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 1

BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING (BIM)

FOR CONSTRUCTION LIFECYCLE
MANAGEMENT
Yusuf Arayici, Ghassan Aouad
y.arayici@salford.ac.uk,
g.aouad@salford.ac.uk
School of the Built Environment,
The University of Salford, Greater Manchester UK

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 2

1. Background ........................................................................................................................................................................... 2

1.1. BIM for Lifecycle Evaluation .................................................................................................................................. 3

1.2. Digital construction through BIM systems ...................................................................................................... 4

2. Lessons Learnt from BIM Implementations ........................................................................................................ 4

3. BIM Infrastructure for Construction Business Processes ........................................................................... 6

3.1. Implementation issues with IFC based Model Servers............................................................................... 8

3.2. IFC based BIM Systems for Supporting Construction Lifecycle............................................................... 8

3.3. Advantageous and Benefits of Using BIM Systems ....................................................................................... 9

4. Current Acceptance of BIMs in the Industry ....................................................................................................... 9

5. Challenges and Sustainability of the Construction Business Process................................................ 11

6. Need for Re-engineering of the Construction Business Practices ........................................................ 13

6.1. Deriving strategies to minimize the impact to business practices ..................................................... 14

6.2. Business Process Management and Project Management ...................................................................... 16

7. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................................... 17

8. References .......................................................................................................................................................................... 17
 2

ABSTRACT

The construction industry has been facing a paradigm shift to (i) increase; productivity,
efficiency, infrastructure value, quality and sustainability, (ii) reduce; lifecycle costs, lead
times and duplications, via effective collaboration and communication of stakeholders in
construction projects. Construction Lifecycle Management with BIM seeks to integrate
processes throughout the entire lifecycle. The focus is to create and reuse consistent digital
information by the stakeholders throughout the lifecycle. However, implementation and use
of BIM systems requires dramatic changes in current business practices, bringing new
challenges for stakeholders, e.g., the emerging knowledge and skill gap. This chapter reviews
and discusses implications of the BIM technology within the business processes of the
construction industry. Moreover, based on the lessons learnt, it will provide a guide to tackle
the challenges, e.g., process re-engineering and to facilitate successful transition towards
utilizing BIM systems in construction projects.

Key words— BIM, building life-cycle, business practices, digital construction, process
re-engineering

1. BACKGROUND

Taking into consideration the design process solely within construction lifecycle process, in
the majority of the construction procurement systems, design work needs to be completed in
a multidisciplinary teamwork environment. The design process is by nature illusive and
iterative within the same discipline, and between the other AEC disciplines. During the design
development, severe problems related to data acquisition and management, in addition to
multi and inter disciplinary collaboration arise. Often design team members, even from the
same discipline, use different software tools and work in parallel. For example, a building can
be divided into three different sections amongst three different architects to design.
Architects can be using a different software tool, needing to incorporate their work at the end
(Nour 2007). When considering the whole construction lifecycle, including the design process,
the complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity will increase.

There have been many research studies to address the aforementioned issues such as
GALLICON (Aouad et al., 2001), WISPER (Faraj and Alshawi, 1999), VBE (Bazjanac, 2004),
DIVERCITY (Arayici and Aouad, 2004), FIDE (Molina and Martinez, 2004), MOBIKO
(Steinmann, 2004), PAMPER (Szigeti and Davis, 2003), BLIS (Laiserin, 2003), nD Modeling
(Aouad et al, 2005) and many others. However, a drawback of some previous research efforts
is that ICT technologies are used to sit in the driver seat and steer partial model exchange
scenarios. However, there is a great need to understand the connections to a larger context,
where the end user’s value chain requirements and procurement systems’ demands are the
driving factors, i.e. research efforts should be driven by end users’ needs rather than ICT
solutions (Arayici, 2006), (Nour, 2007). It is also required to note the concept of Building
Information Modeling (BIM) and its industrial applications were named with different terms
such as product model, virtual building, and intelligent object model and these have been in
use for over twenty years. Many governments and authorities have openly accepted BIM
within the construction industry to provide the required information exchange between
stakeholders during recent years. An alternative methodology is not in the vicinity that could
provide the required benefits. BIM technology can also provide a more streamlined business
 3

process, associated project and site management methodologies including complete

facilitation of construction knowledge during the full lifecycle of a building project. However
to gain these and other benefits, BIM stakeholders are required to go through a
comprehensive change management process which may require external assistance. The
construction industry stakeholders currently operate with much inefficient processes and it
has come to a point where change is now eminent. Furthermore, according to recent
calculations the cost of process’ failure to adequately support the industry information
exchange and workflow requirements as at 2007 is £8.99 billion yearly (NBIMS, 2007).

