As our cities grow larger, so does the demand for building projects. To enable sustainable urban development, the construction industry must look to smarter, more efficient ways to design and build. The idea is not just to keep up with growing global demand but also to create more resilient spaces that support health, safety and sustainability.

This is where BIM can make a difference. Essentially, BIM (Building Information Modeling) integrates multi-disciplinary data to create detailed digital representations that can be managed in an open cloud platform for real-time collaboration. The practice allows us to create and manage data during the design, construction and operation stages of a project. By using BIM throughout the lifecycle of a project, we can increase efficiency and performance at every point in the supply chain, leading to a superior end result.

Chris Meir

What makes BIM so useful is the fact that it can deliver diverse benefits across disciplines or parties involved in a project to work simultaneously and in real-time. This ensures all parties are up to date with the project at every stage, ultimately encouraging improved synergy and, thus, more seamless delivery. From reducing risks to enabling true value engineering, BIM can add value through plan, design, build and operation processes in many ways. When it comes to planning, BIM allows for more informed planning by combining reality capture with real-world data to generate contextual models that take into account the existing and natural environment.

During the design phase, BIM data should be used to inform the pre-construction processes. Conceptual design, analysis, detailing and documentation can all be done in real-time to keep everybody involved up to date. By doing so, the design phase becomes a more seamless process, eliminating risks later in the project.

BIM provides an actual representation of how the building will function. This includes displaying routes for pipework and other systems. By using BIM, you can detect potential clashes early on, in order to avoid further cost issues down the line. BIM enables you to take a preventative approach to construction. Not only does this approach save costs, but it also eliminates the need for reconstruction, which can lead to delays, further costs and inconveniences for occupants. It’s safe to say that prevention is indeed the best protection.

With an accurate visual representation of the project, designers are also given an added opportunity for flexibility. For example, they can more easily experiment with the design to optimise space, creating further opportunities to maximise usable real estate.

During the build phase, fabrication should begin by using BIM specifications. BIM should be used to drive decisions and shape the creation of a project. It allows for early stage engagement across the supply chain to ensure that when the build phase is reached, a significant amount of risk has already been mitigated. When it comes to operations, BIM can be embraced by facility managers as a useful tool to understand how the building works and also to detect problems and drive decisions in terms of maintenance.

Currently, it is predicted that 95% of data on construction projects goes unused. BIM is designed to be used through the lifecycle of a project, and can be extremely beneficial even after project completion. It can be used to implement energy upgrades to HVAC systems, or to guide the retrofit of new systems into the building. BIM is also extremely useful for maintenance. By using a live model of the building to guide maintenance, you can avoid deconstruction or unnecessary renovations. It also ensures superior operation of a building by offering an accurate point of reference even as the building changes – whether that be changes to staff, occupants or even function of the building.

In fact, in many countries, for projects above a certain value, using BIM is mandatory. BIM improves cost, performance and function of a project, as it supports true value engineering. BIM allows the visualisation and testing of systems within a building, enabling you to virtually assess the performance of the building.

In the Middle East, BIM is being increasingly adopted in the construction industry. However, I believe we are currently not employing BIM to its full potential, and hence, we are not experiencing its full benefit.

The way BIM is often carried out in the region lacks true collaboration; it is often treated as a stand-alone discipline that produces the model based on the information that is fed it. Decisions and designs are often made up-front and then handed over to another department, who add on their contribution and pass it on. BIM models are sometimes created in stages, as opposed to being used as a collaborative working model, where all parties contribute simultaneously.

In this region, what we need is an industry-wide BIM strategy. The key is using BIM from conception to creation, and even afterwards. The visualisation should dictate decision-making so that BIM is being used at every stage of construction, and not after the fact.

To truly take advantage of BIM, we must take our current approach a step further. We must drive increased collaboration by making it mandatory for all parties across the supply chain to employ and feed information into BIM throughout the project lifecycle. Only by doing so can we begin to fully harness the power of this innovative practice.

Chris Meir is Specification Sales Manager (Gulf), Conex Bänninger, Middle East. He may be contacted at Chris.meir@ibpgroup.com.