Recently, while browsing questions and posts on Zhihu, I noticed that many people are focused on one particular question: “Is the future development trend of BIM construction going to favor general contracting or design general contracting?” Here’s a highly liked response that I’d like to share with everyone.
Construction Enterprises
BIM is widely adopted by construction companies, with its intervention often occurring before the installation of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems—especially for BIM completion models. The MEP functions primarily help resolve pipeline installation issues, which is the main BIM application for construction units. Although 4D simulation and decoration planning are also in use, they are not the core components for these companies. In practice, losses are inevitable, and some cannot be avoided, so construction units tend to be less enthusiastic about software focused on quantity and cost calculations.
Design Institutes
For design institutes, BIM is somewhat less practical due to its usage habits and input-output ratio. While some institutes, like the Northwest Institute, do employ BIM to verify design errors and reduce rework, most still rely on software such as SketchUp (SU) and CAD. Even for tasks like energy consumption or lighting analysis, SketchUp integrates well with analysis software, making it a preferred choice for many designers.
Owners
Many property owners value BIM, but most lack a clear strategy for its application. Take Vanke as an example—although they actively promote BIM (their BIM center’s logo was even designed by our team), their goal is to standardize construction processes and eliminate gaps caused by differences in professional expertise. Despite collaborations with companies like RIB in Germany, they still lack clear plans on how to leverage BIM for procurement, design, construction, contracts, and other controls. This situation reflects the current, immature state of BIM adoption among most owners. Of course, there are more advanced examples, such as the China Zun project, which I will discuss later.
Consulting Units
Consulting firms using BIM generally fall into two categories: BIM consulting companies (e.g., RIB) for whom BIM is their core business, and cost consulting companies that increasingly use BIM for its intuitive benefits. Although BIM software has challenges, it helps cost consultants save effort, and detected issues can be corrected promptly.
The development trend after BIM is not EPC, DB, or DBB, but rather the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) model.
What is IPD?
Simply put, before construction begins, the owner brings together the design team, construction team, material suppliers, supervision team, and other stakeholders to collaboratively create a BIM completion model. This model represents the final product—“what you see is what you get.” Each party then uses this model to guide their work.
Within this model, during the industrialized construction process, there’s no need to return to the design institute for drawing revisions, and material suppliers cannot arbitrarily alter materials for scheme changes. While this approach demands significant upfront time and effort, it minimizes waste of manpower, money, materials, and time caused by plan changes later on. Ultimately, it saves considerable time and costs. This method has been widely adopted in developed countries such as Japan, the United States, and Australia, while progress in Europe has been slower. Domestically, there is still a long way to go.
BIM Needs Strong Leadership
For BIM to deliver its intended benefits—cost savings, schedule efficiency, and streamlined management—it requires a strong leader to champion it. Why? Because for most construction units and subcontractors, scheme changes are a primary source of revenue. One important advantage of BIM is to avoid such changes. If you’re interested, look into the China Zun Project, which represents a pinnacle of BIM application in China. Its success is thanks to the owners’ strong BIM awareness and expertise. They excelled in areas like pipeline clash detection, energy consumption analysis, construction simulation (which is considered quite classic), and intelligent ventilation—a field where design institutes will increasingly rely on BIM in the future.
2. Conflicts of Interest and Usage Habits
As mentioned, scheme changes are a major revenue stream for most construction units and subcontractors, while BIM aims to minimize these changes. Regarding usage habits, older designers and engineers may resist BIM, but this isn’t a major concern. Based on my experience with BIM projects, users tend to prefer it once they adapt. One thing is certain: BIM will eventually transform the entire workflow.
3. Shortage of BIM Talent
Lack of software skills and understanding of BIM concepts limits talent in this field. However, software is only a tool; the core lies in professional expertise and management capabilities. Mastering the combination of these takes time. Still, I’m optimistic because as practitioners’ skill levels improve and new talent emerges, digitalization is bound to become a dominant trend.
4. Insufficient Understanding of BIM
Common misconceptions include viewing BIM solely as software, virtual visualization, or just a model. In international research communities, BIM encompasses construction robots, 3D-printed buildings, the Internet of Things, and more. Fundamentally, BIM is about building informatization that extends across all aspects of construction. It represents a method of leveraging information technology to carry out construction activities. Most importantly, BIM is a mindset—a different way of analyzing and viewing the world.
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