Mar 26, 2015 --  Building Information Modeling provides a more comprehensive overview of the building process enabling the designers to come up with more efficient and attractive buildings. The article enumerates the advantages of the new modeling system.

The AEC Associates Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a very accurate digital representation of the physical and functional characteristics of the building. The introduction of sophisticated computer software during the last decades of the 20th century ushered the AEC industry into an era of faster,more accurate and efficient design and drafting process no doubt, yet BIM has the capability to provide an even more accurate, more efficient and more client friendly design environment. Being a shared information resource, Building Information Modeling offers a more comprehensive overview of the whole building process to all the stakeholders,including the building owners, and enables them to take the right decisions based on a reliable information pool that prevents the loss of information when the project is handed over to the next stakeholder.

Preventing loss of information:

The loss of information has always been the biggest problem with all the conventional systems of construction. As mentioned above, there is always certain loss of information whenever the project is handed over from one stakeholder to the next. This problem becomes so grave because all the stakeholders tend to work in isolation not sharing vital information with other stakeholders. Typically in a building project, a structural engineer would be unaware of what the architect is doing, and the architect just wouldn’t know about what the electrical or mechanical consultants are up to until it’s too late sometimes. Most of the times, the owners/ operators of a building don’t possess the complete set of drawings and are at a loss when something goes wrong at a later stage.

A more responsible process:

Architects or contractors usually don’t own the responsibility of a structure for a very long time after it is commissioned, but BIM envelops the entire life cycle of a structure. It is responsible for the wellbeing of the building right from the early design conceptualization stage to its demolition. Every stakeholder inputs all the relevant information from time to time and this information pool remains intact for the entire lifespan. Thus, a new occupant can access all the relevant information even if the occupancy is changed at a later stage.

A consistent process:

Building Information Modeling possesses a whole set of powerful design tools. These tools allow the designers to extract different views from a comprehensive building model enabling them to produce drawings that give a very accurate and realistic idea of the actual structure. The process is very consistent as these drawings are based on a single instance of each object making them accurate and consistent.

Even though the AEC professionals have been a little reluctant in adopting BIM since it’s a complex process, they are gradually beginning to understand its benefits and are ready to embrace it. BIM holds great promise for all the stakeholders, including the building owners, providing an environment of clear understanding and thus is the future of the building industry.