BIM for Owners and Facility Managers

Chapter 4 in the BIM Handbook was directed towards owners and facilities managers. Since learning about BIM technology in classes and on co-op, I only considered the benefits this technology would yield through coordinating architectural, structural, and mechanical aspects of a project. The chapter I read in the BIM handbook made me aware of how many benefits BIM technology provides for an owner over the course of a project.

The chapter began by discussing why owners should consider using BIM tools throughout their projects. As stated in the handbook, “these tools broadly enhance today ’s CAD capabilities with an improved ability to link design information with business processes, such as estimating, sales forecasts, and operations” (94). With the ability to link estimates and cost analyses with the building design, many miscommunications between owner, designer, and contractor can be eliminated saving the owner both time and money. The handbook also addressed specific areas where BIM technology can be applied. These include cost management, estimating, and quantity take-offs. This chapter even discussed specific tools that owners can use in these areas based on their needs. BIM can also help owners create and manage more accurate project schedules and allow for smoother coordination between all disciplines. Other concerns this chapter addressed were codes and sustainability. BIM modeling can provide automatic checks to ensure a project is meeting all applicable codes and requirements and perform energy analyses.

Another advantage of BIM is the ease of communication between all levels of work on a project. “The computable nature of the 3D building information models makes them an excellent tool for quickly bringing new team members up to speed, so they can understand the scope, requirements, and status of a project” (105). As David stated in his post, "with the ability to model and navigate something in 3D, a building manager can make sure that things are physically arranged in a way that makes the most sense for his needs and functions". The 3D model can be used to show an owner exactly what a design looks like whereas 2D drawings may be confusing or difficult to conceptualize.  Kayleigh mentions how this advantage allows an owner or facility manager to give input on disciplines like MEP that they typically would not be able to visualize during the initial design process.

Not only does this chapter discuss why owners should use BIM, but the authors also addressed how an owner can go about building a project team who can efficiently utilize BIM technology. What I found most interesting was that at the end of the chapter, common myths that prevent owners from implementing BIM were addressed.


Source: BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers, and Contractors. Chuck Eastman, Paul Teicholz, Rafael Sacks and Kathleen Liston Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Chapter 4 - BIM for Owners and Facility Managers

In the industry I have encountered a plethora of ways in which BIM improves the design of buildings that are being engineered. However, up until this point I had not put much thought into the ways in which BIM benefits the owners and facility managers.
In Chapter 4, a thorough discussion of the benefits to owners is discussed, but the particular areas that caught my eye were energy savings and ease of coordination among separate disciplines. Previous to BIM tools, architectural, structural, and MEP systems were rarely comprehensively coordinated in a three dimensional sense, until they went to construction. Now, utilizing a 3D model with all of the disciplines "turned on" you can see potential coordination areas, and facility managers as well as owners have the chance to give their input as to which solutions would work best for them. As Jeanine mentioned in her post, it is of the utmost importance that the owner is fully trained in the capabilities of the software, so as to not miss out on the opportunity to utilize it to its fullest extent.
In terms of energy savings, Revit has the ability to render full scale simulations of energy modeling through daylighting. This can be extremely beneficial when choosing the orientation of a building, in order to take advantage of daylighting.
Overall, the aspect of owner involvement with BIM is crucial in moving forward with this technology.

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BIM for Owners and Facility Managers

BIM software is pushing to become more prevalent in today’s world. In Ryan Krall's post he states, “One thing that is needed as the industry transfers over into the BIM world is the inclusion of contractors along with every member of the design team.” It is important to include the ideas and requirements of all members of the design process when creating building models, especially those of the owners and facility managers. The fourth chapter of the BIM Handbook discusses the benefits that BIM programs have for owners and facility managers.  Generally, owners and facility managers are largely interested in being cost effective and getting the buildings up and running as quickly and safely as possible. The Handbook stresses that BIM can reap great benefits for owners and facility managers. 

First, BIM’s greatest advantage is its ability to link design information with cost estimating and sales forecasts. It allows owners to create extremely accurate cost estimates and avoid cost overruns and unexpected costs by making design changes easier and allowing documentation to automatically update. It also allows for crowd behavior, manufacturing, hospital procedure, maintenance procedure, and emergency evacuation or response simulations. Another important part of BIM software is it can rapidly reconfigure and explore design scenarios, allowing several different design scenarios to be looked at and evaluated before choosing the best one. BIM is also capable of recognizing code violations and performing accurate energy analysis. In Kayleigh's blog she further describes BIMs energy analysis capabilities, saying "In terms of energy savings, Revit has the ability to render full scale simulations of energy modeling through daylighting." These are just a few of the capabilities available by BIM that make it easy to see how owners and facility managers can benefit from this software. 

This chapter also discusses the responsibilities of the owner needed to make the use of BIM as successful as possible for a project team. First, owners must educate themselves on BIM capabilities. Next, they must choose a qualified team with experience or training in use of the software, making sure all members can contribute to the creation, modification, and review of the building model. Finally, they must set forth standards for BIM requirements. They should set standards in the contract that require the use of BIM software. They should also set standards for keeping the files updated, and the techniques of file exchange that will be used. It is important for them to consider the design process when deciding these standards. The Handbook talks about a new approach called Integrated Project Design that forces participants in all facets of the design process to work together. Terry D. Bennet says, “Using models and a BIM workflow to facilitate discussion on the design are an ideal complement to this delivery approach.” I think we will see this approach used more and more in the future!

Source:

http://newsletters.agc.org/newsandviews/2010/07/07/the-impact-of-bim-on-the-engineering-and-heavy-construction-workflow