Although BIM management is not new in China, there are relatively few successful projects. This is largely due to the unique construction circumstances in the country. However, getting started with BIM is not difficult. Today, let’s discuss key considerations for applying BIM in management.
1. Relevant Standards: When initially adopting BIM, it is essential to establish a set of standardized modeling or asset management specifications. Contractors must not only comply with the owner’s information requirements but also adhere to these standards throughout project execution. This ensures efficient BIM operations and facilitates data reuse. Such standards can be incorporated into the contract through a BIM protocol.
2. Roles and Responsibilities: This section defines the allocation and management of roles within engineering projects, especially those related to model control and information management. BIM often introduces new roles dedicated to BIM technology and management. These roles can be assigned by the owner as per the contract or taken on by project team members.
3. Information Segmentation: Due to multiple disciplines involved and varied information needs, BIM models often contain large amounts of data. Concentrating all this in a single model can overwhelm software systems. Therefore, careful model segmentation during the modeling process is crucial for easier management and integration.
4. Information Security: To protect BIM data, standards must be established to safeguard information security. All project data should be stored on network servers with security protocols in place to prevent data loss, virus infections, misuse, or intentional damage by team members or outsiders.
5. Integration and Clash Detection: Defining common requirements and quality control measures during coordination is vital. BIM generates more detailed information than traditional methods, enabling better reflection and optimization. Effective management of integration and conflict detection is therefore essential.
6. Collaborative Work Processes: These processes define when and where project information is shared, as well as the format of information exchange. The owner’s information requirements should mandate that bidding documents include detailed plans explaining the vendor’s collaboration approach.
7. Health and Safety / Construction Design and Management (CDM): This section outlines how BIM can support monitoring health and safety throughout various project phases. H&S/CDM is a UK government tool aimed at promoting safer work environments in construction projects, requiring planning from design through construction, maintenance, and demolition phases.
8. System Efficiency: Coordination between owners and bidders is necessary since bidders might need additional resources or non-standard solutions to meet the owner’s operating system or specific IT requirements.
9. Compliance Plan: To ensure smooth collaboration among suppliers regarding model integration and data maintenance, contractors must provide detailed information on compliance with the client’s model and data standards, including references to relevant standards and compliance software used by the owner.
10. Information Delivery Strategy: Establish clear asset information exchange standards and a comprehensive delivery strategy to guarantee accurate and complete handover of asset information and documentation at each stage.
While these guidelines may seem idealistic given the current state of architecture in China, challenges must be addressed rather than ignored. Facing difficulties head-on is the only way to develop practical solutions and advance BIM effectively. That’s all for key considerations when applying BIM in management. I hope this article proves helpful!
Must log in before commenting!
Sign Up