Vice General Manager Luo Nengjun of CITIC Heye Investment Co., Ltd. presented at the 2014 BIM Strategic Summit Forum for Owner Project Management. He delivered a speech titled “China Zun Project BIM Application Practice – The Interaction Between Management and Technology.”
Luo Nengjun, Deputy General Manager of CITIC Heye Investment Co., Ltd.
Management and technology must interact positively to achieve success. In his speech, Mr. Luo shared the application of BIM technology throughout the China Zun project—from initial planning to full implementation—highlighting challenges encountered and the achievements realized in project management. He emphasized that project management processes provide the essential foundation for fully leveraging BIM technology, and only within this framework can technology realize its true value.
Key Insights:
1. The first step in applying BIM is to clarify our objectives for adopting the technology. After thorough research, analysis, and discussion, we established fundamental goals: accelerate construction progress, shorten project timelines, reduce costs, and create a reliable data foundation for building operation and maintenance. Throughout the entire construction process, the depth, breadth, and systematic nature of BIM application have reached internationally leading standards.
2. For experienced developers, comparing similar projects often reveals numerous demolition and renovation issues during construction, along with design changes. Resolving these problems during the design phase justifies direct investment.
3. It is crucial to ensure the BIM model progresses smoothly and actively contributes to the project. We want to avoid scenarios where data ultimately becomes obsolete or useless.
4. In today’s environment, there is no need to debate the value of BIM technology or whether it should be adopted. Designers, engineers, software developers, and hardware suppliers should focus on collaborating and integrating their work to make their tasks easier. If BIM helps simplify your work, less discussion and more practical application are needed.
Speech Transcript:
Good afternoon, colleagues!
It is an honor to participate in this forum and explore BIM applications from the perspective of owner project management. Today, I will share how the China Zun Project has implemented BIM technology over the past three years, covering planning and application stages. To start, please watch the project animation, which illustrates our BIM achievements.
Our focus today is BIM technology application through the lens of owner project management. First, we will review BIM’s origins, the associated business and project management models, and how BIM matured as a construction technology. The project management process is essential for fully utilizing BIM technology; only with solid management can the technology reach its full potential.
I have been involved with BIM since 2008, hopeful that 3D tools would improve construction project management. Today, I will discuss BIM implementation on three levels: macro, meso, and micro.
Some projects started early and had to develop their own standards due to the lack of established ones. We aimed to build a system based on the project, recognizing that design, construction, and other units have different workflows and cultures. Establishing shared rules and using a unified platform is key to promoting BIM.
My main message today is the necessity of positive interaction between management and technology. We often face management constraints during BIM implementation. I will share China Zun’s BIM achievements from planning to today, along with challenges encountered in practical project management applications.
Owners manage their projects for their own use, which is a slower process. Developers, however, often leave after completing development, making implementation more straightforward based on their own concepts. From a social responsibility standpoint, developers should adopt a homeowner’s perspective, but cost-effectiveness often leads them to overlook long-term factors. Before detailing technological achievements, I will outline how enterprises consider BIM evolution within management models and systems.
BIM Achievements
Our success mainly stems from the design and construction units, who create and revise the BIM model. The owner’s role is organizing and coordinating. The BIM and project management teams from CCDI (BIM consultant) and Beijing Institute (design general contractor) have made solid contributions.
BIM Application
Firstly, we clarified our goals for adopting BIM technology.
By late 2011 and early 2012, we defined key objectives through research and discussion: accelerate construction progress, shorten timelines, reduce costs, and provide foundational data for building operation and maintenance. Throughout construction, the depth, breadth, and systematic application of BIM have achieved international leadership. These goals remain unchanged.
BIM Application Principles
The China Zun Project BIM Guidelines are now in their fourth edition. Since the first edition, these basic principles have guided us:
1. Overall planning with distributed implementation. We have high expectations for BIM but recognize full implementation isn’t feasible in the current environment. Thus, we adopt a phased and distributed approach.
2. Follow standards and standardize processes. Each design unit has its own style. We must establish rules and standardized workflows governing model management and circulation that everyone follows.
3. BIM synchronization and application continuity. Previously, 2D and 3D design work was often outsourced separately. Since 2011, dedicated modeling teams formed, but few can handle both 2D and 3D. We mandated that design teams must produce BIM models themselves; if not, the BIM team supports them. The BIM team bridges design and management, enabling genuine application of the technology.
4. Encourage owner involvement and business support. Owners must invest in technology. Some projects expect contractors and designers to deliver BIM without owner investment, resulting in little effect. Significant design work and coordination during construction require upfront investment, increasing enterprise workload. Support is needed to reduce later costs, although reducing costs remains challenging without changing business models. Owners must contribute additional resources, which is worthwhile—especially for mature developers aiming to resolve demolition, renovation, and design issues early.
Evaluating BIM Value in Super High-Rise Projects
BIM implementation involves three main parties: owner, designer, and construction. Establishing this triangle stabilizes the project. Contracts and relationships among these parties shape BIM usage.
The model is primarily created during the design phase, which serves as virtual construction. Once owner requirements are clear, designers build the virtual model. The construction phase applies this model, making adjustments based on design completion levels. The model’s feasibility for construction must be considered early, including auxiliary models related to building completion. Owners focus not only on model creation and results but also on data management, aiming to preserve a digital asset. Ensuring data collection and management involves many considerations.
Project Management Architecture
Internationally, BIM application is quite mature, with EPC requirements. In China, design and construction are managed separately. Construction units are not qualified to design, limiting their role. Design drawings primarily support approval and bidding, not direct construction, creating challenges owners must address. Technology offers a solution.
Previously, foreign companies completed preliminary designs for super high-rise projects, and domestic teams handled construction drawings. Design teams for preliminary and construction phases must collaborate closely for seamless integration. Construction phase issues arise when drawings are incomplete, delaying bidding and construction. To address this, we hired construction experts as consultants and invited construction teams to provide support, supplementing design where needed.
We established a consortium led by Beijing Institute for integrated design, combining owner and professional teams. Services after design completion are evolving to be included in design packages, requiring management system adjustments. After defining processes, model requirements are standardized.
Similar considerations apply during construction, managed by a single responsible party. We established model management processes, clarifying management units for design-to-construction model transition. Due to super high-rise complexity, a mechanical and electrical general contractor participates during construction.
Experience Sharing
Successful projects demand experience sharing, continuous investigation, research, and discussion. This leads to specific requirements and the acquisition of mature software and hardware. Clear rules are critical, and owners must manage these aspects well.
Models help resolve on-site construction issues. For example, underground construction drawings were split into two parts. Through model discussions, over 100 issues were identified collaboratively. Remarkably, the construction foreman used lightweight models to guide steel installation, surpassing expectations. Still, improvements remain necessary.
Final Thoughts
We must ensure BIM models progress smoothly and contribute meaningfully, avoiding data obsolescence. Without unified coding, reorganizing data is preferable to remodelling. The data platform is vital, as developers evolve into property managers, maintaining continuous stakeholder involvement. This environment allows BIM technology to realize its potential.
Overall, in today’s context, debating BIM’s value or necessity is unproductive. Designers, engineers, software developers, and hardware suppliers should collaborate to simplify their work. If BIM makes your job easier, focus less on theory and more on practical application.
Thank you all!
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