BIM Implementation Planning 

Photo by  Alvaro Reyes on Unsplash 

BIM Implementation Planning: 

After establishing a strategic plan for the integration of BIM within your processes, you should develop a detailed plan to achieve the goals outlined. During this stage, the goals and objectives of the strategic plan are translated into day-to-day projects and tasks to integrate BIM into the organization’s processes.

1. Establish a BIM Implementation Team:

The first step in the BIM Implementation Planning process is to establish the BIM Implementation Team. While the Strategic Planning Committee was tasked with developing the high-level plan for the organization, the Implementation Team is to be composed of the individuals personally responsible for the execution of BIM.

2. Strategic Plan:

The individual whose responsibilities most closely influence the success of a BIM Use are the most likely candidates. They should be open to change, possess the authority to modify processes within their division, and have the ability to dedicate time to BIM implementation.

3. Determining BIM Implementation Team Members:

Having the proper personnel is one of the most critical factors to successful implementation and integration of BIM. The BIM champion(s) and a few key members of the Strategic Planning Committee should become members of the Implementation Team, but this team should primarily consist of the people responsible for implementing each BIM Use defined in the Strategic Plan.

The Implementation Team members should be determined according to the BIM Uses and Roadmap developed in the Over time, BIM integration may change or expand to additional divisions within an organization, and it will become necessary to modify the members of the team to maintain members who can provide valuable guidance to the tasks being implemented.

4. Roles and Responsibilities:

With a BIM Implementation Team established, the roles and responsibilities of each member of the team should be established and documented. This includes requirements and deliverables for each of the individuals on the team. It may be necessary to divide the responsibilities amongst multiple individuals depending upon the organization’s size and structure.

BIM Champion(s)

An organization should have at least one BIM Champion with a strong desire to implement BIM within the organization. It is their responsibility to take the planning process to its conclusion and share its value with others to ensure that the proper amount of resources (time, personnel, and effort) is given to planning.

Responsibilities

• Develop Organizational BIM Standards and Processes including contract language; and

• Oversee BIM implementation within the organization.

  Capabilities

• BIM expertise;

• Self-motivated individuals; and

• Easily adaptable to ever changing processes.

Management BIM Advocate/Sponsor

It is critical to have management buy-in to the concept of using BIM to improve operations to ensure a successful planning process. Establishing a BIM Sponsor at the management level of the organization is often helpful to BIM implementation. Management must understand the resources necessary for successful BIM implementation including time, personnel, and effort and the ability to ensure that these resources are made available.

Responsibilities

• Promote organizational BIM Adoption and Change.

Capabilities

• Ability to provide financial support for BIM adoption;

• Basic understanding of BIM; and

• Understanding of organization’s BIM goals and objectives.

Operating Unit BIM Leads

Within the BIM Implementation Team, each primary operating unit of the organization should have a BIM Lead. The operating unit BIM Lead will provide valuable information to the BIM planning about the operating unit’s processes and information needs; will evaluate BIM planning results; will implement BIM with the operating unit. The operating unit BIM lead does not need to be the manager of that operation but should have influence within the operating unit and the support of the operating unit’s manager.

Responsibilities

• Document operating unit’s processes and information needs;

• Validate BIM Plans appropriateness for the operating unit;

• Lead implementation and integration of BIM within the operating unit.

  Capabilities

• Significant influence within the operating unit;

• Detailed understanding of BIM’s impact the operating unit; and

• Training on BIM systems related to that operating unit.

5. Acquiring a Consultant to Assist in BIM Implementation:

If it is decided that the organization does not have the necessary internal resources, it may be necessary to procure outside expertise. Many owners have recognized that acquiring a consultant to guide their internal staff may expedite the adoption process. If you hire a consultant, they hsould possess the skills necessary to implement BIM, and have the potential to assist the BIM Implementation Team.

Design BIM Integrated Processes

It is essential to understand and document the current state of the organizational processes. Once the current processes are documented, those that will become BIM integrated processes are mapped. These new BIM integrated operations should also be thoroughly documented and be included along with the activities of the entire organization.

