Communication of Management Information on Building Information Modeling (BIM)

We are living in a globe undergoing rapid infrastructural development. Application and use of technology is one way in which organizations in the building sector can gain a competitive edge against its competitors. Due to the business globalization that the world has embraced in the recent times, Civil engineering multinationals with well planned business strategies can easily take over the local contracts given their potential to deliver. It is with this reason that the UK government saw the need of fast tracking integration of design technology, especially those concerning civil engineering activities. Given the numerous economic benefits that come with it, the British government is offering unwavering support and assistance to the firms in order to quickly catch up with other countries like the United States. As a strategic tool for the United Kingdom economy, Building Information Management is a solution to many construction problems that has crippled the development of construction sector in the country. Some of these benefits include the near elimination status of the rampant errors that used to be observed in the structure designs. Moreover, the time to accomplish the desired project has been significantly cut, subsequently leading to the minimization of the total cost incurred in the project implementation process.

Given the higher initial costs incurred in setting up a properly functional system for execution of BIM activities, recent statistics reveal that most of the construction industry firms in the United Kingdom have been stagnated or halted at the initial stages of the BIM adoption process. Notably, most of these firms are smaller firms that feel that the BIM software does not satisfactorily meet the needs and requirements of their confined workplace situation. Thus, there is speculation and prolonged wait for advancements in this sector that will eventually ensure their contract needs are met. These companies though should take note that the benefits that accrue from full adoption and utilization of this engineering technology will by far outweigh the cost of its set up.

Problem

Most construction contractors today face several challenges that emirates from both changes in their working environment as well as the demands from their clients that piles pressure on them to deliver on time while providing quality service. For instance, the global warming has led to devastating environmental impacts such as frequent strong earthquakes and other natural calamities including hurricanes. As a result, firms taking up the contracts are obliged to effectively design structures that can be able to withstand and survive such harsh environmental effects and situation. In addition, the boom in the global demography levels has led to the rise in construction activities especially in the urbanized areas. Therefore, there is a need to properly utilize the available land area for construction activities. Lately, building and structure engineers have been prompted -- as a result -- to come up with complex and all inclusive building and structure designs in order to make proper and full utilization of the scarce land surface.

Another challenge is the heightened level of competition especially emanating from international firms that originate from the recently industrialized nation. Stiff competition with no response from the local firms will lead to crumbling of the later. With the witnessed market liberalization policies in most countries, contracting organizations with full integration BIM in their contract activities have a higher chance of being awarded local contracts due to their heightened effectiveness, quality of service and timely delivery of the tasks assigned.

 Structures that were constructed decades ago by civil engineers in many parts of the U.K including London are deteriorating fast. Without proper maintenance and rehabilitation, the structures pose a threat to many lives. M4 elevated section in west London is a classical example of the threat that past civil engineering structures that were designed with lesser application of technology, has to the modern time inhabitants of the urbanized regions. To neutralize this eminent threat, there is a certain need for the modern civil engineers to employ the efficiency of technology to ensure proper cooperation, collaboration and coordination of structure owners and design firms in finding ways with which to successfully contain the deteriorating situation while incurring the least cost possible.

Civil engineering companies are business entities whose aim is to maximize profit gains. Therefore, they are more inclined towards taking up contracts that comfortably fit into their budget plans at the same time enabling them to maximize their return in investment of their time, resources, skills and expertise during a engineering project execution. To achieve this, they focus on activities that will cut on the average operation cost as a consequence. One of the most definite ways that the firm can be guaranteed of success in this goal is the application and integration of the Building Information Model in their engineering activities.

Solution

Building Information Model a representation of a structure through designed through feeding in the desired building data and subsequently manipulating technologically it to suit the need of the contracting owner. BIM is constantly being adopted globally especially by the structure and building design firms from developed world. In the U.K, the government initiated a plan half a decade ago that aimed at ensuring that civil engineers embrace and gradually progress to several steps that would eventually see the full exploitation of the potential benefits emanating from BIM. However, most small civil engineering firms failed to progress towards the next phase of government set implementation process due to the level of expenses involved in training the staff and acquisition of the necessary facilities for its operation. Given that the project is at its maiden stages, there is a higher chance that more research and development funding will be set aside by the BIM software engineers to design more sophisticated BIM software that will be able to fulfill the needs of the smaller civil engineering companies spread across the U.K.

Design Error Reduction

BIM software offers a wide range of options to enable building designers to flexibly manipulate the data as per the recommended changes by the clients and project managers. Additionally the model ensures the perfection of the final prototype given the ability to eliminate errors observed from the virtual simulation of possible activities that can take place in the real structure. For instance, the flaws in pipe designs can automatically be detected and rectified in the process of simulation of the design activity. Such timely model rectification subsequently saves on cost and time that would have otherwise been wasted on the real structure redesign.

