Building Information Modeling — A New Approach

By Hafez Daraee

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a new approach to design, construction, and facility management, wherein a digital model is used by the architects, engineers, contractors, and key subcontractors to design the project. With BIM, the project can be built "virtually" before any actual construction is begun. A project designed, built, and analyzed in a virtual environment can be revised and fine-tuned, resulting in efficiencies during the actual building process and in the performance of the finished building that otherwise could not be achieved.

Although BIM is much more than a cutting-edge design tool, it is not free of hurdles that must be surmounted before its full potential can be realized.

The two biggest hurdles are the lack of uniformity among software developers and the lack of a database capable of fully analyzing performance parameters.

1. Software

Perhaps the single greatest advantage of BIM is the ability to simulate construction and determine whether the various design elements will work before those elements are incorporated in the field. All four major producers of BIM software packages have beneficial qualities, but none is fully compatible with the others. The most logical solution — purchasing a copy of the program from each manufacturer — is expensive. The only reasonable solution is source-code sharing by the major software developers (which would provide for software compatibility). As far-fetched as it may sound, software compatibility is on the horizon, thanks to the General Services Administration. The GSA has been using BIM since 2003 and has recently begun experimenting with BIM as a tool for analyzing building performance. The GSA has indicated that BIM vendors should work toward compatibility among the various software products. Because GSA is the single largest landlord in the country (with an inventory of more than 342 million square feet of office space), when it requires something, the market responds! Autodesk, one BIM vendor, has already taken steps toward achieving software compatibility with other providers.

2. Database

The best software program is only as useful as the database from which it derives information for analysis. BIM vendors have so far focused on either the latest object-oriented CAD programs for modeling purposes, or task-specific BIM tools that target specific end-users. No vendor has yet focused on using BIM tools in green design, green development, and green construction. To achieve BIM's green potential, BIM vendors need to develop tools and databases designed specifically with "green" compliance in mind. No such specific product is in existence today.

Despite the hurdles, BIM is here to stay. Consider that:

• Sophisticated public and private owners are beginning to demand BIM and are even changing current agreements in order to allow BIM.
• Case studies measuring the productivity-gain in construction and installation using BIM on precast and cast-in-place concrete structures have shown an increase in the 30 to 40 percent range.
• Of all architectural firms surveyed in 2007, 25 percent reported that they are already using BIM.

An example of how BIM is being incorporated into mainstream construction practices is the Freedom Tower project in New York City, which will be built on the World Trade Center site. The city, designers, and contractors have used BIM from the start, and it has proven to be a valuable tool. For example, BIM identified problems with the design of the HVAC piping system, and the savings resulting from identifying the problems and fixing them before construction began was significant.

BIM is not only a new technology, it is also a changed approach to construction. BIM is the next logical step in the design and construction of projects throughout the world.

Published Winter 2008

This article is intended to inform the reader of general legal principles applicable to the subject area. It is not intended to provide legal advice regarding specific problems or circumstances. Readers should consult with competent counsel with regard to specific situations.

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