I often hear industry professionals ask whether a company needs to hire a BIM consultant when implementing BIM. The answer isn’t straightforward. While some companies can rely entirely on their own capabilities to complete BIM projects, this isn’t the main issue. The key questions are:
1. When is it necessary to hire a BIM consultant, and when is it not?
2. If a company decides to hire one, what kind of BIM consultant do they actually need?
The answer to the first question is simple: choose the approach that is most cost-effective. Companies must weigh the costs of hiring BIM consultants against the time and effort required for their employees to manage BIM independently. The decision should be based on which method provides a better return on investment or lower overall costs. However, making this calculation correctly is not always easy.
The second question is the core issue we want to discuss with our industry colleagues. Based on our experience, companies typically need two types of BIM consultants during BIM implementation:
(1) The first type is the BIM Strategic Consulting Consultant. This consultant becomes part of the company’s BIM management decision-making team, collaborating closely with internal BIM managers to help leadership decide what to do, how to do it, and who to hire for the company’s BIM initiatives. Usually, only one BIM strategic consultant is needed. Having multiple may be theoretically possible but can be more challenging to manage in practice. To understand why, consider why even powerful imperial courts with supreme emperors historically did not have two prime ministers.
(2) The second type is the BIM Professional Service Provider. These consultants assist with specific BIM tasks that the company cannot complete on its own. Companies generally require multiple BIM professional service providers because no single consultant excels in every BIM application. Each provider has its own unique expertise, and by comparing different providers, companies can secure more cost-effective services for their BIM needs.
Must log in before commenting!
Sign Up