Building Information Modeling For Dummies®
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, www.wiley.com
This edition first published 2016
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Perhaps you keep hearing about Building Information Modeling (BIM) and want to work out what all the fuss is about. You may be a complete beginner in digital design and construction, looking for the basics. You may be a confident CAD user who wants to understand what BIM brings to the party. Or maybe you’re already very experienced in implementing BIM processes and you’re just interested in what we have to say in Building Information Modeling (BIM) For Dummies. We understand that you could be at various stages of knowledge and levels of experience. BIM is a process and it needs people like you to fuel it.
BIM isn’t just a buzzword. It’s actually been around for a long time, but the foundations to make it really work weren’t in place before now. We’ve seen BIM generate new efficiencies and new challenges too, and we’ve also seen how construction is hit hard by global economic recession. Our aim is to give you the push you need to start, accelerate, or maximize your use of BIM. It’s our great pleasure to guide you through your BIM implementation journey.
More than likely, you’ve encountered a lot of conflicting, overly complicated, and unhelpful content about BIM online and in print. We intend to make Building Information Modeling (BIM) For Dummies different, cutting through all the noise and providing you with the clear advice and practical guidance that you need to make BIM a success in your job, whatever your level may be. Think of this book as a reference guide that addresses just what you need to know about BIM.
For the purposes of this book, we want to make it clear that we use the terms model and BIM to mean quite different things. Throughout the book we refer to BIM only as the concept of information modeling for buildings. We use terms like 3D CAD, 3D model, and geometric/geometry model interchangeably.
We structure this book to start with the basic concepts and ideas. We then gradually introduce more complicated, detailed, or supplementary content. Within this book, you may note that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If you’re reading this book in print and want to visit one of these sites, simply key in the web address exactly as it’s noted in the text, pretending that the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading it as an e-book, then you can just click the web address and the page will open in your default Internet browser.
One thing we should note is that we’re all based in the UK, and that’s where our expertise comes from, but we’ve tried wherever we can to balance this with a US perspective throughout and a global reference where relevant.
BIM is such a fast-moving target that during the writing process things shifted and new documents were released. We focus on pointing out the most current versions of guidelines and protocols that we reference at the time of writing.
Now, in order to write a practical guide to BIM and not just another boring textbook, we make some assumptions about you, our dear reader. Those assumptions are as follows:
You don’t need to know how to use CAD software in order to gain insight from this book, because we think the software platforms are only one part of BIM and that model technicians are just one role in many BIM responsibilities.
You also don’t need to have any project management background. We explain the majority of management concepts throughout the book, but you may find understanding how to implement BIM processes easier if you’ve run jobs or managed a project team.
We include icons in the left-hand margins that highlight particular parts of the text you may want to remember or pay close attention to. Those icons include the following:
This icon is practical, giving you extra information about how to do something or how to save time in larger tasks.
Remember icons highlight snippets of the book that you should commit to memory. Think of them like those bright sticky notes you may have on your desk.
Try to always read text with a warning icon. With this icon, we point out some pitfalls so that you can avoid BIM disasters, and we also emphasize actions you should take to prevent running into problems.
We flag the more technical information with this icon so that you know which parts are extra to the core content. You don’t have to read these bits to put the rest of the book into practice, although you may find this information interesting.
This icon points out supplemental information online at www.dummies.com/extras/bim.
With your purchase of Building Information Modeling (BIM) For Dummies in print or e-book form, you have access to more exclusive information online. From great checklists on BIM processes to quick practical articles, you can find so many helpful pointers at www.dummies.com/extras/bim.
In addition, every For Dummies book includes a Cheat Sheet with handy information that you may want to consult on a regular basis. You can access the Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/bim.
Every For Dummies is modular, which means that you don’t have to read it in order from cover to cover. If you’re new to the world of BIM, we recommend that you start with Part I because it provides lots of the getting-started information that forms the foundations of BIM implementation. If you have a basic foundation of BIM, you can focus on Chapters 5, 6, or 7.
