a%oid incurring unwanted costs.
!e proceeded to watch many demos and training %ideos before choosing the software itself.
!e started with training about *) people in ,une -)*). These were our champions in terms of modeling. Most
of them are still with us, in the company, and are our internal consultants to other colleagues who are starting
to use BIM.
&fter the training, the first thing we did was a small pro"ect with the focus on shop.drawings and how to e$tract
them from the model. &fter this, we started with a pilot and focused on /uantity.ta#eoff based on the model.
This was a %ery interacti%e process, since problems were found, and we had to go bac#.and.forth and correct
the initial standards. !hat we thought was a linear process ended up being a recursi%e, cyclical process of
maturing during the pilot. By the end of the pilot, our standards had e%ol%ed into a 0th %ersion.
1nly after a year did we %enture into a bigger real.life pilot. It was the construction of a 0),))) m- hospital.
2ere, we tried to implement the processes of e$tracting shop.drawings and /uantity ta#e.off from part of the
pro"ect.
The end of -)** mar#ed the start of some tests with BIM estimating, BIM scheduling, and Time 3 ost ontrol.
People and ulture4hange
This was one of the most important aspects of our BIM implementation process. &s mentioned earlier, it's %ery
difficult to change an 5artist6 into a 5scientist,6 to change mentalities and abandon the idea of building as an
5art6 and face it more as a 5science.6 7ou really need someone in the company to #eep the moti%ation up. &lso,
if you don't ha%e the support of the top.management le%els, it is hard to implement BIM. The culture and %alues
of the organi8ation must be aligned with the new approaches. 9mpowerment, sharing, teamwor#, etc., are
characteristics that are not %ery common in the construction business. But things are changing. The problem is
not methodology or technology:the main problem is changing mentalities. It is important to accept that not
e%eryone will be recepti%e to new processes, either for fear of being o%erta#en by the colleagues, information
o%erload ;such as an abundance of e.mails going around<, lac# of time, or a general lac# of moti%ation.
&t this stage, I would also emphasi8e the importance of managing the e$pectations of the company. =i#e one
might read in the Gartner Researchs Hype Curve Model, it's a huge mista#e to inflate e$pectations, usually
based on a technology trigger. Technology ends up not being as mature enough as was e$pected. My
approach was to manage these e$pectations and go for small wins. It should be understood that behind many
BIM demonstrational %ideos, there is a lot of wor#, a lot of data processed, and many people interacting with
different de%eloping software with their own learning cur%e. Separating what is real from what is a %ision helps
people a%oid disillusionment and become more effecti%e.
Pgina ' de 8 Say NO! to Hollywood BIM: AECbyte !B"ilding t#e $"t"%e! A%ti&le
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In any case, what is real is exciting enough. With BIM, you can increase margins and efficiency right now.
Process Definition
The 4th step in our implementation was what we referred to as the Process Definition. We found that each
company in the field was deeloping its own standards. While it would !e wonderful to hae international
standards, for now, we wor" with what we hae. In Mota#$ngil, we hae also deeloped our own standards,
and eeryone "nows the inputs into the BIM data!ase and the outputs that can !e o!tained.
Before initiating the process, one must first define goals. What is the purpose% To what ends will the model !e
used% What is the leel of detail needed% When should the models !e deliered&the model progression
specification% We really care a!out costs in Mota#$ngil, and would li"e to aoid money !eing wasted !ecause
we didn't thin" !eforehand of the purpose of the model. If you only need the model for coordination, chances
are you'll need a ery low detailed model. If the extraction of (uantities is your aim, may!e you'll need a higher
leel of detail. If the model is needed for detailed shop#drawings, perhaps you'll need an een higher leel of
detail in your model. )o again, one needs to first decide* +oals # ,or what% -eel of Detail # .ow% Model
Progression )pecification # When%
/hoice of )oftware
0s mentioned earlier, software should !e chosen only after identifying what is needed and what the process
would !e. We chose some commercial applications li"e 0rchi/0D, )oli!ri and 1ico )oftware. But it didn't end
there. We felt the need to deelop our own $xcel#!ased Macro tools to optimi2e or improe the process, after
wor"ing with BIM for a while. 3ur own adanced algorithms, !ased in 1isual Basic, guarantee !etter (uality
and efficiency in the process. ,or instance, we hae an 0danced /ontent Plan that gies us (uantity ta"eoff
!ased in formulas that use ta"eoff items that resulted in the com!ination of model o!4ects. With this, we can
also compare our (uantities with the ones calculated in 1I/3 and ensure the (uality of the exported model
from 0rchi/0D.
