Blueprint for Success: Navigating BIM Implementation with 5 Key Strategies

Blueprint for Success: Navigating BIM Implementation with 5 Key Strategies

When embarking on a journey as complex as Building Information Modelling (BIM), it can be tricky to tick all the boxes and meet all your requirements. Yet, we know firsthand that successfully integrating BIM into construction projects can impact the outcome enormously. To reap the benefits, you must know how to put BIM into practice—efficiently and effectively. Here, we share our best practice strategies for successful BIM implementation by diving into five pivotal components: people, policy, standards, technology, and process.

People are Core to Successful BIM Implementation

People are at the heart of successful BIM implementation. While a project’s deliverable may be a stunning building, what drives the outcome? It is the many hands and minds that come together to get the building done.

Consider the different experts who collaborate on BIM: engineers, architects, contractors, specialist trades, designers… The list can go on and on. If you consider how many disciplines are involved in making BIM successful, it is clear why people matter so much in construction.

Fostering collaboration from the project’s outset is fundamental. A multidisciplinary approach to BIM encourages smoother project transitions by identifying conflicts early in the process. Visualising projects in their earlier stages empowers project leaders to make decisions when cost and time implications are minimal.

The cooperative spirit embedded in BIM allows all stakeholders to contribute to a shared vision, fostering a holistic approach to construction projects. However, this highly collaborative environment also means that the quality of relationships between leadership, teams, and disciplines can influence a project’s outcome, both positively and negatively.

Disorganised teams who don’t communicate well can open the door to a tense environment where mistakes are more easily made. On the other hand, relationships rooted in trust and knowledge exchange offer a robust base for the BIM process. These are fundamental to best practice and effective BIM application.

Policy Guides Effective BIM Application

As people continue to implement the BIM process across multiple disciplines, the need for organisations to promote a common approach to information management emerges.

The benefits of enforcing a unified policy in the construction industry include increased project efficiency, opportunities to work with international construction markets, and improved collaboration within remote teams. All of which contributes to higher quality work—a key objective of BIM.

In the UK, the government has had the UK BIM Mandate in place since 2011, requiring the technology on all public projects. More recently, the UK government published the Transforming Infrastructure Performance: Roadmap to 2030. This “sets out a vision for innovation and reform in infrastructure delivery”. In 2022, version one of The Construction Playbook was released to outline how public works projects should be assessed and delivered. Another critical document contributing to the UK BIM Framework is the National Infrastructure Strategy. This aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

Standards Shape Best Practices in BIM

By structuring the process of BIM implementation, current standards promote up-to-date design decisions. Integrating local standards and adhering to current BIM compliance and legislation is crucial for successful BIM application and for achieving BIM goals.

There are several BIM standards in the UK and worldwide, one of them being ISO 19650—an international standard that forms part of the UK’s overarching BIM framework. ISO 19650 outlines how models and data must be created, stored, and shared for peak accessibility and coordination between different sectors involved in the project.

Technology Supports Successful BIM Implementation

Technology is a BIM cornerstone because it benefits projects immensely, especially in their earlier stages. It then also improves coordination during a project’s construction phase. Successful BIM implementation leverages technology to make informed decisions throughout a project’s lifecycle.

Tools like Revit or Archicad support the BIM process by streamlining data documentation and generating a flexible model to store and exchange data. Beyond enhancing collaboration and indicating issues, these technologies provide essential data, such as cost and energy analysis, during the early stages of a project. These predictions can transform a project’s outcome by giving stakeholders a chance to spot opportunities to minimise waste, enhance timeliness, and become more cost-effective.

Process Drives Effective BIM Execution

The BIM process is more about the journey than the destination. Understanding that BIM is a holistic tool is a necessity for successful integration. Despite the name, Building Information Modelling is more than simply using a 3D model. It is a strategic approach that encapsulates the project lifecycle from design to completion, while bearing in mind the longer lifespan of a building throughout its operational phase.

Yes, a 3D model is at the centre of a BIM project. But there are additional crucial elements that form the method behind the BIM process. Data is a fundamental factor that, when analysed along with the 3D model, leads to multiple benefits later in a project’s lifetime.

A highly collaborative process like BIM means that precise data can be captured throughout the entire project lifecycle to coordinate, plan, design, and construct a built asset. Rather than basing a project solely around a 3D model, real-time data enables flexibility and encourages information-based decision-making.

Are you looking for help to put our strategies for successful BIM implementation into practice on your next project? Schedule a call with us today: https://maketheshft.digital/contact#contact