- Let's jump right into this digital foundations course
with one of the hottest topics related to technology
and architecture, engineering and construction.
Let's talk about BIM or building information modeling.
Now, while BIM might be one of the hottest topics,
it can also be one of the most misunderstood and for some
one of the most frustrating topics in the industry.
There are many expectations surrounding BIM.
Some people have touted it as a cure all solution,
which it's not.
And there have been some
that have predicted that these 3D models
will completely replace
all other forms of construction drawings in the future,
which it probably won't.
Let's start by just defining building information modeling
and talk about what it is at its core.
And then as we progress through this chapter in this course,
I'll expand the discussion
to include all of the additional features
that can be integrated into a model.
I always like to go out and research
what other people have to say
about the topics that I'm teaching.
So I went out in search of a simple definition for BIM.
And that really identified for me
why BIM can be such a complex and often confusing topic,
it was difficult for me to find a concise,
easy to understand definition.
Wikipedia has a great discussion and an outline
of the history and development of BIM.
So that's a good place to go,
if you want to learn about those aspects.
But their definition
is that BIM is a process supported by various tools,
technologies and contracts
involving the generation and management
of digital representations
of physical and functional characteristics of places.
I don't know about you,
but that really doesn't tell me much,
so I dug a little deeper.
Autodesk is the maker of BIM software platforms and tools
that include things like Revit and BIM 360
and they released one of the first extensive white papers
describing BIM back in 2002.
So I checked out their definition
over on engineering.com,
which is another site that I like to use for research.
There, they had a discussion with an Autodesk executive
who stated that BIM is an intelligent model based process
that helps make design engineering
project and operational information, accurate, accessible,
and actionable for buildings and infrastructure.
Again, that tells me a little more,
but it certainly doesn't clear things up much for me.
So I looked one more place to a company called GRAPHISOFT,
which makes ArchiCAD, which some people consider
to be the very first BIM software platform
that actually ran on a personal computer.
Their definition was somewhat different
than the previous two.
They say that BIM is the use
of 3D virtual models of buildings
as well as a process of managing
and collecting building data.
They say that when it comes to BIM,
everything starts with a 3D digital model of the building.
Now, this is starting to sound better to me,
and it starts to clarify things by stating clearly
that everything starts a the 3D
digital model of the building.
Now, since I was on engineering.com,
doing some research anyway,
I decided to include one more definition
from another company that's been
in the BIM industry for a while, and that's Bentley Systems.
So Bentley states that using a BIM methodology
improves collaboration,
and it ensures a new level of control
over projects of all sizes.
Better Project outcomes are achieved
through a complete flow of information
among applications and across distributed project teams
for greater accuracy across the entire supply chain.
Again, it's great information,
but I'm not sure any of these four definitions of BIM
really clarifies it for me.
This, I think, is one of the reasons that so many of us
are confused about building information modeling,
what it is and what it can do.
It seems like the industry as a whole
can't agree on a single definition.
Other than that very first one from Wikipedia
that's so broad that it still leaves you guessing.
I think that what further complicates the issue
is that BIM is fairly new to the industry.
Now, I know that the concept has been around
in one form or another since actually the 1970s.
But it's really only been called BIM since the 90s.
And that really only even took hold after Autodesk
published their white paper in 2002.
So really, for our industry,
an industry that historically adopts technology
at a very slow pace, that's pretty new.
There are some consensus based international standards
that are emerging from ISO,
the international standards organization,
one was published in 2012, that's called ISO 12911,
and that established a framework
for providing specifications for the commissioning
of Building Information modeling.
And then they recently published another one in 2019,
called ISO 19650.
And that finally defines the organization
and digitization of information
about buildings and civil engineering works,
including building information modeling.
But personally, the ISO standards for me
are a great forum
for outlining specifications and requirements,
but they're not where I tend to learn something quickly.
The ISO definition of BIM, by the way,
is a shared digital representation
of physical and functional characteristics
of any built object including
buildings, bridges, roads, and process plants.
So where does this all leave us?
Well, it leaves us discussing a topic
that is a somewhat new concept in the industry.
topic that's only recently seen
some broad based standards being developed,
and a topic that's described differently
by different industry stakeholders.
So don't feel bad if it leaves you a bit confused.
All of the descriptions that I've given you so far
are correct.
It's just that each one tends to focus on a specific area
or aspect of BIM as being the key, when in reality,
the key aspect of BIM is going to vary
depending on what it is you want to get out of it.
Here's how I'm going to define building information modeling
for the purpose of this course.
A building information model is a 3D virtual representation
of a structure or facility, which can also contain
embedded information about that structure and its components
that can be used to facilitate collaboration
and information sharing in design, engineering,
construction, operation and maintenance.
I agree with the GRAPHISOFT definition,
that everything starts with the 3D digital model.
I also agree with all the other definitions
that talk about embedded information,
and the use of that information
to facilitate better collaboration
on everything from controlling the supply chain
during procurement to aiding an operation and maintenance
after the building is commissioned.
However, it's the level of detail
in a building information model
that will vary drastically from one project to another.
That makes it important to understand that while BIM
can include virtual representations,
and embedded information for every single component
and assembly in a structure,
it doesn't necessarily always include
that level of detail and information.
This can make one model look very different
from another model.
It doesn't mean one model is deficient.
It just means that we need to be more descriptive
when we use the term BIM
so that we properly manage all of the expectations
of all of the stakeholders in a project