An essential guide for managing BIM projects

What’s inside?
Welcome to your essential guide for managing
BIM projects, helping you explore the
challenges and benefits of BIM.

Introduction
Introduction The promise of BIM
What is this guide all about? Richer information, greater value.
Let’s be clear
about BIM

The BIM
Boom
Let’s be clear about BIM It’s (still) all about collaboration
Believe the What is BIM and how does it help your business? BIM is as much about the process as the technology.
hype about
better projects

The promise
of BIM
The BIM Boom Common challenges on
It’s (still)
all about
The facts don’t lie, BIM is fast becoming the industry standard. BIM projects
collaboration What stands in the way of successful projects?
Common
challenges on
BIM projects

5 tips for
Believe the hype about better 5 tips for BIM success
BIM success projects How to effectively break down the barriers to BIM.

The real benefits for your business.

 1
Introduction
BIM is the process of generating and managing
building or other physical asset data during
its lifecycle.

Introduction
Over the past few years, BIM If you take only five things away from
(Building Information Modeling) this guide, we hope that they’re as follows:
has been one of the hottest topics

1 2
Let’s be clear in construction. So many articles, BIM is nothing BIM is about a
about BIM new. But its time lot more than
books, blogs, and webinars.
So many points of view. is now, and it’s just 3D design.
changing our
The BIM
Boom Although many agree about the industry.
benefits, there remains confusion

3 4 5
Believe the around what it actually means to
Audit trails of The biggest BIM is part
hype about “do BIM” and how to make a BIM discussions and people, part
better projects project successful. approvals are between BIM and process, part
critical for a BIM non-BIM projects software, and all
The promise This guide aims to cut through project. is that BIM collaboration.
of BIM the noise and focus on the projects end up
fundamentals. with an
It’s (still) interrelated,
all about In producing this guide, we’ve cross-referenced
collaboration applied statistics from the Aconex set of data.
online collaboration platform – the
Common
challenges on world’s most widely used system
BIM projects for construction and engineering
project information and process
5 tips for management – to identify
BIM success important BIM trends and issues.

Next
Let’s be clear on what BIM actually is

Let’s be clear about BIM
Because its use is evolving and growing, many
people – including those that use it day-to-day
– can find it difficult to define BIM. So here’s
what we’re talking about.
Introduction
BIM is a process
Probably the most common
misconception is that 3D design
Let’s be clear equals BIM, but that’s only part
about BIM
of the picture. In fact, BIM
technically doesn’t need
The BIM to involve a 3D model at all.
Boom
BIM is primarily a process. It’s
Believe the a way of creating, interrelating
hype about and managing all of the digital
better projects information on a project – before,
during and after construction. The
The promise output of that process is the Building
of BIM Information Model – the digital
description of every aspect of a
It’s (still) project. That information
all about is often, but not necessarily,
collaboration navigated and interrogated through a
3D visualization.
Common
challenges on
BIM projects BIM is much more versatile than its
predecessors – containing
a wealth of information which
5 tips for
BIM success is useful and relevant to the teams
that interact with it at every stage of
the process. Importantly, there is no
endpoint to BIM. The
Building Information Model will
continue to be updated for as long as
2
the building stands,
and possibly even longer. BIM
is a powerful tool for every aspect
of project management - even
after handover. In fact, the
handover of a complete and
accurate data model for a building or Part Part
other physical asset is arguably the process people
real “promise” of BIM and where the
most value lies (see Chapter 5). All
collaboration
The “I” is central to BIM
BIM is all about information –
how it is captured for the entire
lifecycle of the asset, and how
it is made available to the project
participants that work with it.
Part
software
Because it relies on common
processes and the controlled sharing
of project information among team So…how to describe BIM?
members, BIM is BIM is part process, part
a deeply collaborative process.
people, part software,
Effective collaboration is
and all collaboration.
essential to a successful
BIM project.
Next
Find out about the BIM explosion
 3
The BIM Boom: 2,600% growth in 3 years
In one form or another, BIM has been in use
for decades – particularly in industries such
as aerospace and oil and gas.

Introduction
Over several years, the uptake
of BIM within the construction
industry has been increasing
Let’s be clear rapidly. Without question, we’re now
about BIM
seeing the tipping point.
The BIM This becomes abundantly clear
Boom when you analyze the volume of BIM
files being stored on the Aconex
Believe the collaboration platform. Aconex is
hype about the world’s most widely used system
and small, commercial as well as
infrastructure. BIM has now moved
from the early
Explosion of BIM
Models stored on Aconex
adopters to the mainstream.
300,000
It’s not just that more project teams
are adopting BIM. A closer look at 250,000
the figures shows that the
size of the models has almost
200,000
doubled over the past five years. The
average file size is now 54MB, up

