Currently, Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology has been widely and deeply applied in enterprise project management across our country. However, the outcomes have been mixed—some projects have seen significant benefits from BIM, while others have experienced minimal impact or even faced challenges in breaking even. So, what is the expert perspective on enterprise project information management strategies based on BIM technology?
1. BIM Technology Talent Development. BIM technology integrates multidisciplinary knowledge, including civil engineering, engineering management, architecture, computer science, and control engineering. Managing building information through BIM is a complex systems engineering challenge, making the cultivation of BIM professionals essential. According to the American BIM standard (NBIMS Part 1 Version 1), BIM-related personnel are classified into three groups: BIM users, BIM standards providers, and BIM tool developers. Among these, BIM users—professionals who apply BIM—form the largest group, covering the broadest scope, and ultimately contribute most significantly to realizing BIM’s business value.
As an academic discipline, BIM technology can be incorporated into undergraduate and master’s degree programs, promoting the training of specialized BIM professionals. Active research on BIM applications is necessary to provide theoretical backing and standard development. BIM software vendors should strengthen training for product design and software development talents through hands-on research and development, as well as promote professional BIM application training.
Construction companies need to increase training and recruitment of BIM application talents and establish a balanced talent structure at the enterprise, project, and professional levels. Governments should provide active guidance and supportive environments for BIM talent cultivation, fostering the development of specialized BIM teams across multiple domains. This support is vital for advancing BIM research, application, and innovation.
2. Active Promotion of BIM Technology by All Construction Stakeholders. Government bodies responsible for public construction and regulation have the unique advantage of directly influencing the construction market. Therefore, it is recommended that governments lead by mandating BIM technology use in public projects.
Project owners, as organizations managing BIM-based information, stand to benefit most from BIM technology. Focus should be placed on real estate development, BOT construction projects, design, and management efforts. Projects with fewer contracts between owners and contractors—such as general construction contracting—are ideal candidates for BIM implementation due to easier coordination.
To encourage broader adoption, governments and project owners can implement incentive policies for BIM use. For instance, during the bidding phase, awarding bonus points to contractors who deploy BIM technology can motivate adoption.
Design, construction, and project management firms should view BIM as a strategic opportunity to differentiate themselves. By actively applying innovative BIM solutions, these enterprises can build robust information networks linking enterprise and project levels, back-end and front-end operations. Standardizing information workflows, optimizing subprocesses, integrating internal and external procedures, and strengthening enterprise-level back-end information infrastructure will create strong support and monitoring systems for projects, achieving integrated project group information management.
3. BIM-Based Shared Information Boundaries. Effective information collaboration requires open, timely, and reliable information sharing, but this depends on clearly defining information boundaries. Intellectual property, trade secrets, and management needs mean that some information must remain controlled, making information security a critical concern.
Within the BIM-centered engineering project information integration model, data in the central BIM database is categorized as proprietary or shared. A well-defined shared information space is established, with distinct information modules assigned to different organizations, professions, and projects, each granted appropriate access permissions. The entire project team accesses a precisely controlled shared project information database, ensuring that security policies are strictly enforced during information submission.
4. Information Ownership in BIM. BIM-based information networks and dynamic optimization strengthen collaboration among owners, designers, contractors, project managers, and operators. However, this collaboration brings varied benefits and responsibilities, raising concerns over intellectual property rights, potential misuse, and unclear ownership of BIM data models.
To avoid disputes, it is essential to promote the adoption of BIM standard contract templates that clearly define BIM data model terms, information responsibilities at project handover, information management throughout the project lifecycle, information security, quality assurance, third-party data collection methods, and ownership of information models.
Governments should establish BIM technology authorities to develop judgment standards, handle complaints, resolve disputes, and impose economic or administrative penalties on violations. Meanwhile, enterprises and individuals must maintain a positive and open attitude—protecting their rights while sharing information, supervising each other during BIM projects, and preventing intellectual property infringement.
5. Modular Development of Engineering Project Information. Engineering project information managed through BIM constitutes a vast database. As BIM applications evolve, the functionality of engineering project information integration models should be refined, strengthened, and expanded.
Specialized professional systems—including office management, resource management, process control, and project management—should be established. With a market-oriented modular structure, BIM personnel from various fields, professions, and disciplines can utilize software tools supporting all project stages and participants on a unified BIM platform. This setup enables distinct division of labor and collaborative work, meeting the diverse information needs of different units and departments at multiple levels throughout engineering projects.
In conclusion, with insights from experts, we’ve explored enterprise project information management strategies based on BIM technology. I hope this provides valuable guidance and encourages everyone to leave comments for further discussion and mutual progress.
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