BIM: Getting More Bang for Your Buck

Building Information Modeling, commonly known by its acronym ‘BIM‘, is a process that provides a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility.  Much has been written about the promise of BIM technology and its potential benefits to the construction industry.  Many of us in the industry have read articles that explain how BIM will take us all past  three dimensional representations of building design information, with time (4-D) and cost (5-D) adding even more opportunities to utilize the information for scheduling, estimating and facility management purposes (6-D).  Even at its most basic, 3-D BIM greatly enhances constructability and reduces clashes between building systems. 

Significant savings to the construction process can be achieved by using even a basic level of 3-D BIM in a modified design build process.   However, many smaller and even mid-sized consulting engineering firms have still been reluctant to make the investment in hardware, software and training.  As with many new trends and software,  it is frequently necessary to provide concrete examples of successes that can show that an incremental program of BIM development can bring quick results.