Number of model files

better projects for the storage and management of from 28MB five years ago, and the 150,000
project information such as drawings, largest is 870MB, up from 426MB in
The promise documents and correspondence. the same period.
100,000
of BIM A look into the past few years of
project data on the system offers
It’s (still) some interesting insights. Average Maximum 50,000
all about
collaboration In 2009, hardly any BIM models
2009 2010 2011 2012
Common
were being managed on the platform
– less than 10,000 in total. In 2012,
54 MB92%
% 104%
870MB
challenges on
BIM projects there were 270,000 BIM models
stored on the Aconex platform – The statistics tell the tale. Project
5 tips for representing 2,600% growth in three teams around the world are boarding
BIM success years. the BIM train, and the train is gathering
speed. But does BIM really deliver
In a relatively short time, BIM has that much value?
gone from an emerging trend to
a fixture on almost a third of the
projects that use Aconex – both large Next
Learn about the benefits of BIM
 4
Believe the hype about better projects
Although the industry is still learning about the far-reaching
potential of BIM, some real benefits for organizations and
their projects are already becoming clear.

Introduction
Time savings Smoother handover The longer-term outcome of these
Leading firms have reported that The provision of detailed benefits is higher-quality projects
using BIM to achieve consensus on information about every aspect – projects that are better designed
Let’s be clear design concepts early in of the building continues to deliver and delivered faster, with lower risk
about BIM and fewer
development can yield up to benefits after handover.
50% time savings on a project. disputes.
The BIM ROI
Boom Clash detection A McGraw-Hill Construction report, A footnote to this is that some
and avoiding rework “The Business Value of BIM”, found of the obvious and early savings
Believe the A BIM model allows virtual that 87% of expert BIM users have come during the design and
hype about construction prior to physical seen positive returns – mainly from construction phases of a project.
better projects construction, eliminating clashes enhanced collaboration, streamlined This low-hanging fruit seems
of model components. This saves processes and increased to be what is driving firms to
The promise both time and money. productivity. adopt BIM. But buyers and users –
of BIM especially governments around the
Improved productivity Competitive advantage world – are starting to
It’s (still) There are productivity gains across In the same report, more than half appreciate that the real benefits
all about the project team, resulting from less of BIM users said that ‘offering new of BIM come through effective,
collaboration error and rework services with BIM’ was complete and accurate
and fewer RFIs for owners a significant advantage. handover – leading to significant
Common
and contractors to handle. cost savings in managing
challenges on
BIM projects facilities. This is a key point worth
further exploration.
5 tips for
BIM success

Next
The “promise” of BIM
 5
The promise of BIM: Better lifecycle
management
As we’ve seen from the previous chapter, the payoffs of BIM can
be considerable. However, the real promise of BIM is something
that often eludes project teams – full lifecycle management.

Introduction
Information leakage
Typically, information on a project
is accumulated with limited
Let’s be clear cross-referencing or linkage of the
about BIM
data. As the information is passed
from team to team through the
The BIM phases of a project, there is often
Boom information ‘leakage’. For the owner,
its useful life), maximizing value
through the longest and most
expensive phase makes business
sense. Collaborative BIM promises to
ensure that all information is Lifecycle management
seamlessly transitioned from one on BIM project
phase to another, resulting in an
asset with a set of information far

Information Captured/Lost
this leads to pain points such as, “Is richer, and of far greater value.
Believe the my handover data complete? Is it
hype about accurate? Can Typical project
better projects I use it?” information
management
The promise Seamless transition
of BIM When a linked data set is created
and passed from team to team Time
It’s (still) as a project progresses, no data
Design Construction Operations
all about is lost, and maximum value
collaboration is delivered. Since only about 10% of
the lifecycle cost of the
Common
challenges on
physical asset is in construction
BIM projects (the other 90% being in managing
and maintaining the asset during
5 tips for
BIM success

Next
The importance of collaboration
 6
It’s (still) all about collaboration
The business benefits of BIM are clear. What’s also
becoming clear is how central collaboration is to
successfully running a project with BIM.

Introduction
An article in Architectural
Record magazine, “BIM Lawsuit
Offers Cautionary Tale”,
Let’s be clear underlines this point. The article
about BIM
focuses on a lawsuit over
construction of a new university
The BIM building in Denver, Colorado. The
Boom project was designed under the
assumption that ‘doing BIM’
Believe the was nothing more than model
hype about creation and management –
better projects but communication and
collaboration were apparently poor.
The promise This assumption that BIM alone
of BIM would somehow cover
collaboration proved costly.
It’s (still)
all about
When things went wrong, the
contractor sued the owner, the
owner sued the architect, and the
insurer involved the MEP engineer.
Everyone ended up spending out
of pocket – to the tune of millions
of dollars.
In this regard, little has changed. BIM
projects, like any other, still need an
audit trail of every
exchange, every decision and every
approval. That’s why
BIM is as much about process
as it is about technology.

“ That’s why BIM is as much about

collaboration

Common
challenges on
BIM projects
process as it is about technology.”
5 tips for
BIM success

Next
The common issues on BIM projects
 7
Common challenges when managing
BIM models
Before jumping in with both feet, project teams should be aware
of some of the common challenges that companies face when
creating and collaborating around their BIM models.