This chapter reviews and discusses the status of utilization of the BIM technologies around
the globe, their implications in the construction industry and good practice implementation
guidelines. Utilization of BIM as a lifecycle evaluation process, lessons learnt from various
implementations, development and advancement of IFC model server technology,
advantageous, benefits and industrial acceptance of BIM in different states, sustainability of
the construction business process and the requirement of its re-engineering are discussed.
Moreover, based on the lessons learnt from many BIM implementations, this paper provides a
guide to tackle noted challenges and to facilitate a successful transition towards the use of
BIM systems in construction projects a lifecycle process framework is proposed.

1.1. BIM FOR LIFECYCLE EVALUATION

While there are few definitions available for BIM in the literature, the authors propose a more
comprehensive definition to give the reader a clear understanding behind the real agenda of
BIM. Therefore deliberation of the natural environment, user environment and owner
satisfaction throughout the lifecycle is promoted within this definition.

‘BIM is defined as the use of the ICT technologies to streamline the building lifecycle processes
to provide a safer and more productive environment for its occupants, and to assert the least
possible environmental impact from its existence, and to be more operationally efficient for its
owners throughout the building lifecycle.

BIM in most simple terms is the utilization of a database infrastructure to encapsulate built
facilities with specific viewpoints of stakeholders. It is a methodology to integrate digital
descriptions of all the building objects and their relationships to others in a precise manner,
so that stakeholders can query, simulate and estimate activities and their effects of the
building process as a lifecycle entity. Therefore, BIM can provide the required valued
judgments that create more sustainable infrastructures, which satisfy their owners and
occupants. However it is necessary to realize while the users and owners can change over the
lifecycle of a building within different intervals the most important aspect is to minimize the
impact to the natural environment. While this can be achieved in a variety of ways using
maturated BIM integrated construction methodologies they are not discussed here due to our
specific focus on construction lifecycle management.

BIM as a lifecycle evaluation concept seeks to integrate processes throughout the entire
lifecycle of a construction project. The focus is to create and reuse consistent digital
 4

information by the stakeholders

takeholders throughout the lifecycle
life (figure 1).. BIM incorporate a
methodology based around the notion of collaboration between stakeholders using ICT to
exchange valuable information throughout the lifecycle.
lifecycle. Such collaboration is seen as the
answer to the fragmentation that exists within the building industry and has caused various
inefficiencies. Although BIM is not the salvation of the construction industry, much effort has
gone into address those issues that have remained unattended far too long (Jordani, 2008).
2008)

Figure 1: Communication, collaboration

collab and Visualization with BIM model
mode (NIBS)

1.2. DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION

CTION THROUGH BIM SYSTEMS
SY

The term ‘digital construction’

construction is being used by the Danish Government since early 2007
which was based on a political initiative (http://www.deaca.dk/Digital_Construction
(http://www.deaca.dk/Digital_Construction) to
address low productivity in the construction sector. As mentioned, it i seeks to integrate
processes throughout the entire lifecycle with the focus to create andd reuse consistent digital
information. To date, there are many projects that have utilized BIM systems within;
environmental planning, design and development, optimization,, safety and code checking,
construction, and have realized its benefits. Such projects
cts have recommended BIM systems as
a remedy to address low productivity issues. In other words, this situation is pressuring the
construction industry to go through a paradigm shift to (i) increase; productivity, efficiency,
infrastructure value, quality and sustainability, (ii) reduce; lifecycle costs, lead times and
duplications, via effective collaboration and communication of stakeholders in construction
projects.

2. LESSONS LEARNT FROM BIM IMPLEMENTATIONS

Today in many organizations multi-disciplinary teams eams are clashing with outdated
methodologies (e.g. business models, processes, legal and compensation schemes, etc.) that
impede knowledge sharing which cause reinventing the matters and processes on a daily
 5

basis. Fragmentation and calcified processes inhibit widespread change in the building
industry, which is also traditionally disconnected from lifecycle evaluation methods. However,
modeling techniques replaces this fragmented process with an interdisciplinary approach that
consolidates the team effort. Digital technology, particularly the integrative use of BIM during
the building lifecycle, can catalyze change within the business process as the industry seeks
new approaches (Bernstein and Pittman, 2005). However, technology alone cannot influence
the required changes. There are some barriers recognized by the built environment
researchers that are; (1) need for well-defined business process models, (2) need for practical
strategies to exchange meaningful information between tools been used by the industry, and
(3) need for computable digital design data with reference to a single model.

Consequently, process re-engineering through BIM, is also placing demand upon the industry
to move forward by taking up these challenges for streamlining these overwhelming
complexities and uncertainties, and for facilitating more integrated practice among
stakeholders with sustainable and efficient lifecycle management that will optimize the
reduction of waste, cost and time, from total project delivery (Camps, 2008). Building
information modeling, as an enabler and catalyst for virtual design and engineering,
Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and lean construction concepts, has already demonstrated
significant productivity gains over traditional processes, even with a limited amount of data
integration (NBIMS, 2007). The holistic solution to address the above challenges is to develop
acceptable transactional business processes, and practical strategies for knowledge and
information sharing methodologies with an integrated approach using the BIM
infrastructures (Bernstein and Pittman, 2004). The examples, best practices and the maturity
of the process of BIM utilization in construction projects have been discussed in previous
works by many researchers (Eastman et al, 2008, Mihindu and Arayici, 2008). The following
provides a brief summary of few key developments over recent years.

