Building magazine; Is BIM what it says on the tin?

1. XX.XX.200XBUILDINGMAGAZINE
ISBIMWHATITS
I
fyouharbouranyremainingdoubtsover
whetherBIMisgenuinelyenteringthe
constructionindustrymainstream,then
achatwiththetechnicaldirectorofHS2
shoulddispelthemprettyquickly.Ina
keynotespeechtotheBentleySystems’Yearin
Infrastructureconferenceearlierthismonth,
AndrewMcNaughtondetailedhoweventhe
smallestelementsofthe£42bnhigh-speedrail
linkwerebeingmodelledvirtuallyinadvance,
downto“everynewtandbat”residentinthe
countrysidenexttotheline.McNaughtonhas
beenencouragedtopushtheboundariesofthe
technologytoensuretherearenosurprisesonce
thereal-worldconstructiontakesplace.“We’re
notinterestedinjustdoingsafeandcomfortable
things,”hesaid.“Wewanttopushittothelimit.
We’rebettingthehouseonBIM.”
WhilethesheersizeofHS2makestheproject
anexceptionalcase,there’snoarguingthatthe
industry’suseofBIMisgrowing,andgrowing
fast.Thegovernment’smandatethatallpublic
sectorconstructionjobsmustmakeuseofBIM
Level2by2016hascatalysedthesector,with
privatesectorclientsalsostartingtojoinin.HS2’s
ownsurveyofitssupplychain–albeitlikelyto
includemanyofthesector’smoresophisticated
firms–showsthat94%ofthosethatareinlinefor
workontheprojectalreadyuseBIMtosome
extent,and55%claimtohaveusedittoLevel2.
Building’sownsurveyofover150readers–
includingconsultants,architects,engineers,
contractorsandclients–foundslightlymore
modestuptake,withjustoverhalfsayingthey
hadusedBIMonrealprojects.Thismatchedthe
findingsofthethirdnationalBIMsurveybyNBS
earlierthisyear,inwhich54%claimedBIM
experience.OfBuilding’sreaders,justundera
thirdsaidtheyhadreachedLevel2.
Nevertheless,asignificant,andpossiblyless
vocal,partoftheindustryremainstobe
convinced.Sowhatarethemainreservations
abouttheuseofBIM,andhowjustifiedarethey?
Believethehype?
OfthosesurveyedbyBuilding,45%feltthatthe
benefitsofBIMaremorehypethansubstanceat
thecurrenttime.Whileover70%ofthoseusing
feature/BIM/31
BUILDINGMAGAZINE21.11.2014
SAYS
ONTHETIN?WhileBuilding’sBIMsurveyindicatesthatadoptionofthetechnology
isincreasing,thereisgrowinganxietyaboutitseffectonthedynamics
ofprojectteams.Isitcedingyetmorecontroltocontactors?Orare
architectsstrikingback?JoeyGardinerreports
BIMonprojectssaidtheywereseeingimproved
clashdetection,justoverathirdreportedcost
savings,andsimilarlowfiguressawbenefitsin
termsofqualityofconstruction,morepredictable
builtperformanceorbettermanagementofthe
programme.Asignificantminorityreported
seeingabsolutelynobenefitsatall.Somesaidit
wasdetrimentalbecausemanagingthe
technologydivertedresourcesawayfromareas
wheretheywouldbebetterdeployed.
Superficially,oursurvey,likethosecarriedout
byNBSandHS2,indicatesalargeuptakeof
BIM,with52%sayingtheyhaveusediton
projects.Cruciallyhowever,whenthosethatdo
useitwereaskedhowmuchtheyuseit,aclear
majority–over65%–saiditmadeuplessthana
thirdoftheirworkload.
ChrisWitte,marketingdirectorofnorthern
EuropeforKnaufInsulation,says:“Most
architectsthatareaskedwhethertheyaredoing
BIMwillsayyes.Therealityisthattheyareeither
justusing3Dmodelling,whichisn’tBIM,orthey
haveacoupleofpeopleonacoupleofprojects
thatareusingproductmanufacturerdatawithin
themodel,butthisonlyaccountsforasmall
percentageoftheiroverallwork.”
