Calculate Infrastructure ROI in BIM

In the world of civil engineering, infrastructure owners, private consulting firms, and contractors all want to know the benefits of adopting a new technology before implementing it and changing the way they work. Will it save time and money or improve safety? The answer to these two questions is crucial to driving change.

Those who have already implemented BIM in their processes often say that investing in an intelligent workflow based on 3D models requires a significant investment. But how do you know you’ll experience a return on this investment, and when?

Measuring success in business has always resulted in improved project quality, fostering more efficient execution, reducing development time, waste generation, and costs, as well as improving return on investment (ROI).

The results of the McGraw-Hill Construction SmartMarket report The Business Value of BIM for Infrastructure (2012) concluded that the use of BIM in infrastructure projects is being adopted at a faster rate than it was in construction projects. Along with this implementation process is the desire to assign values ​​to the benefits of using BIM in infrastructure or, better yet, to find a formula that allows professionals to calculate the true ROI of an infrastructure project.

More ROI, productivity and project security

While it’s not yet definitive, some users are beginning to report quantifiable ROI results . One example is the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), whose story was recently featured in the TechBrief report published by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration.

WisDOT recognizes that implementing BIM into project planning and design workflows can result in substantial cost savings during construction . Beyond the measurable payback the Department is experiencing, other benefits also result from the use of BIM, such as improved operational productivity , a more streamlined bidding process , and increased worker safety , which, thanks to 3D visualization of the spaces where they will be working, allows them to better understand construction details and anticipate risks.

According to Tech Brief, to determine quantifiable infrastructure savings, WisDOT developed a methodology to estimate the ROI of its road projects developed using 3D models. This methodology is based on exchanging and comparing data from two major projects designed using the two work systems. To do so, one project was developed using traditional 2D drawings, and upon completion, the Department’s team generated 3D models to investigate potential cost savings resulting from a process change.

WisDOT focused on specific opportunities for ROI by issuing Design Issue Notices ( DINs ). DINs, sometimes referred to as Engineering Change Notices (ECNs ), are required design changes that result from a potential problem identified during construction.

What they found from analyzing the results was that using an intelligent 3D model could have saved approximately $9.5 million, or, in other words, almost 50% of the project costs. The categories with the greatest opportunity for return on investment were general drainage structures, roads, wet drainage utilities, bridges, and noise walls. The conclusion was that both the number of issues and the average cost could be reduced if 3D models were used during construction engineering.

Cost savings in unexpected places

The significant opportunity for cost reduction in the noise wall category surprised the researchers: Who would have thought that the DINs associated with this type of element would be so significant? In follow-up discussions with the Department of Transportation, they deduced that 3D modeling of noise walls is considered just as important as modeling something like earthworks. The amount of time required to model noise walls is small compared to the amount of time and money that can be saved as a result of a reduction in DINs.

The transition from CAD to BIM does not happen overnight.

The costs of implementing BIM in infrastructure project work processes include team training, software and hardware costs, as well as costs related to regulations and development methods. However, infrastructure owners like WisDOT are demonstrating that the initial costs are insignificant compared to the long-term cost savings and benefits that can be realized.

Source: http://bimontherocks.com/is-the-extra-work-worth-it-quantifying-bim-for-infrastructure-roi/