The HUT-600 (Helsinki University of Technology) auditorium extension project is one of the
first reported BIM based development activity. This project was independently reviewed and
a review report was published by the Centre for Integrated Facility Engineering (CIFE),
Stanford and confirmed the importance of this strategic approach within the construction
industry. This report concludes that the Product Model and Fourth Dimension (PM4D)
approach helps expedite conventional design practices and promotes lifecycle approaches. It
is now well accepted that through the early design phase, object-oriented modeling software
based on Industry Foundation Classes (IFC’s) can facilitate project teams to shorten the time
for design iterations, develop a reliable budget for effective cost control, and eliminate the
need to re-enter geometric data, thermal values, and material properties as different
disciplines contributing to the design progress. The construction of Eureka Tower project
(2002-2006) in Melbourne with the total of 92 stories was facilitated by BIM technology. The
Architect’s radical decision to use BIM for this large design activity necessitated the training of
15 to 25 members of the project team in the application of BIM methodology and the required
computing upgrades. The firm found that benefits from the utilization of BIM extended
beyond the project, and to the firm as a whole. BIM flattened the traditional hierarchical
management structure and reduced the divide between the older design principals and the
younger technologically-savvy staff. Multiple design options were easily explored, and
subjected to a higher degree of analysis and evaluation than would have been possible with
 6

traditional 2D CAD. The increased focus on analysis allowed better decision-making and lead
to a functionally sound innovative infrastructure. While many other projects benefited by
utilizing BIM technology further technological enhancements; new tools, techniques and
applications are being researched and best practices are created in many countries. The
Building Construction Authority in Singapore developed ePlanCheck system for automating
the building code checking for the building assessment and regulatory approval, through an
independent platform called FORNAX, which uses the basic BIM information from IFC files to
incorporate relevant code checking requirements. This system promotes the designs to be
submitted to local authorities in IFC file format. This has become a reference point on how
local governments and authorities can utilize BIM within their strategy for the development of
built environment. Over the past six to seven years many pilots and live projects have been
completed and documented in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, France, Singapore, UK and
Australia, which demonstrated the capability of using BIM within the construction process
facilitating infrastructure development lifecycle. Many ongoing projects have been proven to
develop more environmentally sustainable products, compared to non-BIM based projects.
For example, Tocoman Professional Services of Finland (www.tocoman.com) claims they have
facilitated over 200 projects each with reasonable savings due to the utilization of BIM within
building construction lifecycle activities, producing significantly better infrastructures with
improved stakeholder satisfaction. The software such as Vicosoft aimed to provide services
based on the full lifecycle of the building development much successfully than other
competitive products. However, it will take few more years to learn the importance of such
tools by the construction stakeholders due to the risen skill gap.

In addition, IFC model server implementation technologies are being developed by many
software service providers to meet the demand for fully integrated BIM systems that facilitate
long-term integrated collaboration and communication processes. There are technological
gaps in the area for example, stakeholder view point services integration techniques, for
which researchers are required to find solutions for developing enhanced BIM systems. Such
research should capitalize on the developments made through projects such as SABLE and
their extension works (Kiviniemi, et al 2005) described briefly in the next section. Moreover,
based on the lessons learnt, this paper provides a guide to tackle noted challenges and to
facilitate successful transition of the business process reengineering within construction.

3. BIM INFRASTRUCTURE FOR CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS PROCESSES

Implementation of BIM systems requires dramatic changes in current business practices,

which will lead to development of new and sustainable business process models. BIM
technology and IFC specifications are aimed at achieving interoperability between software
tools that are used in the entire lifecycle of a construction project. It is envisaged that all tools
will be able to work on a central pool of project data. Although the majority of AEC software
developers have IFC APIs that are capable of importing and exporting IFC/STEP files, it is still
not possible to make full use of the IFC model and abandon the file based exchange scenario.
This is attributed to the fact that an IFC model of a certain project is exchanged as a whole
unit. In the meantime, the internal structures of different software applications do not support
the whole range of information that is covered by the IFC specifications. This makes it nearly
impossible to maintain a lossless data exchange across applications (Nour, 2007). From the
process management point of view, achieving a lossless information exchange among project
 7

stakeholders is either that the software developers change their internal data structuring to
eliminate irrelevant IFC data loss, or the exchange should be limited to partial models that
contain application-relevant IFC data. The latter seems to be the most practical solution;
otherwise software developers will face high levels of data redundancy. Moreover, they will
have to maintain both, the coherency of their own data and the data produced from other
applications processing the same model (Nour, 2007). Highly integrated BIM data exchanges
will support new opportunities for business process re-engineering with associated gains in
industry productivity and more substantial gains are possible as interoperability increases
(Nbim guide, 2007).

