BIM Reading

During our last class, I had asked the speaker from Kling Stubbins if he believed that there would be a time where the design team hands over a BIM model to the contractor rather than traditional design documents. While his answer was that he believed we were a very long way away from that, I decided to read up on some of the issues that are associated with this method.

In this article by Design Intelligence, the author discusses how the American Institute of Architects recently published standard form contract documents for projects using BIM design. In this form, five catagories are addressed: (1) How the standard of care evolves as BIM becomes more prevalent, (2) Ownership and usage rights of the building information model, (3) Tailoring contracts to address BIM use, (4) Contributions to the model under state licensing controls, and (5) Covering BIM claims with professional liability insurance. Surely there are potential issues with handing over a real parametric three dimensional building model to the contractor, but the state of the industry seems to be utilizing BIM only to create the same exact drawings that we used to make in CAD (and by pencil and paper before that).  Rather than create legal contracts which depend on traditional construction documents, focus should be on protecting design professionals from the liability that comes with handing over an entire 3D model to contractors. While this would require the entire industry to change, professional organizations such as the AIA and ASCE have the ability and following to expedite this transition.

A second article I read, titled "Integrated Project Delivery," discusses a much more progressive approach to utilizing BIM in construction projects. In this article, the author argues that BIM should be used to foster a free channel of communication between architects, engineers, and contractors. Additionally, the article discusses a new contract that the AIA developed which enables the owner, design professionals, and contractors to create a project such that they share the risks and rewards by working together from the beginning. In this agreement, the three parties form a limited liability company with each a company member.This model would be great for BIM implementation because a BIM model can potentially allow all parties to the design to catch problems before they enter the field. However, as previously mentioned the major trade industries would have to fully support these contract types in order to see widespread change.

Finally, in the assigned reading, the author provides a survey of different BIM products, namely Autodesk's Revit and Bentley's various BIM tools. The author discusses how each software package has unique strengths, as well as weaknesses. At this point in time, it is evident that BIM is only in its infancy. Adoption of BIM by an entire design team, in such a way as was described in the "Intetegrated Project Delivery" article will most likely need much greater interoperability than is currently capable with the available software packages.