How is BIM for contractors helping achieve higher project success?

BIM for contractors provides clear intent in bidding and throughout construction process. Now-a-days contractors are handling large infrastructure projects with ease using BIM. Innovative solutions and new services are being offered by contractors within their business models such as BIM Execution Plans, BIM Modeling, BIM Coordination and quality checks, quantity take-off reports, and work breakdown structures (WBS). Contractors are now having more insight and control over their construction projects.

How BIM for contractors helps in building client relationship and avoiding disputes?

It is nearly impossible for designers to show every single design details and ensure fully coordination in their drawings or tender. And even if they could, there is possibility of human error. Traditional bidding process requires contractors to take responsibility for more of the coordination part. If they can’t ensure to protect the intent, they run the risk of complicating relationships with the client.

Why BIM for Contractors is important?

• Coordination is critical for the success of the project. This is not only for time and cost, but for protecting the design intent and delivering the result the client is expecting. By embracing BIM co-ordination, the client’s expectations are protected, and therefore disputes are reduced or avoided. BIM allows for a platform of collaboration across disciplines. It allows for quick and easy interference checks between disciplines and model elements, and therefore informs designers at an earlier stage than traditional methods. In this way, BIM contributes to making their work more economical and spending less time on corrections, which are often not paid extra.

• Easy documentation is what everyone dreams of, especially when there are a lot of things on plate which the contractor needs to take care of. BIM allows contractors to extract construction documentation directly from the BIM models with little efforts as compared to traditional CAD workflows. The biggest advantage BIM provides in documentation is the dynamic behaviour of 3D elements. For example, when a change is made to plan views, it is automatically reflected to the elevations and section views thereby saving time in updating elevations and section views manually like in CAD applications.

• Quantity Take-offs is another big advantage BIM offers to quantity surveyors for construction. As most of the elements are available in 3D with their approximate size, shape, and location. It is easier to determine their quantity as desired by quantity surveyors. Man hours are saved using computer applications in 3D.

• Construction Simulation is a type of value addition of using 3D BIM for contractors. Project planners can plan a construction using advanced planning software by making complex Gantt charts, etc. These Gantt charts can be put into 3D objects representing architecture, structure, MEPF elements and visualization of construction time can be achieved which is called 4D BIM or 4D Construction Simulation.

• Cost planning as per construction timelines can be easily done and can be easily visualized along with 4D Construction Simulation. The rate analysis done by quantity surveyors for construction tasks can also be integrated into Construction Simulation thereby giving clear intent of payment stages and investment required along with the progress of construction minimizing delays in payments. It is often regarded as 5D BIM or 5D Cost Analysis.