Introduction
Based on Aconex’s discussions with
BIM users around the world, here are
the most common issues:
1 Managing the large file sizes
“BIM and 3D files are huge, often
greater than 50MB. Email can’t
4 Problems linking models
to other project data
“We have lots of other
7 Viewing part of a model
“How do we give a
subcontractor a view of a
Let’s be clear handle this and FTP doesn’t provide information outside the model, particular part of the model for him
about BIM
the control we need. We need to be like 2D drawings, RFIs, spec sheets, to comment on it or resolve an issue?
able to move these files securely and and manuals. How do I don’t want to send
The BIM efficiently among parties.” we link these documents into a 450-megabyte file.”
Boom the model so we can hand over a

Believe the 2 Approvals, audit trails

and milestone sign-off
more complete model?”
8 The handover hangover
“How can I be certain that
hype about
better projects
“How do we keep track of the
hundreds of decisions made around
the model over its life? How do we
5 Publishing slices of models

tools
from different authoring
what I’m handing over to the
client is adequate to satisfy
my obligations so I can move
The promise get approval of “The 3D model is great, but we still on to the next job? I need them
of BIM a model that is generated by need to publish, distribute to have all the information
different authoring tools and and track lots of 2D floor plans, they require to start running
It’s (still) constantly changing from elevations and details. How do we do the asset.”
all about every angle?” that? People don’t carry around 3D
collaboration holographic projections!” By considering these
Common
challenges on 3 Long review cycle times
“How do we reduce cycle times
on clash resolution? 6 Archiving point-in-time
models from joint
challenges early, all participants will
increase their chances
of delivering a successful
BIM projects
Reviews take place on set compilation “We know individual BIM project.
5 tips for intervals, but between those 3D software tracks all changes.
BIM success intervals there’s a lag. That’s where But we have an overall model that
our risk lies. We need more real-time has been generated from different
resolution of clashes.” authoring tools, and we need to save
point-in-time models for sign-off and
approval purposes.”
Next
Tips for BIM success
 8
Five tips for success with BIM
So, having read all about successfully managing
BIM projects and the benefits it can bring to your
business, here are our top 5 tips for BIM success.

4
Introduction

1 Set your standards

BIM is changing the way
construction projects are delivered.
2 Do your research on
systems and tools
They will need to work together
Don’t get overwhelmed
You don’t need every last bit
of technology – or even the latest
Let’s be clear For all of the benefits of BIM, as an integrated solution to allow technology – to win with BIM;
about BIM just make sure you have the
there are also new information collaboration, communication and
management challenges that add workflow management – and fundamentals covered.
The BIM complexity to projects. How do you provide an audit trail. Where
Boom share and distribute these very large
BIM models? How
do you manage reviews and
possible, select programs and
platforms that are compatible
with each other and support full
5 If you’re not doing BIM
already, just get started
BIM users around the world are
Believe the
hype about approvals across many different interoperability. This will save you seeing positive returns, while
better projects parties? What about clear, and your IT team a lot of stress. non-BIM users are being left behind.
structured communications with Like any other process, BIM is all
The promise
of BIM
a reliable audit trail? Addressing
these challenges with processes and
standards – and making it easy for all
3 Think about collaboration
Establishing an effective
collaboration environment
about measurement and learning.
Get going at a basic level, or on
specific small projects,
It’s (still) parties to adhere to them – is critical among team members should and see how it works for you.
all about to BIM project success. be your highest priority, and it won’t
collaboration just happen. Comprehensive Good luck!
collaboration and integration of
Common
challenges on processes among parties is central
BIM projects to BIM project success

5 tips for
BIM success

Next
Find out more
 Find out more

Introduction
Blogs on BIM and About Aconex
Collaboration Aconex provides the #1 cloud Founded in 2000, Aconex
- All Things BIM solution to manage information and has 40 offices throughout the
Let’s be clear - BIMx processes for the world’s largest world, including headquarters
about BIM
- BIM Aficionado construction and engineering in Melbourne, Australia and San
- CAD vs BIM projects. Francisco, California.
The BIM - BIM Blog
Boom -
-
BIM Boom
Debunk the BIM
Aconex gives owners and
contractors project-wide visibility
If you’d like to talk to us, visit
Believe the
hype about
- Extranet Evolution and control between the many
different organizations collaborating
aconex.com/BIM
better projects across their projects.

The promise With more than 500,000 users and

of BIM over US$1 trillion of project value
delivered in 70 countries, Aconex is
It’s (still) the industry’s most widely adopted
all about and trusted platform.
collaboration
The company’s global customer
Common
challenges on base includes nine of the top ten
BIM projects engineering, procurement and
construction (EPC/EPCM) firms,
5 tips for 23 of the 25 largest global design
BIM success firms, and nearly all Fortune 500
construction and engineering
companies.

©Aconex Limited 2014