Pgina ( de 8 Say NO! to Hollywood BIM: AECbyte !B"ilding t#e $"t"%e! A%ti&le
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Another point worth mentioning is that our ArchiCAD model is linked to Vico Office through several formulae
that connect every object of the model with the line items of the Bill of Quantity !hese can be done laboriously"
and manually #thus susceptible to error$ !he algorithm we developed creates these formulae in a more
efficient" faster" and error%free way !he bigger the project" the more we use these tools
&n all the presentations &'ve seen on B&( implementation" & always notice the () *+cel visible among the
various software icons &'ll venture to say that *+cel is an essential B&( tool,
-hen we develop our standards and methodologies" we are always conscious that (ota%*ngil is present in
different countries with their own standards" so an awareness of creating something useful across borders is
always present -e also know that a simple Bill of Quantities #BOQ$ in the .) may follow a different standard
than in *urope" Africa" or /atin America !o make a BOQ" with all the formulae to connect to the 0uantities of
the model would normally take two to three weeks -ith our tools" we can abbreviate this to two to three days"
resulting in greater efficiency and cost saving
!raining
1or B&( implementation in construction" the training should be oriented to producing a multi%functional2multi%
skilled team !hey should have knowledge of shop%drawings" e+tracting 0uantities" scheduling" estimating" and
time and cost control &f not" we will end up with separate departments targeting different goals" bringing along
more inefficiency
3ilots and *valuation
-hile & have already described our approach to pilot projects in the 4)trategy 3lans and 5oals6 section" & would
like to reiterate the step-by-step process -e started off our pilots in 7898 with only the :D B&( up to middle of
7899 !hen we introduced ;D !ime )cheduling and Control" while still evolving on the :D" and giving training in
modeling Only in 7897 did we start to implement the <D Cost process of B&( A methodical" step%by%step
approach is the best way to implement B&( &t's not possible to have a good schedule without a good model
and it's not possible to have a good estimate and cash%flow forecast without a good schedule
=ey 3ointers
!hese are the key pointers that have emerged from our B&( implementation strategy and they should be
helpful to other construction firms looking to adopt B&(>
? @ave a good B&( *vangelist in your company &t's really important to achieve your Board's whole%hearted
interest and support &f you don't have this kind of sponsorship" your team will die
? Define a B&( )trategy 5roup )tudy the potential return on investment All managers like numbers and wish to
know why we're investing money and what will be the return of the money
? )tudy these points and define your target
Pgina , de 8 Say NO! to Hollywood BIM: AECbyte !B"ilding t#e $"t"%e! A%ti&le
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? Ae+t" define a B&( Boadmap @ere you should ask the following 0uestions> -hat is the 5oalC -ho will be
involvedC -hen they will be involvedC -here we will implement thisC
? -ith this B&( Boadmap in hand" define your B&( !ask 5roup )elect the right people !hese may not
necessarily be the most e+perienced" but look for fresh bright minds" that think 4out of the bo+6 Dour group
must also accept that there are sometimes bugs in the software" so patience is also important Avoid barriers
and develop internal B&( standards when there aren't any national standards
? After defining the B&( group" train them and start with a small pilot project" working your way up But even
though it's a pilot" you should place some stress as in a real project
? &n the end" make an assessment of your project Bemember this is not a simple se0uential process !his is an
interactive" 4rewriting"6 growing process &t's a one step at a time process &f you involve true B&( e+perts in
your implementation and discuss your e+periences with them" you will implement everything faster and with
less risk !ry to avoid reinventing the wheel
(ain Benefits for a Builder
!he main benefits of this integrated B&( implementation for a construction company" based on our own
e+periences with it" are as follows>
? Better Communication
? OptimiEed Crews
? 3roblem &dentification and Besolution
? Design OptimiEation
? )hop Drawings
? Quantity *+traction and Cost *stimation
? Better scheduling and risk mitigation
!he first benefit" better communication" is a very important one that is difficult to 0uantify But for all those who
have some construction site e+perience" it will be easy to understand and remember the difficulty sometimes to
communicate" in meetings" what the 7D drawings convey !o make things more comple+" there are usually a
lot of these 7D designs -ith B&(" in a couple of months" you can have a detailed model to better understand
the project" discuss strategies" se0uencing of works" etc
!he second benefit relates to optimiEed crews !his does not involve firing people" but instead" re%0ualifying
our workers *arlier" we had people working only on very specific jobs in the whole process Aow" we need
multi%skilled people working in different areas like 0uantity takeoff" estimation" or scheduling -hat we will have
in the future are engineers that can manage data in a holistic way -e conducted a small study in (ota%*ngil
about crew composition !hough difficult to prove" we believe that" with a mature B&( crew" we could save 9F
to 7F of the costs on site By this" & mean we could have more people in the office managing data" and fewer
on site
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The third benefit is Problem Identification and its Resolution. Weve never done the same building twice, so its
not scientifically proven, but we are saving around 8! of rewor" due to identifying problems beforehand. This
8! value was given to us by some of our senior site directors.
# fourth benefit is $esign %ptimi&ation. Its much easier to clarify our intentions to a client when we have a
proposal for an optimi&ed solution accompanied with a model.
The fifth benefit is 'hop $rawings. This is one of the points most people agree with, and how easy it is to
e(tract them, after a change is made in the model, and the way it automatically updates all drawings.
The si(th benefit is )uantity *(traction and +ost *stimation. I would say that ,uantity e(traction is the basis of
what any -uilder will e(ecute, important for the estimation and for scheduling. 'cheduling is still currently done
based on .gut feeling/ and less on data. -ut everything that is true of -I0 for estimation can and should be
e(trapolated for scheduling. We at 0ota1*ngil, with our -I0 pro2ects, develop scheduling based on 0odel
,uantities, location related, in a methodology called Line of Balance. This gives us true 3$ -I0. %f course, we
can say that the better the accuracy of the ,uantity ta"eoff, the better the estimation and scheduling will be.
