COVER STORY
BIM for Construction A Cost Effective Delivery Solution
Avoiding costly mistakes and achieving great results IM for Construction is a term that describes an approach to delivering buildings and infrastructure using digital models. Building Information Modelling is an integrated process supported by various software packages, related technologies and contract terms that enable the design and implementation of digital models to create a structural and physical characteristic of a location. It is the foundation of many construction projects and is used in the management of the construction process from beginning to end.
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“BIM enables us to build virtually first, allowing us to make mistakes in the virtual world rather than the real world where the costs are greatly increased. By enabling various members of a project team, the Architect working through a complex design process, the contractor looking to deliver this vision to a client who may not fully understand a 2D or 3D visualisation for their building, BIM can provide benefit throughout,” says Chris Allen, Director - BIM Institute. “As defined by Autodesk, Building Information
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September-October issue l 2021
Modeling (BIM) is the holistic process of creating and managing information of a built asset. BIM encompasses several different tools to integrate multi-disciplinary data to produce a digital representation of an asset across its lifecycle, from planning and design to construction and operations. This data can be managed in an open cloud platform for real-time collaboration. The whole BIM process has as an end goal making every phase of construction and design as efficient and costeffective as possible,” remarks Mrs. Uboho Y. Othman, Communications Executive - BIM Africa. “Projects go wrong when the initial cost of the project is calculated incorrectly due to a lack of understanding or information. The very creation of the Building Information Model forces the design team (Architect, Engineer, Specialist Supplier) to have to think through details of the design to a much greater level than in traditional methodologies, thus reducing the potential for information to be missed. When this is then expanded upon by the construction team reviewing the information as they work through their delivery process, it further reduces
the potential for incorrect or poor information to be disseminated to those responsible for the delivery, the subcontractors. For the cost management team, this also assists in reducing the potential for a surprise, especially when technology such as digital scans are used, with this information being converted into BIM models to assist in verifying the physical quantities, thus increasing the quality of the costing exercise and reducing the risk of cost overruns. The combined effect of this process is achieving great results on projects,” adds Chris. BIM involves structural and material modeling, construction costing, scheduling and communication. It provides accurate insights which prove to be helpful in decision making. The concept of BIM has made it possible for construction firms to successfully deal with critical issues like cost effectiveness, schedule management, material procurement, budget management, site selection, land management etc. This helps in increasing productivity, quality, reliability and safety. “With BIM, activities can be carried out in real-time
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