Building Information Modeling: The future of development, design and construction

Over the last several years, Building Information Modeling (BIM) has been one of the hottest topics in development, design and construction; however, BIM is not new. In fact, it has been in use by many design firms and others for more than 10 years and its recent popularity will only grow as the technology continues to improve. There is no doubt that BIM is the future of the industry, and building industry participants will need to know what BIM is, understand the benefits and potential, and be prepared to address the uncertainties that remain about its implementation. The building industry is working to address these uncertainties, including the exploration of new relationships and novel methods of project delivery, which will allow the full benefits of BIM to be realized. For the unfamiliar, at its most basic level, BIM is a design and construction tool that uses digital technology to create a three-dimensional model in which a structure's characteristics and components are defined and related to one another. The result is a model in which a change to any component will automatically make all necessary corresponding changes to other parts of the model according to the internal parameters established by the designer or other user. In other words, if, for example, a window is moved, all other affected components (e.g. interior walls and doors) will be changed as well. In addition, the changes will automatically be reflected throughout the design (e.g. a change to an elevation will also be changed in plan and section). Essentially, the entire structure can be constructed "virtually" before a shovel even goes into the ground—with varying degrees of specificity based on model scope and inputs. In its full application, the model data can be used to generate all types of related sets of information, including estimates, schedules, material lists and even shop drawings, and can continue to be an invaluable tool in operations and maintenance throughout the life of the building. The potential applications of this technology are astounding. Any discussion of BIM naturally begins with the numerous advantages it offers. There are benefits at all stages of a project and to all participants: developer, designers, contractors and end-user. During program development and design, BIM facilitates the owner's review of alternatives, including the effect a change would have on the project budget, building appearance and even sustainability-related concerns. It also allows the design team to advance the design more quickly and at a lower cost. Perhaps most significantly, BIM improves the design team's ability to identify conflicts between disciplines at a very early stage, dramatically reducing both the volume of contractor requests for information and future contractor claims based on purported design errors and omissions. From a contractor's perspective, BIM simplifies material take-offs and estimating, virtually eliminating associated costs; it also reduces the possibility of counting and computational errors in those processes that can be very costly. The contractor also benefits from the model's clash detection capabilities, not only because of the reduction in RFIs, but also in connection with its own coordination responsibilities and in the integration of any contractor design-build or performance-specified components. BIM is already commonly used with structural steel and can streamline the design-detail-fabrication process while greatly reducing errors and improving accuracy. This, of course, reduces problems in the field and avoids costly late changes and field corrections. The MEP trade contractors can realize similar advantages in both fabrication and installation, and the resulting efficiencies and savings. Benefits to the owner and end-users continue even after completion. BIM facilitates the generation of as-builts (it's virtually automatic) and revolutionizes the concept with the increased potential for later use. At a minimum, any future modifications or repairs to the structure will be more easily visualized, planned and accomplished. In addition, if the right data is input and proper software capability included, the model can be used through the building's life in facility maintenance and operations. An appropriately populated model can be used to budget and schedule maintenance of building systems and can even be used for simulating emergency responses, such as a building evacuation. Given the tremendous potential for BIM and the benefits to all participants, some might be surprised that BIM is not already the predominant project tool. Unfortunately, despite the clear advantages, there are still significant obstacles to be overcome, including legal and insurance issues, technical questions, training requirements, and the problem of integrating BIM into existing business forms or developing more effective legal relationships to accommodate this dynamic technological shift. It is in the context of the design-bid-build project where these issues are most problematic. Within traditional legal relationships, technical uncertainties, in particular, still inhibit the collaborative use of BIM. Unresolved issues include the extent of reliance on a shared model and any resulting liability, the potential for data corruption and loss or misuse, software interoperability problems, potential conflicts between the model and two-dimensional contract documents and intellectual property issues. The technology continues to advance and the "interoperability" movement, which would create standards that will allow separate models or model components (e.g. architectural and structural) created with different software to be integrated or forwarded with fewer translation errors (in theory, none), is gaining ground. This, along with further technological advances and experience, will eventually resolve many of these system, software and data issues. The concerns related to the extent of reliance on a shared model will diminish as confidence in the model grows and the risks are reduced and better understood. This, in turn, will ease concerns about corresponding liability and other legal issues, which will allow the void caused by the current lack of any established standardized BIM-related contracts to be filled. That movement has already begun. In 2007, the AIA published digital data licensing and protocol documents and the ConsensusDOCS released its BIM Addendum in mid-2008. These are a beginning; however, none of these documents are close to being complete BIM project contracts. As BIM becomes more common and model sharing expands, particularly between the design and construction sides of the equation, norms will develop and standardized contracts will be created. This will greatly facilitate the shared use of BIM; however, despite these expected developments, and the improvements they will bring, design-bid-build is not the way of a BIM future. That future lies in design-build or other developing project delivery methods and business models. By its very nature BIM is collaborative. While non-collaborative applications of BIM are productive and improvements over traditional methods, the greatest advantages will be realized when the traditional divisions between design and construction are eliminated. The U.S. Department of Commerce reports that productivity in the construction industry lags severely behind all other non-family farm industries. The most productive course for the building industry to reverse this trend is further movement toward design-build, integrated project delivery and other collaborative arrangements that unify the interests of all project participants to focus on solving problems that arise rather than looking to cast blame or reap financial benefit from another party's error. Design-build is well established and standard contract forms are readily available. The AIA issued its Integrated Project Delivery Guide in 2007 and both the AIA and ConsensusDOCS have issued standardized contract forms for an integrated project delivery method. This progress in the creation of standard contract documents can be expected to continue. For BIM to reach its full potential, the traditional design and construction relationships and business models will need to be revisited and modified. BIM ultimately has the power to force that change. BIM, in connection with any project delivery method, is the future of the building industry and participants who want to continue to be successful and profitable ignore it at their peril. Louis Dennis is a partner for Zetlin & De Chiara LLP, New York, N.Y.