International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) published the IFC Model View Definition
Format in year 2006 that explains the main procedures for Model View Definition. It identifies
the main processes that should be followed throughout the lifecycle of a Model View
Definition. It is understood that IAI also shows emphasis to map business processes and data
exchange requirements, which are key enablers for the uptake deployment of new
technologies. Product models have first been used in data exchange between software
applications, first bi-directionally between two applications. The IFC standard has also been
used as a software-independent, neutral data exchange format in the pilot projects (Penttila,
2005). Technically, the IFCs are implemented in software applications to create a common
data exchange platform. From a pragmatic viewpoint, the end user of the applications sees IFC
as a feature to save and retrieve data in a form that is understandable also to other software
applications. Previously product models have been used on a file basis, but also on a
model-server basis, where the participants’ applications manage just their own share of the
model data. The version handling and design change management have been the most critical
aspects in the first product model server pilot projects. Technically, a product model is usually
not a single database: it is merely a collection of loosely linked databases, where the linking
has been done with clear rules (Penttila, 2005). The main benefits identified of product
modelling are: (1) object-oriented IFC based tools shortened the design iteration time,
expedited design in time, and facilitated in developing and keeping a reliable budget, (2) less
redundant design data (less needs to re-enter geometric, thermal and material property data),
and (3) models supported early design phase visualisation for project participants and
improved collaboration between participants.

The development of the IFC by the IAI started with the vision of a shared building product
model which would cover all necessary information for building infrastructure lifecycle;
requirements management, different design activities and construction and maintenance
processes. Previously researchers have discussed the implementations into practical
applications shown several serious problems (Kiviniemi et al, 2005). One main issue was the
inability to support the internal structure of the information requirements within different
software products for the whole process. Due to these losses, incremental data flow through
the different applications has not been achieved (Nour, et al 2006). Over time, the software
development visionaries extended their services into operations and maintenance support
leveraging BIM for the full lifecycle of the facility and moving towards offering competitive
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) models (Jordani, 2008). This means the construction industry
software providers will follow trends of other industries to offer Software as a Service (SaaS)
model for collaborative project teams (Mihindu, 2008). Hosting of large data models for
design and construction throughout the lifecycle will be an important core competency for
 8

construction project delivery that are expected from these ICT solution providers (Jordani,
2008).

3.1. IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES WITH IFC BASED MODEL SERVERS

There were three main model server products; IMSvr, WebSTEP, and EPM, available during
2001-2005. These developments were influenced by the comprehensive model specification
of IFCs (Kiviniemi et al, 2005). However the implementation of IFC model server technology
for multiple stakeholders has been difficult to achieve as the appropriate technology to
support changes to the model by different stakeholders to address alternative design options
were not available. To find a solution issues have been investigated by Kiviniemi et al (2005)
and other collaborative projects (2005-2008) and two most important developments are
provided below.
1. To efficiently capture, modify and assess variations of designs four different model types have
been proposed: i) Requirements Model, ii) Design Model(s), iii) Production Model(s), and iv)
Maintenance Model. These sub models will be linked to achieve the integrated project
information model. A crucial issue in the use of separated instantiated model is the ability to link
objects in different models.

2. A standardised application interface for each stakeholder domain has been proposed: This can
solve the issue of concurrent working with the model(s) by providing specific user interfaces
targeting each domain. This has been tested in the SABLE project by developing such interfaces
based on SOAP. Each domain specific API handles the information exchange needed by the client
applications for each domain.

During 2006 the Researchers at Bauhaus University have constructed a document-oriented

application that could facilitate distributed construction planning processes to a certain
degree (NOUR ET AL, 2006). Since then there were many other advancement in model server
development. A comprehensive list of IFC based developments to year 2008; IFC model
servers, IFC toolboxes, IFC geometry viewers, IFC schema development tools, etc. are available
from the recent Erabuild (2008) report. IFC model server based developments are very
encouraging towards establishing a ‘BIM infrastructure capability’ to support the complete
lifecycle of a building product development process.

3.2. IFC BASED BIM SYSTEMS FOR SUPPORTING CONSTRUCTION LIFECYCLE

Our vision of ‘BIM infrastructure capability’ is not far away from the initial IAI shared building
product model for buildings infrastructure lifecycle. However due to the technological
constraints previously noted and the lucrative 3D AEC CAD related systems market the
current focus of software developers have been concentrated around architectural design and
some aspects of assessing the building sustainability without addressing the business
processes reengineering requirements nor facilitation of interoperability between business
processes. This situation has seriously undermined the capabilities and the value of the
prospective ‘BIM infrastructure capability’ within construction industry.

