WHITEPAPER

BIM Guidelines

The Key to Align Building Owners Needs and Model Deliverables

Building information modeling (BIM) has become an important component of

building projects. A survey conducted by McGraw-Hill Construction found that
in 2012, 30% of owners used BIM on more than 60% of their projects and that
percentage is estimated to increase to 44% by 2014.1 But how many owners
treat BIM as a checkbox, so they can say they do or have BIM, and how
many have taken time to link their models to measurable business objectives?

Overview
Introduction
How Does BIM Support Your
Business Goals?

BIM stakeholders fall into two main groupsmodel creators and consumers.
Using BIM Guidelines to Create
More Effective Projects
BIM creators are anyone who authors or repurposes a model. Creators may
be architects, engineers, designers, specialty contractors, and sometimes
Conclusion
general contractors. On the other hand, BIM consumersare people who use
other stakeholders models. Consumers can include building owners, general
contractors, and sometimes architects and engineers. All too often BIM
consumers have been sold on the idea of models without understanding the
practical issues associated with their creation and integrated use. Treating BIM
in isolation from broader business needs is a sure way to waste time and money. A better approach for delivering
value through BIM is to prioritize business objectives and define BIM requirements that support those goals.
This white paper explores why BIM is more powerful when linked with business drivers and offers tips that
model consumers can use to tailor their use of BIM to specific project situations.
When dealing with building projects, owners are faced with a variety of business challenges:

Pre-construction coordination and project predictability. Understanding the implications of different
design options early on in the project is essential. With BIM, its possible for key stakeholders like
building owners to visualize the project before any work begins. In addition, BIMs enable the different
trades to coordinate their work, minimizing clashes once a project begins. Gaining visibility into the
entire project during the planning stages leads to fewer change orders. Making changes before ground
is broken is dramatically less expensive than doing so later in the building process.
When construction begins, many different teams are on
the ground at building sites and coordination is more than
just a logistics challenge. Using BIM can improve project
predictability in terms of schedules and budgets. For example,
if one contractor executes his part of the project in a way that
adversely affects the work of other contractors, the result is
additional costs for the owner and delays. It may also lead
to extra expense for the contractor, depending on how the
contracts were written. With a Construction Manager at Risk
(CMAR) contract, for example, project changes can erode the
contractors profitability. In Integrated Project Delivery, project
members share in additional costs and cost savings. Greater
coordination during construction improves project predictability,
reduces unnecessary expenses, and increases profitability.

From a BIM perspective, key questions to be considered include:

o
What needs to be modeled? When evaluating different aspects of a project, stakeholders should
ask whether it makes sense to model certain elements. If modeling does make sense, another
question to ask is what level of detail will provide the greatest benefit?
o
How is the project being modeled? Is the model intended to convey the design intent? Or does it
need to represent the as-built condition?
o
When will the modeling occur and if multiple models are needed, will they be synchronized?
During a project, its important to consider whether a model will be created in conjunction with
other coordinating disciplines. For example, lets say the fire protection contractor completes his
model before the mechanical contractor begins his work. This sequencing of events would re
quire more time and money to coordinate than synchronizing the models among the different
stakeholders. Another important thing to evaluate is what can be expected from the model at
each milestone and whether meaningful decisions can be made based on the quality of the model.
o
Who is ultimately responsible for the modeling? The key questions here are who is responsible
for delivering a model and what level of detail are they delivering. Understanding the chain of
responsibility for the model can help you control the data that is embedded in the model and how
it can be used throughout a buildings lifecycle.

Controlling energy costs. The way a building is situated on its site and how it is designed have a direct
impact on energy usage. Higher levels of visual interaction are helpful earlier in projects when decisions
can be made that affect the buildings lifecycle. Modeling those aspects of a project in advance can
provide valuable information about the predictability of building operations, reduce operating costs later
in the buildings lifecycle, and offer sustainability benefits. But simply creating a model is not enough.
Knowing when and what to measure as part of the model helps owners make informed decisions that
can control future costs.

Leveraging building information for facilities management. In some instances, design and
construction data can be repurposed by facilities managers, resulting in more accurate information, better
accounting of assets, and improved visual interaction with facilities thanks to data rich geometry. Better
access to information and better quality information are essential for more efficient building operations.

Before adding BIM to project requirements, owners must first consider

which business objectives are most important for project success. This
information can then inform how BIM creators, such as designers and
contractors, do their work.

