The most suitable BIM team structure for design institutes today involves forming two distinct groups: the BIM consultant team and the BIM designer team. This setup mirrors the traditional division between designers and draftsmen, which remains the standard in most design institutes. Consulting and modeling are like two legs supporting a body; a BIM team without consultants is like trying to walk on one leg—unstable and inefficient. If you want to move fast, you are bound to stumble.
1. The Consultant Team
The consultant team is the cornerstone of any BIM effort. Without consultants, all BIM personnel risk becoming mere modelers, whose productivity may not even match that of traditional draftsmen using standard software. Currently, no design institutes have fully established this team. Understanding the personnel structure of a BIM team in any design institute reveals the potential level they can achieve.
The consultant’s role is comparable to that of an architect: they analyze client needs, refine and quantify them, and systematize these requirements into clear BIM modeling tasks. A consultant must grasp both architectural needs and BIM technology functions, acting as a bridge between traditional design and BIM-driven workflows.
The composition of consultant teams varies depending on the design institute’s client base, which may include industrial real estate, corporate real estate, commercial real estate, or residential real estate. Given current market challenges, forming an internal consulting team is difficult, and external consultants may be needed when necessary.
Beyond fulfilling design tasks, the consultant team must broaden their perspective. They are responsible for driving business transformation within the design institute by continuously engaging with clients and proposing innovative solutions—even those that may not directly involve BIM.
As the core of the BIM team and the design institute at large, the consultant team carries a vital mission. Successfully establishing this team can signal a broader transformation in the entire design institute. Even without an internal BIM technology team, outsourcing modeling work is possible since many market professionals excel in modeling. However, consulting cannot be outsourced; it is the key competitive advantage of the institute.
Why call it the “Consultant Team”? Because the expanding business focus of design institutes centers on architectural design consulting services.
2. The BIM Designer Team
The BIM designer team mainly consists of skilled modelers proficient in software operations. However, most members also possess diverse professional backgrounds. The term “BIM Designer Team” is used because there is no official occupational classification for draftsmen in our region; everyone is simply referred to as a designer.
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