Collaboration between Structure Owners and the Design Firms

         Notably, BIM gives the parties involved an opportunity to work together in that the data regarding entire design process is held at a centralized place. Therefore, as the digitized design process continues, the project owners and managers have the ability to interact and to give their feedbacks as well providing direction for the project. If the project owners are not pleased with a section of the design, they can be able to make recommendation virtually to the project designers for immediate execution. The cloud data technology has ensured the existence of the relationship communication and cooperation between the two parties involved despite their geographical location. This further boosts the capability of an engineering firm to work on an international contract without the incurrence of the transportation cost and maintenance.

Organization Image is Enhanced

           Organizations that utilize technology in its day to day operation attract clients due to its nature of competitiveness. Similarly, technology is a trend in the civil engineering sector. Therefore, an engineering firm that automates its services through the application of computer software is viewed by clients as having the ability to meet their needs and timely requirements. Due to high level of efficiency offered by technology, buildings designed via BIM especially by well-trained specialists are guaranteed to last for decades without failure to meet the intended purposes. This is one of the satisfying factors for every client with the intention of owning a structure. Given that BIM is a global trend in engineering designs, the mere fact that a design organization uses it in its design activities is enough to convince tech-sensitive clients to offer the contract to such firms. The British government, on the other hand, encourages utilization of BIM by listing the companies have adopted the technology. Through such listings, the company has a chance to gain prominence, especially on the international stage.

Limiting the Chance of Possible Re-Work

           Re-work is usually associated with paperwork in engineering. Given that human error is significantly diminished in design when BIM is used, re-work and reengineering of the building are consequently eliminated. Of keen to note is that the observed advancement in computing capability has made it possible to automate the design activities via BIM application. Contrastingly, human errors would have been undetected in analog models, leading to the future speculated obligation for a re-work on the designs. This gives the firm an opportunity to avert the incurrence of extra re-work cost, thus the maximization of their income. As a result, such unutilized cost for re-work can be redirected to other activities aimed to heighten the competitive level of the firm. This includes periodic training of the designers to improve on the exploitation of benefits from BIM integration in design framework.

Significant Reduction of Project Durability

          BIM ensures design operations by engineers and architects of different specialization with the use of a centralized database and storage area. Therefore, the coordination of design activities is made easier as compared to the analog forms of structure designs; which encourages independence. The centralization of activities further encourages coordination and proper planning of the designs, further eliminating the chances of errors and irreconcilability of designs as frequently observed in designs prior to technology use.

Care for the Environment

        An engineering firm with a due concern for the environmental situation should embrace the benefit of BIM application software. In fact, Building Information Model has been known to encourage minimization of resource wastage in the buildings through sustainability effort that is integrated with the design process. For instance, the most BIM designs make it easier to consider ways of maximization of natural lighting instead of power wastage. Furthermore, the possibility of means of maximization of the natural flow of air in the designs guarantees that the future buildings will be environment-sensitive.

Predictability

         Business Information Model enhances the ability to predict the overall cost that will be incurred in the entire construction process. The requirements of the building and their prices can be inputted to the system. This simplifies the overall assessment of the cost in its entirety due to the ability of using model requirements in the model design and equating them to the actual cost incurred in the real world. In fact this is a tedious process in the case of use of analogue design format and it involves trial and errors that eventually complicate the predictability of cost to be incurred. Additionally, due to the ease of the design structure adjustment that comes with the use of BIM, there is an implication that its overall cost is easily adjustable as well. Lastly, BIM database can be linked to other software related to finance such as the Management Information System leading to the interoperability and simplification of the overall cost prediction process.

Conclusion

            In conclusion, civil engineering companies especially in the United Kingdom are highly encouraged to invest in Building Information Modeling so as to tap on the benefits accrued from its efficiency and effectiveness as compared to paperwork designs. As a first step towards achieving this, a dedicated top level of firm’s management should set up policies that encourage implementation of a staff training program on how to effectively use the software in order to fully exploit its capability for maximum benefit to the company. Secondly, the company should set aside funds for research and development activities regarding BIM, given that its application is still at initial stages in the U.K, by so doing, the organization will come up with innovative ways in building designs hence gain of competitive advantage. Lastly the company should benchmark on other firms that have successfully integrated the technology in their engineering activities. This will enable them to avoid possible costly mistakes that can be observed during the system integration to the design activities.