In addition to this, many companies have re-branded their product, i.e., CAD tools as BIM
systems and offer import / export capability for IFC file format so that models can be
visualized, commented and refined by using other IFC compatible systems and tools when
required. In some cases even backward compatibility is not supported between applications.
 9

This misconceived status (mostly influenced by the software industry) has caused a drift from
the initial vision of ‘BIM technology’, which should have established core processes for the
facilitation of collaboration and communication among all the stakeholders within a
construction project over the lifecycle of an infrastructure development activity. For example,
Project Management (PM) software should be able to directly work with IFCs or BIM systems
to allow project stakeholders to share planning, scheduling, estimating, etc. data. In other
words, the PM, and Business Process Management (BPM) related processes, need to be
integrated within the BIM systems to facilitate their seamless usage by construction
stakeholders. Such an initiative could bring ‘BIM technology’ vision back inline and the
developers could design lifecycle savvy usable products to facilitate the industry to move
forward for achieving the required benefits.

3.3. ADVANTAGEOUS AND BENEFITS OF USING BIM SYSTEMS

Major advantages of shifting towards BIM implementation are (i) model based
decision-making, (ii) design and construction alternatives, (iii) costs, energy and lifecycle
analysis, etc. The BIM is more likely to impinge on the complete building documentation
process to shift from architectural drawings into a computerised model. This methodology
then influences the proposition of the actual investment, final design, construction process,
final infrastructure and the infrastructure lifecycle costs. The ability for investigation of the
desired spatial, functional and architectural solutions that are more environmentally friendly
and cost and energy efficient over the lifecycle has been a targeted outcome of the modeling
effort. In other words various alternatives are compared in order to achieve the optimum
lifecycle costs with much more sustainable product development process.

The project stakeholders will be able to acquire more details at an earlier stage of the project
that may offer more informed decisions to facilitate project development. Therefore, a key
benefit of BIM is its accurate geometrical representation of the parts of building infrastructure
in an integrated data environment. Related benefits achieved in many projects (TOCOMAN,
2008: TEKES, 2008) are: 1) faster and more effective processes, 2) better design, 3) controlled
whole life and environmental data, 4) better production quality, 5) automated assembly, 6)
better customer service, 7) lifecycle data, 8) integration of planning and implementation
processes, 9) more effective and competitive industry, and this is not an exhaustive list. For
successful BIM adoption, ongoing training, consultancy and support are vital ingredients in
achieving a good return on the company's investment.

4. CURRENT ACCEPTANCE OF BIMS IN THE INDUSTRY

In some states such as Finland, Denmark, Norway and USA, the use of BIM has been endorsed,
while some other states have progressed toward it. Rapid advancement of some of these
activities is discussed briefly. The U.S. General Services Administration (US-GSA, 2008)
notified the requirement of utilising IFC model server standards by October 2006. Through
conducting 10 pilot projects many BIM authoring tools have been certified as to their fitness
for use. Authoring tools; Autodesk’s ADT, Autodesk’s Revit, Graphisoft’s ArchiCAD, Bentley’s
Architecture, and Onuma Architecture and Master Planning were the initial tools that passed
this certification (US-GSA, 2008) and the continual development of modelling requirements
 10

proceed further. Details on IFC version specification, which support each of these tools, were
published by Dimyadi (2007). During 2007 National Building Information Model Standard
(NBIMS) has initiated another US project, which aimed to raise awareness of using BIM
systems and consequently NBIMS has released National BIM Standard Version 1 (NBIMS,
2007). Nevertheless National CAD Standard (NCS) Version 4.0 is also been released in January
2008 to further streamline design, construction, and facility operations communication
among construction stakeholders over the lifecycle. Through improved communication these
standards hope to reduce errors and lower costs for all disciplines. It coordinates the efforts
of the entire industry by classifying electronic building design data consistently allowing
streamlined communication among owners, and design and construction project teams (NIBS,
2008). This package can be purchased through www.nationalcadstandard.org.

The project buildingSMART was initiated as a Norwegian activity, which followed the IFC
compatibility that has been introduced by IAI in 2004. Many international chapters of
buildingSMART are actively promoting and sharing the latest findings related to BIM
implementation within the building product development lifecycle. Today BuildingSMART is
an alliance of international organisations within the construction and facilities management
industries dedicated to improving processes through active collaboration. HITOS project of
University of Tromso has been one of the well-known international activities that used IFC
model server technology (www.epmtechnology.com) in a comprehensive manner. The
researchers involved published their assertion that current business processes required to
change to gain advantage from the BIM (Lê et al, 2006). The Norwegian Directorate of Public
Construction and Property, Statsbygg has also produced brief documentation of the project.
Statsbygg targets to utilise BIM in all phases, to a complete extent for projects by the year
2010 (Statsbygg, 2007). Further works on BIM and associated IFC files including the HITOP
project can be accessed via the buildingSMART Norwegian public repository:
ftp://ftp.buildingsmart.no/pub/. Sara – Value Networks in Construction (2003-2007) – is a
technology programme launched by TEKES, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and
Innovation. It focuses on developing eco-efficient solutions for multi-storey and low-rise
buildings and provides tools to facilitate the adoption of BIM in construction. During the
programme, BIM tools and processes have been developed in order to considerably improve
productivity in the industry and make it possible to manage the information generated and
maintained throughout the lifecycle of buildings more efficiently (TEKES, 2008). Finland as
the world leader of BIM has within this Takes publication, summarised 108 projects, which
have been completed in this programme.

