Blog 2 - Chapter 6 BIM for Contractor

The development of BIM has made a tremendous effort in the construction industry. By utilization the BIM technology, the industry can benefit with a smoother and better planned construction process that saves time and money and reduces the potential errors and conflicts (Eastman, 263). With the various successful examples in the construction industry over the past years, it is not hard to come up with the advantages of BIM. However, the details behind the abovementioned advantages may not be widely familiarized, with one of the perspectives mentioned in the chapter – Contractors.

Personally, I have worked in a sub-contractor firm during my internship experience. Almost all of my time were spent on the site. From my personal experience, it was not unusual that the consultants and project manager’s design or ideas were refuted by contractors due to the on-site concerns. In the traditional design-bid-build approach, contractors’ ability to contribute their knowledge to the project’s design is strongly limited. Sometimes consultants or designers need to go to the site to communicate with contractors, and if the design does not work onsite, adjustments have to be made but only after this time-consuming process. However, BIM acts as a collaborative tool to facilitate Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), which enhances a “close contractor coordination” when all of the major subcontractors use the same building model for detailing their portions of the work (Eastman, 264). Eastman also mentioned the advantages of close contractor coordination – permits accurate clash detection and correction of clashes in the early stage of the existence (264). With no doubt, the utilization of the BIM technology allows the contractors and subcontractors to get involved in the design phase which poses a significant value with their experienced onsite knowledge. To further prove the argument, Eastman pointed out that “architect or engineer would not traditionally include means and methods information such as equipment or production rates, which are critical for estimating, scheduling and procurement.” (270) While contractors can use the building model to add construction-specific information to support different construction work processes.

What’s more, it is mentioned that BIM allows scheduler to create, review and edit the 4D models more frequently than other ways (Eastman, 283). In a common sense, the usage of 4D models brings various advantages compared to the traditional 2D CAD drawings. 

In the future, more contractors working in a close collaboration with project teams in design phase will encounter fewer barriers to BIM adoption compared to contractors working in a design-bid-build way (Eastman, 302). Although some may say that the contractors will face challenges in the usage of BIM and design which they are not familiar with, personally I would say it’s just a matter of time. In a long term, when contractors can master BIM as the way they do in 2D plane drawings, much more time and money can be saved, and the potential errors and conflicts can be reduced. 

References
Eastman, Charles M. BIM Handbook : A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers and Contractors. 2011. http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzM2NDIzOV9fQU41?sid=2e33ff9c-0e60-47bb-98e7-5d58d37dc7a6@pdc-v-sessmgr02&vid=0&format=EB&lpid=lp_263&rid=0

Weiyi Tang

I share the same opinions with you on the Integrated Project Delivery rather than the traditional design-bid-build approach since the former one can facilitates a close collaboration between different parties in the design phase. I think this benefits the whole team in terms of time and money. 

Jenny Fretta

I agree that utilizing BIM technology in the proper way does lots of benefits to the owners and Facility Managers as you mentioned. One of them which I want to add a point on is the clashes and collisions discovery at the early stage of their existence. This does not only save the time and money, but also ensuring a safer environment for the workers in the site. 

Blas Andres Rodriguez Vieira

The interoperability among different systems in BIM is doing a significant impact on the construction industry, and this is one of the important focuses of the future development of BIM. Nowadays, BIM’s estimation of time and money still has a room to improve in terms of the accuracy. I agree with your point that when it comes to more complex systems, the interoperability in BIM increases productivity and provides precise drawings.