If you have the time, we suggest that you do read this book from cover to cover to get a complete overview of BIM and the reality of its implementation. You can see the overall picture when you’re able to finally step back and benefit from the wealth of specific knowledge in this book.
If you’re confident that you know all about the basics, you can jump into any part by going directly to it. For example, if your area of interest is the BIM mandates and protocols around the world, you can head straight over to Chapter 9. Alternatively, if you’re looking into the legal aspects of BIM, you can flip to Chapter 14. If you’re not sure where to start, consult the table of contents or index for a topic that interests you and then start reading.
Part I
Go to www.dummies.com for bonus information about BIM and most any other topic that interests you.
In this part …
Find out how to explain what BIM is in a really simple way and understand what you really need for BIM implementation.
Appreciate that BIM isn’t just for buildings, but suitable for all kinds of infrastructure projects too, and look at examples of how more efficient processes are impacting the industry.
Make it easy to interrogate your project data by filling the model full of structured information, which other project team members can use for a variety of different uses and applications.
Use the right modeling tools to develop accurate 3D object information and see the benefits of detailed modeling.
Set up a common understanding of what BIM is for and agree on the fundamentals of BIM with your colleagues and project teams.
Chapter 1
In This Chapter
Exploring what BIM actually is
Comprehending how BIM can help you
Explaining the BIM plans and strategies you need to be successful
Getting excited about BIM and encouraging others
The construction industry has been doing things the same way for thousands of years. Concrete is poured and set, bricks are stacked on top of bricks, and systems for heating and water are designed around corners and over multiple floors. For way too long, the construction industry has done a lot of these processes in isolation. At its worst, the construction industry brings some people involved in the construction of an asset like a building or a bridge onto the project just in time for their part, and the project team has to work around decisions or redo work, often on-site and under pressure of project deadlines.
Even in some of the most collaborative schemes, communication between different teams still has a long way to go, and the other users of building data and outputs, like clients and facility managers, are sometimes the last to know. The quality and quantity of data they receive on a project can vary wildly. What you need is a way to involve the entire project team earlier and coordinate all the project information in clear and accessible forms.
If only a combination of processes and technology existed that provided the framework to improve communication and data exchange across the construction industry, no matter how large or complicated projects may be. Well, interestingly enough, you’re in luck. This chapter serves as your jumping-off point to that very process: Building Information Modeling, commonly shortened to BIM.
Here we provide a good definition for the term BIM so that the three members of your author team and you are on the same page. Frustratingly, BIM actually has lots of definitions, many generated by various organizations, because the subject has changed over the years. To prevent any confusion, we present you with our own definition that we think really clearly explains what BIM is and what it isn’t.
Most people agree that the acronym BIM stands for Building Information Modeling, but a few folks argue for Building Information Management (and, to be honest, some other alternatives too). (The next section takes a closer look at what the three letters in BIM mean.) More often than not, though, BIM is now an accepted acronym, so you don’t need to break it down further anyway, just like RAM for random access memory. We think that BIM is a process, so we could easily use both Modeling and Management in our definition. Here it is:
BIM is a process for combining information and technology to create a digital representation of a project that integrates data from many sources and evolves in parallel with the real project across its entire timeline, including design, construction, and in-use operational information.
BIM stands alone as a word in its own right, and you can feel confident using it, instead of having to say “Building Information Modeling” in full every time. But when it comes to understanding what BIM really is and explaining it to other people, those three letters can be a very useful place to begin. The following list gives a bit more detail about the A-B-Cs of BIM, or, more accurately, the B-I-Ms!
B: Because the B in BIM stands for building, think of this as the verb to build, and not just the noun, as if BIM was for just physical, discrete buildings. In fact, you can apply BIM to infrastructure, civil engineering, and landscape, along with large-scale public and private projects.
You’re modeling a process, the act of building something. Refer to Chapter 2 for more information on what the B in BIM means and for help on BIM for infrastructure.
I: The I in BIM is about understanding that unless you have information embedded throughout the project content, the work you’re producing is telling only half of the story.
