The emergence of Building Information Modeling (BIM) has brought significant changes to various professions within the construction industry. Today, the BIM Building Training Network will share insights into how BIM is transforming the cost management sector of construction.
1. Shifting Mindsets: From Data-Based to Model-Based Costing
Traditionally, cost estimation in construction follows a sequence of steps:
- During the feasibility study phase, larger companies select historical data and feasibility reports from an accumulated database to estimate project costs.
- In the design phase, preliminary construction drawings are used to develop design estimates.
- At the bidding stage, detailed CAD drawings are imported into quantity takeoff software to calculate quantities and prices separately, resulting in a construction drawing budget.
- During construction, changes, price variations, and claims are recorded, leading to settlement costs and final account adjustments.
With BIM, this traditional approach evolves into a model-based cost estimation process. Instead of relying on scattered data, a standardized building model is created during the design stage. During bidding, cost engineers input cost information directly into the model, which then generates accurate quantities and pricing, producing the construction drawing budget.
Throughout construction, settlement costs, final expenses, and actual indicators are updated through ongoing model data maintenance. Upon project completion, standardized model components can be saved in an indicator model library for reuse and reference in future projects.
2. Changing Work Methods: From Single-Software Use to Platform-Based Collaboration
Cost management traditionally relies heavily on Excel for estimation and budgeting, while specialized quantity and cost software is mainly used during bidding to create construction budgets. However, this process is often inconvenient due to the lack of a unified platform.
Cost personnel from different disciplines typically collaborate by importing and exporting models independently. When discrepancies or issues arise, they must be documented separately and resolved through additional communication channels, which is inefficient.
BIM transforms this by providing a collaborative platform where building models integrate cost information from various disciplines. Cost engineers input their specialized cost data directly into this platform and communicate issues and records based on the shared model. This approach significantly reduces repetitive modeling, streamlines communication, and simplifies issue resolution.
In conclusion, BIM presents both opportunities and challenges for the cost management sector in construction. We encourage all cost professionals to stay informed about market developments and embrace technological advancements to remain competitive and avoid obsolescence.
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