Is BIM a Project Management Tool?

Is BIM a Project Management tool ????

From the previous posts we recognize that BIM as a tool we can utilize for coordination…. Integration….. Communication…clash detection….quantity take-off…planning and scheduling…information sharing, etc.

 In this post let us research BIM as a Project Management tool.

 Although the rates of companies adopting BIM is increasing, I did not find many literatures analyzing our current topic. I would like to seek your suggestions and comments about this topic.

Project planning and execution depends on the valuing and trading-off of the scope, time, and cost of the project. Plans and specifications represent the project scope. Scope defines the work that is required to complete the project successfully. Based on the scope, project planners estimate the time it takes to carry out the work and the costs of doing so. In practice, the plans, specifications, quantity takeoff, schedule, and estimate document the scope, time, and cost. Project managers constantly translate information from these documents to understand how the scope, time, and cost relate.

The research started with the mission to answer the following questions:

      •      Is BIM a Project Management Tool?

•      How can BIM help Project Managers succeed in delivering complex construction projects?

•      How BIM can influence on KPI’s?

Before us going to the subject we can define the Project and Project Management.

What is a Project?

According to PMBOK Guide 4^th Edition, project is a temporary endeavor to create a unique project or service, or result. The temporary nature of projects indicates a definite beginning and end. The end is reached when the project’s objectives have been achieved or when the project is terminated because its objectives will not or cannot be met, or when the need for the project no longer exists.

What is a Project Management?

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. Project management is accomplished through the application and integration of the project management processes of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing.

Managing a project typically includes:

·         Identifying requirement

·         Addressing the various needs, concerns, and expectations of stakeholders as the project is planned and carried out.

·         Balancing the competing project constraints including but limited to:

o   Scope

o   Schedule

o   Budget

o   Recourse

o   Risk and

o   Quality

BIM as a Project Management tool……

Coordination between construction trades can be challenging. The traditional 2D drawing-based process is often times difficult to follow for project participants. Identification and resolution of issues often requires a great deal of technical skill and experience. 3D Building Information Models makes process easy to understand for all project participants. The ease in which issues can be identified and presented helps to facilitate communication among the trades and leads to more proactive interference resolution. The Virtual Trade Coordination process is a valuable process that can be performed during the preconstruction process and during the MEP coordination process in the construction phase.

Scope - BIM for Scope identification and Management

BIM supports the continuous and immediate identification of project’s detailed and accurate scope, quantity and element properties. The main benefits of BIM based scope identification and estimating are:

     •      Transparently tie the scope and the quantities of a project to a price of the estimate.

•      It is easy to provide the scope and the elements visually represented in the 3D model are also represented in the estimate.

•      Model Based Estimating systems allow estimators to efficiently manage scope changes and ensure that the changed scope is then correctly represented in the estimate.

Schedule - BIM for 4D- Model

BIM allows developing different construction scenarios by visualizing the scope with scheduling software. BIM also permits adding different equipment such as cranes, hoist, etc. to the model and allows all project participants to review, understand and optimize the sequence of the construction operations and the project schedule.

4D model is a further development over 3D model. By adding the schedule date to the model components, or link model to software like Primavera or MS Project we can generate 4D model.

Thus team can improve the plan and integrates the communication among various divisions. With the progress of time, project team programmatically links schedule to BIM model to evaluate various construction options to make the optimum decision. It challenges and changes many of the practices of conventional scheduling.

4D model enables the scheduler to view the entire construction site in a nutshell. The scheduler is able to move around, look outside, inside and under the building and verify the progress of project. It helps the scheduler to detect inconsistency and avoid visual incongruities in the representation.

Budget - BIM for 5D- Model

5D model is a further development over 3D and 4D model. Integrating human resources, equipment and material resources and cost with the BIM model, 5D model helps to better schedule and cost estimate of the project. 5D BIM also monitors procurement status of project materials.

Recourse – BIM for Maximization of Critical Resources

4D model allows the project team to evaluate various alternatives resources and scopes of work over a period of time to optimize the resources and labor accordingly and able to increase the site productivity.

Risk – BIM for Risk reduction

During design and construction phase, potential spatial conflicts may arise between building components. It is not easy to identify or predict these conflicts using 2D or 3D layouts. But, 4D model identifies various issues related to space, schedule and sequencing, and resolve them ahead of the construction process.

Integrated with BIM modeling, 4D scheduling helps the owner as well as project team to easily visualize time constraints and opportunities of improvement and investment in the project.

Quality

The BIM quality control mechanism facilitates the analysis of 3D models in order to check integrity, quality as well as physical safety of the designs. While BIM technology offers easy visualization along with virtual walk-through functionality, the quality control services highlight potential flaws or weaknesses in designing. Additionally, it reveals the clashing parts and ensures that the 3D model conforms to the construction codes and the organization’s best practices.


To summarise……..

The literature showed a need for better integration of project teams and collaboration between all parties. It also showed the need for a new way of dealing with information, moving from the document paradigm to the Project Integrated Database paradigm. The information analysed pointed in the direction that BIM could be the tool that allowed this better integration of teams and of information. The research study pursued based on that has shown that it does, with Communication and Coordination as two of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) showing more benefits due to the use of BIM in construction projects.

The benefits for stakeholders and the organizational benefits were not so easy to identify. Organizational improvements were mentioned directly or indirectly in the case studies a few times and the questionnaire survey showed some respondents with opinions related to the improvement of the organization because of BIM use.

The benefits of models based integration can be measured in two categories; Tangible Benefits, and Intangible Benefits. While the savings in cost and time, risk mitigation, conflict detection, reduction of complaints, improved productivity and enhanced quality are tangible benefits, a significant intangible gain seems to be in using the 4D models to communicate project parameters visually to home building and stakeholders.

• Tangible Benefits: Savings in Cost and Time, Risk Mitigation, Conflict Detection, Reduction of Complaints, Improved Productivity, Enhanced Quality, etc.
• Intangible Benefits: Improved Communication among Various Division
• Communicate project parameters visually to non-technical stake holders and get their buy-in.

 Please send me your suggestions and comments to jobancpaul@gmail.com