Sea: BIM (Building Information Modeling)

In 2011, it is about only 13% of 1,000 people in the design and construction industry that were using BIM (Building Information Modeling), with about 43% that were neither aware of nor using it. By 2020, the BIM’s user percentage had increased to 73%, with only 1% that are neither aware of nor using it (NBS,2020). The concept of BIM has been developed since 1970. According to ISO 19650:2019, BIM is “use of a shared digital representation of a built asset to facilitate design, construction and operation processes to form a reliable basis for decisions”. Generally, building design and construction drawings were presented in two-dimensions. BIM has turned them into three-dimensional presentations with all the real details - like when you are playing the computer game The Sims. While many are considering that using BIM requires a massive investment in technology and experts and are worried that it will not be worth the money spent, there are companies which implemented BIM for their construction projects and found a variety of  advantages to BIM. The advantages are the reasons for adopting it.

The first benefit of using BIM is the reduction of construction costs. Krungthep Turakij (2021) stated that there were usually leftover materials from the construction process of about 15%. LPN Wisdom and Solution Co., Ltd. (LWS) had implemented BIM for their project lifecycle. Although they had to invest about 5% of the project cost for BIM, they were able to  save about 10-15% of waste – reducing 5-10% of the project cost. BIM models can present the entire quantity of the material, so the exact amount of materials can be planned and ordered in advance before the construction begins. As a result, the project can be planned to finish on time, avoiding the cost of delay such as the project overhead and other additional costs.

A second benefit of BIM, quite related to the reduction of the cost, is the saving of time. By implementing BIM in a design which is presented in three-dimensional form, designers can create many details and show engineering systems related through drawing. During the construction process, there are multiple parties involved such as designers, architects, engineers, and clients. BIM helps everyone understand the same picture and avoid questions and mistakes that will occur. For example, the clients will know more realistically how the space will be, which can avoid the misunderstanding between the designer's intentions and what clients really want. Imagine how much time we would waste to rebuild if the room is created but the size does not fit? How will the building contractor feel to have to redo the same job twice? 

Another advantage of BIM is the increase in quality of the work. BIM calculates and gives the accurate number for construction. Human error can be prevented. The structure will be built with the exact length and all the components that the program generated. Architecture finishing materials such as tiles will be aware of the starting point and where it will end for aesthetics. Piping systems can be prefabricated from the factory and installed on-site.

To conclude, BIM is a worthwhile investment for construction projects. Reducing the project cost, increasing the quality of work and saving time are three main reasons. These three main points are also the same as the triple constraint for construction project management. As BIM can improve all the constraints, this tells that BIM will work effectively with the construction projects. As colleges now require BIM in their curriculum and companies have started to use BIM for their projects, it is pretty sure that BIM will be a basic requirement for every project in the future of construction.

References

BIM Tuachuay loddonthun kosrang [BIM to reduce construction costs; Thai title: BIM ตัวช่วยลดต้นทุนก่อสร้าง]. (2021, July 3). Krungthep Turakij. https://www.bangkokbiznews.com/news/detail/946829 

Building information modeling. (2021, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Building_information_modeling&oldid=1040211936 

Mineer, D (2015, December 3). Pros & Cons of Using a BIM Model for your Next Project. Construction Monitor. https://www.constructionmonitor.com/blog/2015/12/03/pros-cons-of-using-a-bim-model-for-your-next-project/

NBS (2020). 10th annual BIM Report 2020 [Data set]. NBS Enterprises Ltd. https://architecturaltechnology.com/uploads/assets/3f388415-32f9-408d-85cc2c1adf13d012/TheNBSBIMReport2020.pdf

Reyes, N. Top 5 Benefits of BIM Construction. HMC Architects. https://hmcarchitects.com/news/top-5-benefits-of-bim-construction-2020-05-13/

Somani, N (2019, August 5). 5 Factors to save Time and Cost with BIM!. Linkedin. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-factors-save-time-cost-bim-neha-somani