Why you should incorporate BIM into your project workflow

“Do you use Revit?”

Usually when a potential client asks us this question, we know what they’re really asking: Do you incorporate building information modeling (BIM) into your process?

The answer is a resounding yes!

For us, BIM is bigger than an industry buzzword. It’s a great way to ensure budget and scheduling savings on your construction project while using data to make your project experience smoother and more collaborative.

What is BIM?

BIM is a data-driven workflow process that centralizes design, estimation, and management across the project lifecycle. BIM uses 3D modeling and has the ability to incorporate 4D scheduling, 5D cost estimating capabilities and XD analyses like spatial coordination and facility management. This allows further collaboration through the entire project life cycle from design through construction through building management.

While Revit is the software program most associated with BIM, BIM is more than just Revit: BIM is the system; Revit is the software.

We know many designers and architects use AutoCAD, and most students are taught CAD software but wonder about the benefits of Revit and BIM. We’re comfortable with both programs but find that the future of the industry is moving toward tools like Revit.

The key feature of BIM is the workflow component for stakeholders since the construction industry still has a siloed approach to design and planning. With BIM capabilities, all the design work is in one place as a shared model. Each stakeholder can collaborate on the design of a project.

BIM is successful because the datasets are synchronized in one spot. If someone designs or changes a schematic, BIM registers the schematic for each stakeholder. So, everyone is working off the same data and design in real-time.

What’s the benefit of BIM?

Some of the points addressed above may give some firms pause, and they might help to explain why a lot of architectural students aren’t learning BIM in schools. To have that level of interoperability requires technological and workflow savvy that is still a recent innovation.

The growth of BIM is undeniable. BIM is quickly becoming the industry standard in design and construction.

Here are some reasons why we offer BIM as a service for our clients:

1. More accurate estimates lead to building cost savings.

While the construction industry is coming back from the halt in production last year, that doesn’t mean costs will decrease. In fact, it’s the opposite: Total construction costs are expected to increase between four to seven percent in 2022.

The market for material costs and labor is still very volatile, so every cost estimate truly counts. In a centralized platform, BIM can create cost estimates and documentation faster than other traditional means while using more accurate data.

This comes in handy for  the contractors, who need to have correct estimates for prefabrication models, to cost out what the project will require for materials and contracting work.  Our design models aid the contractor to create more accurate estimates.

2. BIM reduces conflicts and increases transparency.

By using BIM at the start of a project, engineers can create a more holistic package of the design and functionality of the structure they’re building. Having more complete data can give owners, developers and designers more control over projects. Stakeholders can find design conflicts earlier in the process and work on ways to fix them. This can help minimize change orders and scheduling delays.

BIM also provides firms like us with a way to have more transparent communication on projects. The BIM process brings owners, architects, contractors and our mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) designers together early in the project. This facilitates collaboration and communication across all milestones of the project making BIM an efficient way to achieve transparency.

3. BIM is working toward a new mindset in construction.

For us, this is the biggest reason we use BIM. The AEC industry is still very traditional in its approach. While there are a lot of tried-and-true approaches, they often lead to doing the bare minimum to get a project moving. Cost overruns and scheduling delays are the given, not the exception.

For us, that’s simply not good enough. Our engineers are willing to try new technologies so we can offer the best solutions.

We focus on collaboration because that’s the best way to build. Working together, we can build more energy-efficient and sustainable buildings by using new technologies that minimize risk for our clients to produce the best project experience.

To answer your question: yes, we use Revit. More so, we’re ready to fully partner with you on your project.

Get in touch with us to learn more about how we incorporate BIM into our work.