Although slow progressive changes are taking place within the UK industry, whilst many UK
companies are happy to continue using traditional CAD, it is noticeable that US organisations
working in the UK markets are effectively converting their processes to utilise BIM
technologies (Oakley, 2008). This conversion requires; training, resources, content creation,
team working and new workflows which all need to be managed simultaneously. It is clear
within the UK industry that change will not happen overnight; however having a clear
strategy along with the correct guidance will enable this process (Oakley, 2008). Lack of
cohesive directions from the UK authorities comparable to the discussed international
initiatives have created this drag and further research is needed to direct them through
meaningful engagement with the industrial bodies to bring the intelligence forward for
 11

making the valuable decision to aggressively engage with BIM within infrastructure
development works in a timely manner.

5. CHALLENGES AND SUSTAINABILITY OF THE CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS

PROCESS

Within the non-BIM environment, current industry and business practices do not facilitate the
efficient transfer of requirements, design and as-built construction; data, information as well
as knowledge for the increasingly critical phases of environmental impact assessment,
infrastructure operations, and strategic asset and facility management. Nevertheless,
utilization of BIM systems requires dramatic changes in current business practices, which will
lead to development of new and sustainable business process models. Due to cultural and
various factors within some countries, acceptance of BIM has been a challenge, overcoming
barriers and steep learning curves that ultimately forces to a paradigm shift.

There are many targets that a project can realize by the utilization of BIM, within the lifecycle,
such as improved; accuracy, consistency, integration, coordination and synchronization
(Laiserin, 2007). These potential areas of improvement are detailed in table 1.

Target Potential improvement Example case

Accuracy Complete, correct Owner requirements to designer (program/

communication between brief), designer feedback to owner
AEC project participants (visualisation/ simulation), design intent to
construction documents (CDs), and CDs to
constructors/ bidders

Consistency Uniformity within a Within a set of drawings or specs

representation

Integration Linkage between related Between drawings and specs or between models
representations and sequencing/schedules

Coordination Interference checking Between building and site or between

among disciplines structural and Mechanical/ Electrical/
Plumbing (MEP)

Synchronization Achieving comparable Drawings/ specs versus cost

levels of detail/resolution
over time

Table 1: Potential Areas of Improvements (Adapted from Laiserin, 2007)

On the other hand, as briefed before with the use and implementation of BIM, it is anticipated
that it will bring about new challenges for construction stakeholders such as the emerging
 12

knowledge and skill gap. One of the most underlying aspects of BIM implementation is
education and training, which will obviously extend widely in the AEC-community in the
future (Penttila, 2005). Project teams should learn to work with advanced 3D, information
driven environments that facilitate capture, sharing and reuse of knowledge for predicting the
building performance from the earliest design phases on. For example, a BIM officer for a
client organization needs to have at least but not limited to the following knowledge
requirements and responsibilities.

• Knowledge of BIM technology

• How it can support the needs of the client organization

• Knowledge of contracts that will involve project team in an integrated practice

• Knowledge of how to use model for facility management

• Responsibility for setting standards for BIM knowledge and use by project team

The details of required knowledge and responsibilities may vary from one organisation to
another dependent on the nature of the disciplines. Many organisations are now and will be
hiring employees with BIM-specific job titles such as BIM Specialist, BIM Champion, BIM
Administrator, 4D Specialist, and Manager of Virtual Design and Construction. Owners may
hire employees with these titles or find service providers that bear similar ones. However, the
responsibilities that go with these titles are not yet well defined. Regardless of the title, there
is a strong need for more people with training and experience with creation and use of
building models (Eastman et al, 2008). These positions are meant to help AEC firms make the
transition from current practice to one that will be BIM knowledge acquainted and integrate
this technology into their organization. Therefore, the future built environment education
should also include product data management issues and understanding, and skills for a new
kind of professionalism.

