Many industry-leading organizations have improved the efficiency of project delivery and construction workflows and demonstrated added value to owners by leveraging i-models as a way of improving handoff and handover of 3D information models and associated project documentation.

Arabtec Construction LLC used i-models on its 2014 Be Inspired nominated Fairmont Hotel – Abu Dhabi project as a way of simplifying and automating the sharing of models and related project information. Its ultimate goal was 4D and 5D integration and site management at tender, post tender, and during construction stages. Estimates showed that the use of i-models to coordinate the business process for this project reduced the time for project delivery by approximately 1,000 man-days and reduced delivery cost by 30 percent, while improving the quality and reliability of information distributed to the extended enterprise. Ahmed Balawi, BIM manager for Arabtec Construction, said, “Bentley provided a flexible, extendable, and robust platform for content creation and project information management with i-models at the heart.”

Delivering i-models to owners can benefit owners and not just constructors. For example, Chen Han, vice director of DEC for Guangdong Hydropower Planning & Design, commenting on his organization’s 2014 Be Inspired nominated project in the Innovation in Megaprojects category, said, “Thanks to the delivery of i-models of the 3D design of cable laying, we were able to reduce the owners’ maintenance cost. As a result, they provided USD 600,000 in additional design maintenance expenses. The Qingyuan project has also committed to continue to provide additional expenses of USD 700,000 for information-rich i-models in the next project.”

Click here to download images of the Arabtec Construction Fairmont Hotel project.