You don’t even really need to worry about the modeling in order to start applying BIM; you can put the processes and data exchanges into practice long before drawing work begins on a project. The real value in BIM is the ability to interrogate the model and find the data you need, when you need it. Turn to Chapter 3 for some great examples of information modeling from other industries, like aeronautics and automotive racing.
One of the simplest ways you can explain BIM is that the project should be built twice: once fully modelled digitally and then again for real on the construction site.
After you comprehend the definition of BIM, the next step is to grasp what BIM is actually trying to achieve. BIM processes aim to make you (and the construction industry as a whole) more efficient, and to allow project teams to make savings in terms of cost, time, and carbon, and removing waste across the timeline. Chapter 5 provides a really simple overview of what BIM is trying to do and some of the key fundamentals you need to know.
Here’s a list of what you really need for BIM implementation to thrive:
Having a clear plan and strategy is essential to the success or failure of your BIM journey. You’ll need an overall strategy for encouraging BIM in your office or on-site. Use the BIM protocols and frameworks to refine and improve your processes and quality assurance, and develop individual BIM execution plans for particular projects.
So that BIM processes have the best possible chance of becoming everyday practice, you want to make a start with your current team and your next project. In Chapter 13, we show you what having a BIM strategy really means and what benefits you can expect from new methods of working. To help you do this, we also present a couple examples of different BIM strategies:
Like everything in life, BIM also has some associated risks that you need to be able to identify. Some of those risks include
Chapter 14 discusses these challenges, what you can do to avoid them, and how to handle them quickly if you should encounter them.
Say that you’ve won over some key decision makers in your organization and they need you to produce a business case for BIM. As part of your business case, you need to justify the capital outlay, which relates to the money your organization spends to implement BIM. You also must consider upheaval that will come from new technology, new team structures, and even new staff. Not only that, but you probably have to demonstrate return on investment (ROI) as quickly as possible.
Your boss is going to want to know how much BIM is going to cost. BIM needs to generate savings and efficiencies that make it worthwhile. In Chapter 15, we pass on some solid examples of BIM benefits that aren’t just aims for the future but exist in the real world today, including the following:
Better information: Because you’re going to be working with digital data and methodologies in the office or on the job site, the accuracy and currency of your information will improve, including precise quantity takeoff and the ability to set the site out such as the asset’s position, levels, and alignment from the model.
Not only that, digital information also allows you to test and validate the data far more quickly than with traditional processes. As the model evolves, instant awareness of the impact of changes at any point in the project leads to better assessment and rapid decision-making.
Data exchange across the project timeline: BIM can help you to avoid data loss over the course of a project. At many points of information exchange, you can use project data more collaboratively with little waste or duplicated effort.
What’s even more important is that multiple roles and disciplines can use the same data on the project, including cooperative working with the supply chain and project participants further down the timeline, like facilities management and operations teams.
As well as including all the information about BIM’s effect on projects today, we take a good opportunity to understand the future of the industry and where new technology like augmented reality (AR) could take BIM and digital construction in Chapters 18 to 20.
The construction industry is finally being disrupted by innovation and new business methods. It won’t be long before the buildings and projects you’re working on are more connected than ever. You may have heard the term smart cities, and BIM is one of the main generators of the embedded digital information required to achieve the connected globe. Through the addition of more smart building sensors, and what’s called the Internet of Things, your understanding of how people really use the built environment (and your own projects) will improve beyond anything you could have previously imagined.
The amount of software and industry documentation you throw at an office doesn’t matter, because so much of BIM implementation is about changing real-world processes and engaging individuals, with their various concerns, agendas, and opinions. How do you go about integrating BIM into real teams with real people?
People are the pulse of BIM, and you need to understand that the same BIM and the outputs it can generate are going to be used by different (and new) roles in the industry, at different times and in very different ways.
You can encourage people to embrace BIM by
There are various processes to BIM and many potential users involved. In more detail, Chapter 12 looks at encouraging BIM processes, and Chapter 17 focuses on BIM users and roles from inception to demolition (and beyond).