Tests have assured us that the model gives us error margins below 4! for most trades, even with a medium
level of detail. The measuring itself is done much ,uic"er, more reliable and error proof, compared to the more
traditional manual way. 5ogically, better cost estimates and better scheduling will result in risk mitigation.
Pgina 6 de 8 Say NO! to Hollywood BIM: AECbyte !B"ilding t#e $"t"%e! A%ti&le
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In a 15000m2 construction site, we extracted a BIM based Bill of Quantities and compared it to the one derived
using the traditional wa! "his was done for thousands of lines and then we went on to stud the differences!
"he interesting part was that due to our internal modeling rules, the differences we found were not due to
software bugs or incapacities, but were based or errors done in the modeling! "he could also be attributed to
the #uantit surveor$ we found out that he used an approximate number in some of the cases due to lac% of
time! &ither wa, the errors were human made, which is normal! "his highlights the fact that we onl need
#ualit chec%ing processes that guarantee the #ualit and consistenc of our data!
'n the list of benefits is also Better (cheduling! )s I*ve mentioned above, we*re using the Line of Balance
methodolog! +rom our experience in pilot pro,ects and in discussing with our partners, we can safel sa that
a 20- gain in the total duration of the construction has been achieved, with the proportional saving in site
costs! (o in a 10M. site, a site could represent 10- of the cost! "his 20- gain in duration would reflect in
saving 200!000.!
/e found that the Line of Balance based discussion clarifies problems and options! In one small sheet of
paper, one can see all logical se#uencing of tas%s that, in the traditional 01M method, would ta%e several long
sheets that few could comprehend!
/e are testing some indicators based on ( curves, 2istogram 3esources, and &arned 4alue )nalsis for our
"op Management! )ll of these are enriched with a BIM based schedule and estimate! This is true 55 BIM!
'ur next step is to wor% with the owners to help them move towards the goal of 65BIM7 +acilit Management!
Pgina + de 8 Say NO! to Hollywood BIM: AECbyte !B"ilding t#e $"t"%e! A%ti&le
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2003-2014 Lachmi Khemlani, AECbytes. All rights reserve.
!ite "esign by Vitalect #nc.
C$ncl%si$n
#n c$ncl%si$n, # see &#' as a h%ge $(($rt%nity )$r the c$nstr%cti$n sect$r. *$% sh$%l n$t +$rry ab$%t the
am$%nt $) investment inv$lve beca%se i) y$% $ it in a c$nscienti$%s +ay, y$% +$n,t regret it an y$%,ll see
the ret%rn $) the investment right in the )irst year $) im(lementati$n. -se the mantra $) .$n,t reinvent the
+heel./ 0a1e avantage $) the 1n$+lege gathere by e2(erts that have em(irically .s%))ere/ all the ty(ical
(i$neer im(lementati$n (ains. 0his +ay, y$%,ll im(lement everything )aster an +ith less ris1. 0he )aster y$%
im(lement it, the 3%ic1er y$% bec$me m$re c$m(etitive an m$re e))icient. # have seen the res%lts an they
s(ea1 )$r themselves.
Ab$%t the A%th$r
Ant$ni$ 4%iv$ 'eireles is the #nn$vati$n 'anager $) '$ta-Engil. 5e
has a egree in Civil Engineering 620078, a '&A in C$r($rate
'anagement 620098, an is c%rrently (%rs%ing a :h.". in
C$nstr%cti$n 'anagement. 5e is )$c%se $n the im(r$vement $) the
c$nstr%cti$n in%stry thr$%gh the evel$(ment $) 1n$+lege as +ell
as e))icient an inn$vati$n-riven (r$cesses. #nn$vCenter, '$ta-
Engil,s #nn$vati$n :lat)$rm, is $ne $) his m$st s%ccess)%l initiatives
an +as $ne $) ten reci(ients a+are the ;ielsen ;$rman <r$%(
6;;=g8 2011 #ntranet "esign A+ar.
>$r the last si2 years, in (arallel t$ being the #nn$vati$n 'anager $)
'$ta-Engil, he has been em($+ering sta1eh$lers $) the
C$nstr%cti$n #n%stry t$ %se &#' an lean c$nstr%cti$n meth$s s$ as t$ eliver integrate c$nstr%cti$n
services m$re e))iciently an (r$%ctively. 5e is leaing the &#'>?r%m :$rt%gal, an initiative +here m$st $) the
large c$nstr%cti$n c$m(anies, esigners, $+ners, an %niversities, as +ell as the ;ati$nal Lab$rat$ry $) Civil
Engineering, have a seat, +ith the g$al $) isseminating the avantages $) &#' an b$$sting its %se. 5e is als$
an ine(enent c$ns%ltant an has been invite t$ be a s(ea1er at several internati$nal c$n)erences. 5is +$r1
has been the basis $) a case st%y )$r several (%blicati$ns an +hite(a(ers.
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