Aninflexibletool
Inparticular,somearchitectshavedistinct
reservationsaboutBIMsoftwareasadesigntool.
AndwhilemuchofthehypearoundBIMstresses
itsabilitytonudgetheindustrytowardsamore
collaborativewayofworking,forsomeit
representsafurtherdiminutionofthecreative
aspectofthedesignprocess,puttingmorepower
inthehandsofcontractors.
DavidArdill,partnerat320-strongarchitect
SheppardRobson,isonewhothinksthatBIM
needstobeusedcarefully.Thepracticeisfully
integratingBIMasadesignandimplementation
toolforallitsarchitects.Hesaysthatwhilethe
technologywillultimatelyofferanopportunityto
createabetterandmoreefficientdesign
approach,intheshorttermarchitectsneedto
helpshapeBIMtoolssuchasRevittomakethem
asbeneficialaspossibletotheearlydesign
stages.
ArdillsaysthefactthatBIMisusedtocreatea
3Dor4Dmodel(thatis,oneincludingtimeand
schedulinginformation),whichincludesahuge
amountofdetailaboutspecificationandM&E,
makesitusefulforacontractortobuildfrom.But
itmeansitisnotnecessarilyoptimisedfor
designerstoworkwith.
“Rightnowit’snotadesigntool,it’sa
constructionco-ordinationtool.Itasksforahuge
amountofdetailedinformationveryearlyonin
theprocess,whichmakesitverydifficultto
explorechanges.Itpushesyoutomakedecisions
beforeyouneedto,andmeansyoucan’tthink
likeanarchitect,”hesays.Thisdesignissueis
consideredinmoredetailbyBuilding’s
architecturalcorrespondentIkeIjehonpage34.
ButforArdill,theimplicationsofthisgofurther
totherelativerolesofdifferentpartsoftheproject
team.“Icanseetheadvantagesofthisifyou’rea
contractor.It’snosurprisethatcontractorsare
buildinguptheirdesignteams.Architectshaveto
becomemoresophisticatedinfocussingBIMasa
designtool.Otherwisethereisariskthatbuilding
designwillbecomemorestandardised,
potentiallydiminishingthedistinctrolethat
architectscanplayonprojects.”
Anaturalroleforarchitects
Needlesstosay,wheresomeseedifficulties,
othersseeopportunities.DavidHunter,
chairmanofBristol-basedarchitectStride
Treglown,saystherecommendedlegal
frameworkforBIMLevel2enablesarchitectsto
secureadditionalfeesthroughtherequirement
fordedicatedconsultantstomanagethe
informationonbehalfofthewholedesignteam.
Heusesasanexampleacriticalcarehospitalin
Hampshirewherethefirmisleadconsultantand
hasbeenallocatedanadditionalspecificfeeto
administerthe“sheervolume”ofdatabeing
generated.“Forcertainprojectsthisisattracting
afee.Youneedtohavepeoplewhounderstand
thetechnology,andtypicallyweneedsomeone
specificallyspendingtimetomakeitwork
together.It’sanaturalextensionofthelead
consultantrole.”
Building’ssurveysupportstheideathatitis
mostlyarchitectstakingonthisco-ordination
role,withaboutathirdofrespondentssuggesting
thatthisisthecase–afarlargerproportionthan
foranyothermemberoftheprojectteam.
Butbeyondtheextrafees,thereis,saysHunter,
abiggerprizeforarchitects.“Idothinktheyseem
tobeprettywellplacedtograbthemselvesa
positionintheconstructionindustrythatthey
usedtooccupyandhasbeenlost,”hesays,
referringtothetime,beforethegrowthof
independentprojectmanagers,QSsand
IT’SNOTADESIGNTOOL…
ITASKSFORAHUGEAMOUNT
OFDETAILEDINFORMATION
VERYEARLYON,WHICH
MAKESITVERYDIFFICULTTO
EXPLORECHANGES
DAVIDARDILL,SHEPPARDROBSON
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