BIM systems influence organizations to employ more experienced project managers and
project architects at the very beginning of a construction project. In particular those with
good construction and design knowledge and capability of building models are required at
early stages. BIM systems require architects and designers to spend more time on the design
while less time on drafting (Birx, 2006). Also, the features offered by these systems facilitate
producing a more through designs and comprehensive documentation with less overall time.
Also, new architectural graduates can now move swiftly into design studies, so that they
become better designers in a shorter period, with less experience in drafting, which is no
longer a major requirement for modeling with these systems. Therefore curriculum,
educational programmes and courses targeting this career pathway need to be developed for
new graduates who will be more attractive to organizations that employ BIM systems for their
construction works (Gallello, 2008).
 13

6. NEED FOR RE-ENGINEERING OF THE CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS

PRACTICES

It is necessary to mention, although the technology may be the catalyst, business process
reform and vision is required to achieve a meaningful change (Jordani, 2008) within the
construction process. The lessons learnt from the previous works, research and developments
shows that the industry requires a clear understanding of an applicable process reengineering
framework to support the construction process. We therefore propose to utilise a
Construction Lifecycle Process Framework (figure 2) for streamlining the construction
process in a more simplistic way. The building process involves agile methodology for
achieving effective change management practices to absorb any volatility. The table 2 below
shows the proposed building lifecycle processes for BIM implementation. The proposed
processes are focused on smooth and seamless integration with the real-world environment to
ultimately provide the least possible environmental impact with satisfied owners and users. During
the building process, this involves the use of patterns for iteratively building the infrastructure
through redistributing features and functionalities throughout the infrastructure.

Different views and perceptions for the construction lifecycle process proposed in three
different countries are comparatively presented in the table below, which includes process
mapping from GSA (General Services Administration from USA, Process Protocol Map from
UK, and the Senate Properties from Finland: BIM Requirements 2007 documentation (Senate
Properties, 2007). The Senate Properties documentation of BIM implementation and its use
are considered as one of the most comprehensive to date and readers are recommended to be
familiar with this content. Similarly the National Building Information Model Standard
Version 1.0 from NBIMS (2007) is also a comprehensive documentation. Furthermore,
process protocol map, which is also highly recommended to be familiar with via
www.processprotocol.com/, represents a lean process approach for building lifecycle process.

GSA process (USA) Process protocol (UK) Mapping: Senate Properties

Pre-task: Information
Delivery Manual (IDM)
methodology
(Finland)
Phase 0. Demonstrating the 3.1 Needs and objectives
Need
Phase 1: Conception of Need

Phase 2: Outline Feasibility 3.2 Design of alternatives

Phase 3: Substantive 3.3 Early design
Feasibility & Outline
Financial Authority

Phase 4: Outline Conceptual

Design

Energy analysis, cost Phase 5: Full Conceptual 3.4 Detailed design

estimating, structural Design
analysis
Phase 6: Coordinated 3.4 Detailed design
 14

Design, Procurement & Full

Financial Authority

Phase 7: Production 3.5 Contract tendering stage

Management

Integrated workplace Phase 8: Construction 3.6 Construction and

management, commissioning
Aggregation of information
for a particular legal or
operational purpose
Real-time access to live Phase 9: Operation and 3.6 Construction and
facilities models Maintenance commissioning
Table 2: Comparing the proposed construction Lifecycle Process Framework with three other process
mapping from US, UK and Finland

With regard to integrating BIM into the business model of construction practices, the
transition to BIM can be made, but it requires introspection about the business practices. The
impact of BIM within the construction process at various stages are discussed so that each
organization can concentrate and measure their direct or indirect involvement targeting
re-engineering of the current organizational business model. The table 3 shows the linkage
between the Process Framework proposed and the BIM integrated process. It also provides
specific names for the models created during different stages of the design process with
reference to the Senate Properties (2007) documentation.

6.1. DERIVING STRATEGIES TO MINIMIZE THE IMPACT TO BUSINESS PRACTICES

BIM can also be considered as a new methodology for managing the lifecycle of a building
with the focus of environmental impact, building design and documentation. Some delays,
through the BIM implementation process, could impose on newly started or ongoing
construction projects such as; potential disruptions, difficulties in workflow transition (Kirby,
2007) and in many of these circumstances, a lack of appropriate training of staff was evident.
Furthermore, it is vital to derive strategies that resolve the adverse effects to the existing
business practices of the companies that adopt BIM technologies within their organizations.

BIM integrated Construction lifecycle Process

Requirements model, Space requirements, Structural requirements, Site

Site BIM, Inventory BIM requirements
Spatial Group BIM, Environnemental impact, Energy simulations, Visualisation
Spatial BIM & environmental integration, MEP/Structural
alternatives
Preliminary Building Element BIM Building elements, Requirements of licensing and permits
(Pre BIM)

BE – BIM : Quantity take off phase True investment, MEP simulation, Sub contractor tender
 15

calling

BE – BIM : Construction phase Detail design, Pre-fabrication, Product planning

As-built BIM Building construction and Site management, Facility

management, Space & occupancy management,
Renovations & extensions, Demolitions

Environmentally integrated BIM BIM Handover, Product training, Future planning

Table 3: BIM Integrated construction lifecycle Process Framework
The following steps are provided for organizations to minimize these barriers during the
design and construction process of a project. Most of the steps within the phases of the BIM
implementation process that include; preparation, roll-out and post-implementation are
detailed in table 4.

