What should Party A’s BIM look like? After a period of systematic reflection and considering the unique circumstances of both Party A and Party B—particularly challenges in understanding, organizational management, team building, limited collaboration between the two parties, the conservative nature of the construction industry, disconnection between production and sales, and general confusion surrounding BIM and the construction industry itself—I have come to realize how difficult it is to achieve groundbreaking innovation. This is especially true for a full lifecycle, cross-industry, highly integrated building information system. I have personally witnessed numerous failed attempts by teams and colleagues. While this does not mean that a viable business model does not exist, it is currently extremely challenging and demands great courage to overcome.
The driving force behind this innovation must be Party A. Owners or developers—whether they own properties for self-use or develop rental properties—hold the most authority over building facility information. They have the capacity to systematically integrate information across all parties and stages. Only Party A has the strength to break away from traditional approaches and pioneer a new era.
2. Party A must establish its own BIM team. Although Party A will procure sufficient BIM services to foster a thriving market supply, a strong internal team is essential to manage such innovative and uncertain business ventures. Without this, past failures caused by deception from external parties will likely recur. This is due to the high transaction costs involved when relying solely on external teams, as well as the specific needs of the client, which require an intermediary to facilitate the transition. Just as domestic clients typically build strong engineering project management teams, establishing a localized yet integrated bridge is unavoidable.
3. Party A’s BIM team must operate with data at its core. While 3D models remain essential, they should serve primarily as a form of representation rather than the focus itself. This data-driven approach is common among mature developers pursuing digital transformation, even though it may still seem unrealistic for developers with only one or two network administrators. The main challenge lies in converting product information—such as building spaces and components—into data that can be processed by enterprise information platforms, at both the file and component levels. Although no fully mature solution currently exists, effective methods are available, and the implementation difficulty is manageable. The key is for the right team to apply these methods under suitable conditions.
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