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Conjure up  the image of a construction site, where you are working as a project manager. Several people are engaged on the job site. Each team is responsible for different tasks and knows the right way of accomplishing it. As soon as the team completes the work, a new team joins. Being a manager,  new materials get delivered with a proper schedule of concrete.  All tasks get well-coordinated, and the process runs competently. But, how does the collaboration occur, involving so many people at the same time? The success lies in a well thought-out construction workflow. This is where the importance of BIM execution plan (BEP). If there is not proper planning, the construction site would be full of chaos. The same is true for BIM implementation.  The prime objective of BEP encompasses a clearly defined goal and establishes a plan to achieve this goal.

What is BEP?

The BIM execution plan states the goals of adopting Building Information Modeling in construction projects. This states how the constructed model is applied, elucidating the processes and the techniques of information exchange. BEP comprises various information on project infrastructure for an operative BIM implementation, including the technologies and the teams for the implementation. In a nutshell, the BIM Execution Plan emphasizes on delivering value by implementing BIM to the construction project. BEP is set as a direct response to a party concerning information retained in the model. The requirements are documented in EIR (Employer Information Requirement). It should be taken into consideration that there is no universal BIM implementation technique for construction projects. Every team has to successfully design a well-adapted BEP implementation strategy, comprehending project goal, attributes and capabilities of members for effectively adopting BIM in the project. Once the plan is established, the team monitors the project progress according to the plan. Constant development, updating, and plan review at every stage of the project is indispensable for obtaining the maximum advantage from BIM implementation.

What are the benefits of BEP?

• Improves understanding of the project with a better understanding of the responsibilities for goal accomplishment.

• Designing a customized implementation with team workflow

• Acts as a guide to new project participants, stating the routines, practices & strategies

• Provides an excellent foundation for planning, training course & upgrade of competences 

• Makes it easy to assess the hardware or software to purchase implementation

• Helps to reduce uncertainties, eliminating risk for all project stakeholders

How to set up an effective BIM Execution Plan?

Companies managing big BIM projects create a BIM execution plan using a template for documentation. This fills the information as per project requirement. Every BIM execution plan is unique. Some companies also establish BEP with multiple pages,  containing several sections. It depends to a great extent on the level of detail, complexity of the construction project, attributes and local regulations. However, the length of the document itself is not much significant. The primary objective is ensuring that the plan effectively guides all team members towards BIM implementation.

Step 1:

• Defining project information - While creating a BIM Execution Plan, basic information is required. This facilitates everybody who doesn’t know about the project. Some of these include project numbers,  name, owner, localization, description and duration, providing a detailed picture of what should be built. The person reading the BEP obtains specifications about the project.

• Identifying prime team members & model managers -  The elementary section is an effective BEP containing the contact details as well as the names of persons accountable for BIM implementation in each project. The information includes positions and roles of the person on the project, organization the person is working, name, last name as well as the contact details, including email address and phone numbers. If there are any other questions associated with the project, a team member can look at the chart and find essential contacts in one place.

• Outlining project milestones -  Project milestones are also included in the BEP. This facilitates AEC professionals to establish work plans for meeting project schedules. This contains detailed information, as per the size and scope of the project.

Step 2: 

• Defining project objectives - An effective BIM Execution Plan defines the goals, associated with the project.  However, the BEP goals could vary and depend on the project attributes. To enhance team competency while working on BIM and considering a project, some of the objectives include:

• Enhancing knowledge of 3D programs amongst project team members

• Partaking inter-industry coordination expertise

• Increasing designers’ work efficacy through efficient design tool usage

• Establishing the routines for design task automation

• Increasing project efficiency & safety  – BEP should be created in a way to reduce the construction time for effective project documentation through efficient coordination of 3D models and competent work of on-site team members due to the use of 3D models and updated documentation. Automated design facilitates efficient working on the construction site owing to pre-developed simulations of work and improved on-site safety through faster detection of potential risks through 3D modeling and 4d construction simulations.

• Improving quality of construction project - Creating an accurate design documentation for effective implementation in subsequent phases and establishing an energy-efficient design by reiterating energy consumption models faster. This improves the quality of designed build solutions through detailed coordination of 3D BIM with architectural and structural elements. 

BIM companies spread across the world are exploring the potential  benefits of BIM technology and seeking the techniques of implementing 3D information models. If you are seeking new areas of BIM application with a BIM strategy, you are able to increase the range of services proposed to your clients. There could be applications of gaming technology for creating an interactive construction environment, application of AR or VR for investment promotion purposes and the use of artificial intelligence for optimizing construction processes. Prioritizing goals of the BIM execution plan provides an improved understanding of the BIM technology implementation, involving detailed planning and modification of standard design processes. Get the best guide for the BIM execution plan, from the top BIM consultants of Tejjy Inc. at 202-465-4830 or [email protected].