i) Preparation phase: At this phase the organization needs to prepare for this new
investment by analyzing its effect on the business process and prepare methods to minimize
any difficult situations during and after the implementation (E.g. There could be a current
project under no circumstance this project can absorb any delays, budgetary restriction could
impose training of all the staff as required). Utilization of a BPM system, implementation
checklists, and initial training can alleviate much of the problematic situations. Recognition of
the business processes, which require re-engineering, is identified.

ii) Role-out phase: At this phase the organization works through the change management
process for implementation of all the systems, training programmes and conducting business
assessments of the outcomes achieved via the newly implemented system on live pilot
projects. This involves complete assessment of the reengineered business processes within
the business. Unfortunately advice on these matters may not necessarily be received from
BIM system services suppliers. It is important to measure the effectiveness, efficiency and
performance on all the business processes through the pilot projects and rectify any issues
identified before moving to post-implementation.

iii) Post-implementation phase: At this phase a thorough analysis is conducted of

effectiveness on business intelligence accrual and extended performance gain, through the
new implementation, on the completed pilot projects. This will lead to defining organizations’
current status and future plans, in particular: new business opportunities that the business
could target (Kirby, 2007); extended training requirements of staff; and more importantly
completion of the assessment of ROI following the organizations’ acceptance of BIM within
their business strategy.

Phase Steps involve Focus point

Preparing a) Planning for the change

 16

b) Business process management Effects to the Business Process (BP)

c) Implementation checklist

d) Implementation plan Minimizing the recognized effects on

the BP

e) Initial training In particular higher management and

those who are affected the most

f) Training plan for next phase

Rolling-out g) Change management

h) Adequate hardware and

software

i) Implementation

j) Training all staff

k) Piloting first few projects Performance of the BP

l) Minor adjustments Rectifying the BP

Post-implementation m) Update implementation plan

n) Post-implementation Any future activities and plan

checklist

o) Assess adequacy of training

p) Evaluate pilots for further

recommendation

q) Confirm increased business Optimizing the BP

intelligence and performance
Table 4: BIM Implementation Process and Focus Points

6.2. BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Having defined the BIM integrated construction lifecycle process framework, it has been
recognized that the urgent need of integrating appropriate parts of a BPM system and a PM
system is critical to facilitate the overall utilization of ICT within building lifecycle. Without
the appropriate utilization of these systems integrated to BIM server infrastructure, the
industry in general will find it somewhat difficult to find their way forward. For example, BIM
integrated lifecycle process will generate hundreds of various files during the stages of the
process described above. It requires versioning and metadata repositories. Such
documentation will be used, commented and become data for other processes, which then
leads to further modification of the digital files held in repositories.
Over the years the industry has been using ‘extranets’, etc. for the management of such
documentation (3D/4D designs, project plans, briefings, meeting minutes, etc.) for various
stakeholders distributed geographically. Although these systems; BPM, and Project and
Documentation Management have become mature without the appropriate integration with
 17

BIM, a much needed paradigm shift will not emerge by itself and the organizational
acceptance of BIM will be undermined within different countries due to specific industrial
cultures. The BIM infrastructure should have its own facility to deliver the necessary
documentation seamlessly to all stakeholders utilizing the concept, similar to ‘extranets’, but
more simplistic, to access or receive the needed documentation and more, through in-access
control, or defining who can access what documentation, in which stage of the process.
Features such as; security, classification, search, links and connections, check-in/ check-out,
version management, lifecycle and statuses, automated notification, language and time zone
management, etc. must be facilitated (Vertex, 2008). On the other hand, the required aspects
of BPM are also a necessity to integrate with the BIM server infrastructure, so that the
business processes can be monitored, modified and measured as needed. It is very much clear
that integration of BIM within construction business process requires vast changes within the
organization and its operation.

7. CONCLUSION

Most building owners, contractors, engineers and architects have a vision to improve one or
more aspects of their existing business processes, which influence a projects; accuracy,
consistency, integration, coordination and synchronization. By improving all these points, it
has been estimated that cost savings of between 10% and 30% of the overall investment
could be achieved in the construction industry (Laiserin, 2008). Utilization of BIM
infrastructure within the construction business process is one of the clear directions for the
stakeholders above to realize this vision. Furthermore, BIM offers clients a better ability to
assess constructional, financial and design optimization in an accurate and fully integrated
methodology. Governments and authorities from a number of countries have taken this
opportunity seriously, and are actively promoting the associated technologies and service
providers. Through BIM methodology, design investigation and development focusing on
optimization via alternatives, are made at the time when changes are easy to implement.
Thus, detailed assessments of; environmental, thermal, wind, shadow, visual bulk, and
lifecycle cost, together with constructional and costing impacts of any design, arrive earlier in
the design process, facilitating the benefits described. Authorities and industry partners
should capitalize on the best practices and lessons learnt.

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