It is a widely approved fact that BIM has a significant role in the construction industry and nowadays most of the seminars, training sessions or panel presentation cannot be conducted without discussing this hot topic. The use of BIM technology can be applied in all fields of construction process such as design, planning, material calculation, cost estimation, safety checking, maintenance and operation etc.
BIM is a process that creates and maintains all the data about a building before its actual construction starts and this data can be applied before, during and after the construction. The three dimensional electronic model of the building created using BIM includes the components like electrical, plumbing, and structural and HVAC components in detail.
Improved accuracy, response and success are the key benefits of BIM implementation, which itself attract most of the construction firms to this technology. Timely and in-budget completion determines the profit of a project and BIM makes it possible. Using BIM, we can estimate the accurate cost for all phases of a project from design through construction and to maintenance. As the contractors knows the exact quantity and material takeoffs required in each stages of construction in advance, they will be enabled for better decision making with respect to the progress of the work.
The other advantage of BIM is that it enhances the communication among the stakeholders of a construction project. The electronic building model for particular trade is created by each subcontractor and they are combined to create a complete single model of the building. As the information regarding each trade in the project can be well shared to all participants in real time, they can take better decisions according to the changes and it helps avoid clashes possible to happen at the time of construction. it improves better decision making at each sector and it will result in the smooth functioning of work within time and budget.
In short, BIM benefits everybody, who is involved in the construction project including designers, architects, contractors, subcontractors, construction managers and owners.