Chapter 2
In This Chapter
Introducing the “B” in BIM
Recognizing the types of projects BIM is suitable for
Exploring the use of BIM for infrastructure
Delving into BIM as a process
BIM can seem like a bit of a strange term, and part of the reason it can be so difficult to explain what BIM means is that the letters don’t always help you out. This chapter, Chapter 3, and Chapter 4 take each of the letters of BIM in turn and look at what they mean. This chapter focuses on the B in BIM.
As we discuss in Chapter 1, the B in BIM stands for building, which is true of most definitions of BIM. To avoid any misconceptions, this chapter makes sure the B in BIM doesn’t restrict your view of what BIM is capable of.
What do you think of when you hear the word building? You may think of a physical building like an office, school, stadium, hospital, or house. In that case, BIM refers to information modeling for a single building, including all of the geometry and data for architectural and structural design, mechanical and electrical engineering, and so on.
Actually, building can mean a lot more than just that. The following sections explain that building is a misunderstood word and that BIM can actually be used in many varied industries and projects. If you think of building as a verb, not a noun, you can see that Building Information Modeling is a process, not just a final product.
What makes understanding the building part of BIM difficult is that the word building isn’t clear: it can mean different things to different people.
Try to describe what a building is. Doing so isn’t easy. You can say that buildings are manmade structures, but what separates a building from a statue or monument? You can say they’re permanent constructions with walls and roofs, but you’ll be able to think of temporary buildings you’ve seen and also tunnels that have walls and roofs. In fact, one of the best ways to describe a building involves describing things that aren’t buildings, and even that’s confusing. Is a bridge a building? Is the Eiffel Tower a building?
The term building originally comes from ancient words for house. That’s why people can think of buildings just as spaces they use for living or working or leisure.
If you think of building as a verb, meaning the same as construction or the process of putting things together, then that begins to expand what BIM can apply to. Then BIM isn’t just suitable for buildings, it’s the act of building things, such as the following:
You can also imagine how it’s suitable for other built environment sectors like
Some people say that the B in BIM proves that it works only for buildings and just doesn’t work for their discipline like tunneling or highways, but this simply isn’t true. Every sector is at different stages of exploring BIM, and great examples already exist of those industries using BIM on live projects, so you shouldn’t get hung up on the word building. For example, the Virtual Construction for Roads (V-Con) project is a European initiative to improve data exchange across civil infrastructure teams by using BIM processes and it’s changing road procurement in the Netherlands, Sweden, and France.
BIM also isn’t just about architecture. Although the building design and construction industries have been the first to adopt the BIM processes and protocols as a group, BIM works for offshore projects, civil engineering, and infrastructure too. The documentation and support is increasing quickly for every sector.
Think of the B in BIM as meaning building as in the verb to build, the action of constructing things. Doing so helps you to understand BIM’s reach in two ways.
In the same way that describing one building that sums up all the buildings in the world is really difficult, summing up BIM using just one example of how it’s been applied is impossible. You can use BIM for every kind of construction project, from giant bridges to manmade islands and even rollercoasters! BIM is a term that has become popular gradually, but it could have just as easily been Construction Information Modeling or Project Information Modeling.
The built environment is very varied and broad in its scope and includes lots of structures that aren’t buildings. When you’re talking about BIM, make sure that you’re not just talking about architecture and the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. A lot of the diagrams and visualizations you see in BIM presentations are of shiny skyscrapers or complex building forms, but people are using BIM workflows elsewhere in the built environment in other ways:
www.crossrail.co.uk) is the largest construction project in Europe and, among many projects, involves the tunneling of 26 miles of brand new underground subway lines. Every aspect of the project, from tunnel engineering to new underground station designs, has used innovative BIM processes for data management and lifecycle operation. We should point out that our focus is primarily on Western design and construction practice, especially looking at BIM in the UK, Europe, and North America. However, a huge amount of BIM uptake occurs in Asia-Pacific regions, South America, and Africa. Increasingly, more information is becoming available about BIM implementation in those territories. We hope that the publisher of BIM For Dummies will let us do another edition to keep you updated!