How Does BIM Support Your Business Goals?

Building information models are created based on different levels of
development or LOD. A level of development is the degree to which the
geometry and additional information in the model have been thought
through. Building owners must decide how far along the LOD continuum
they need their models to go. For example:

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Design. During the design process, building systems and components evolve from vague, conceptual
ideas to more precise descriptions. The visualization that is possible with a model that has even a fairly
low level of development can be invaluable. Project details can be changed early, when the cost and
schedule impact is minimal. A common LOD pitfall, however, is mandating designers (who have no real
say about how items are routed during construction, beside major coordination items) to model all
connections on all items. While a designers model can be a good starting point, it often results in
redundant modeling and hours billed for this work increase project costs unnecessarily.

Construction. The level of development required in models for construction is greater than during initial
designs. However, owners should be certain that stakeholders leverage the investment in the design
model throughout the project. A recent article in AECbytes Viewpoint suggests that its a common
practice for contractors to re-create models from scratch at significant cost, even when the design team
has already created a model.2 Owners can avoid this problem by requiring design models to be passed
to the construction phase and mandating that valuable information be repurposed. For example,
communicating what is in the model and the way items are modeled can make contractors more
comfortable with repurposing models, rather than remodeling them.

Building Operations. Using BIM to support facilities management may not be appropriate for every
owner. It requires a model with field verified representations of size, shape, location, quantity and
orientation. In addition, this information must be in a form that can integrate with facilities management
systems. Using BIM for facilities management requires the designer and contractor to integrate the
facilities information, changing the scope of the project and increasing the costs.

Deciding the appropriate level of development depends on clear business goals. Its important to remember that
the cost of BIM increases as models become more detailed. As owners determine the return on investment
associated with different types of models, understanding how BIM supports business objectives is essential.

Using BIM Guidelines to Create More Effective Projects

Before including BIM in a new project, building owners and general contractors should consider the following tips:

Look at each phase of the building lifecycle and determine what value BIM can provide.
BIM delivers value by combining visual data and quantitative information. LOD helps control model
deliverables with respect to the scope of the individual stakeholders and the use of the model during
different project phases. Models can be useful from building design through construction into ongoing
operation. However, the cost associated with the necessary level of development at certain phases
may be greater than the benefit that can be derived.
Based on cost-benefit analyses, create BIM guidelines for project stakeholders. This might

include a level of development specification which clearly conveys to teams what must be included
in a BIM deliverable. Owners that dont have extensive knowledge of BIM often rely on an architect or
general contractor to determine the BIM guidelines for a project. However, those players usually slant
guidelines toward their own organizations strengths and areas of greater profitability. A more valuable
partner for establishing BIM guidelines is an organization that has experience in all aspects of design,
construction, and operations, as well as how those project components interact with BIM.
Creating BIM guidelines can be especially valuable for general contractors who receive models from
multiple sources. Many general contractors have limited staff with BIM expertise. These individuals can

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 easily become overwhelmed by coordinating models across multiple

projects. BIM guidelines mean models can be quickly leveraged,
minimizing redundant effort and saving time and money.

Include processes and checkpoints to get the project
team on the same page with regard to models and deliverables.
Although BIM can be a powerful communication and collaboration
tool, simply requiring a model doesnt mean that teams will automati-
cally coordinate and share information seamlessly. Owners should
ensure that processes are in place to strengthen communication
among stakeholders. This will help minimize confusion and
associated project schedule and budget overruns.

Conclusion
BIM can be a powerful addition to building projects. However, owners must
first understand their business priorities and how a model can help deliver on
those needs. BIM is complex and many owners dont know what they dont
know. Consider getting expert guidance on BIM with a focus on active or
upcoming projects. BIM plays a role in all stages of the building lifecycle
from design to construction/fabrication and operations. Look for a firm that
understands how BIM applies in each of those lifecycle phases and knows how model changes in one phase
can affect models used in other lifecycle stages. Blending BIM expertise with unique project requirements is a
proven way for building owners to derive the greatest possible value from BIM.

1. The Business Value of BIM in North America: Multi-Year Trend Analysis and User Ratings (2007 2012).
McGraw-Hill Construction. 2012.
2. A Level of Development Specification for BIM Processes. AECbytes Viewpoint #68 (May 16, 2013).
http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2013/issue_68.html

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