6. Methods of Documentation: 

There are several methods that can be used to map processes. Some of the more commonly used methods include integrated definition (IDEF) with IDEF0 Functional Modeling, Unified Modeling Language (UML), and Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN). Each process modeling technique has its own benefits and purpose, and one is not necessarily better than another. Each organization should select a standard to offer consistency throughout the organization. Many organizations already have a standard in place and should continue with that standard. The BIM Project Execution Planning Guide’s maps are based on Business Process Modeling Notation. An explanation of symbols within that notation can be found in the BIM Project Execution Planning Guide. Additionally, example process maps for a select number of the BIM Uses can be found on the project website (http://bim.psu.edu).

7. Organizational Structure and Process:

Unlike a facility construction project, which typically has a finite beginning and end, operating a facility is a continuous process. Facility operations typically consist of multiple different operating units that have defined tasks and responsibilities. It is these tasks and responsibilities that should be clearly documented.

There are several methods to accomplish documenting the organizational structure. In most cases, organizations have their structure already documented. This documentation may or may not include tasks and responsibilities. Another method to document organizational structure with tasks and responsibilities is to meet with each operating unit’s manager and together determine the responsibilities of the unit. Additionally, the BIM Implemention Team should be identified within this structure. It may lie outside the primary structure as its own operating unit or it may be aligned with multiple units. Once the structure has been identified, the BIM Uses selected by the organization should be documented.

8. Current Processes:

The processes that will integrate BIM during the course of the Implementation Plan are mapped to provide a basic understanding of the current process and to help with developing a transition process. The processes should be documented through meeting with the head of each operating unit or meeting with the implementers of the process. Another way to document the process is through observation of the tasks. The process should also include the information exchanges between operating groups. After an observation or meeting, the process should be documented using a process mapping notation decided on by the group. After the process is documented, the process stakeholders should review and edit the document until it accurately represents the workflow of the organization.

9. Target Processes:

Once the current processes are documented, the Implementation Team, with the assistance of the operating unit members, can design suggested revisions to current process map to include the integration of BIM. This will include replacing, adding, or editing processes within the map in order to more appropriately utilize BIM. The process map will also need to include any new or revised information.

10. Form Clear Tasks for Transition:

Once both the existing and target processes for each BIM Use are developed and documented, a detailed advancement/transition plan for each of the BIM Uses identified for advancement can be created to allow for smooth transition between the current process and the new process. It is critical to identify the tasks required to transition the process to a BIM integrated process. The tasks should include measureable outcomes and milestones with a timeline for the completion of each transition. Some items to be considered are purchasing software, training, setting-up new systems, creating process guidelines, and progress monitoring. More tasks may need to be determined based on the status of the organization and the specific task, which is being transitioned. There are several ways to display this transition process including, for example, a process mapping notation or a critical path method (CPM) schedule.

11. Overall Transition Plan for the Organization:

After the detailed transition plan for each BIM Use has been documented, an overall transition map for the duration of the implementation plan is created. This should include the adoption of each BIM Use at every level of maturity, along with other critical milestones. The transition plan should include a timeline for completion of the milestones and can be displayed using several methods including process mapping notation or a CPM schedule. The timeline should reflect the transitions in the process over the planning period.

Document Model and Facility Data Information Needs

For each working group and process defined in the prior step, the geometric model and facility data requirements are to be defined and documented. The information requirements should then be summarized and compiled into overall organizational information requirements. There are two primary items to be considered when determining information needs: the geometric model and facility data. The geometric model is an electronic, three-dimensional representation of facility elements with associated intelligent attribute data (facility data). Facility data is nongraphical information that can be stored for objects within the geometric model that defines various characteristics of the element. Facility data can include properties or attributes such as manufacturing data, materials, and project identification numbers. It is important to consider both types of information when defining information requirements.

12. How to Determine Information Needs:

Similar to how the processes were documented; the most comprehensive method to determine information needs is by interviewing key stakeholder in each working group. This can be performed during the process documentation or at separate follow-up meetings. Alternatively, it is possible to have the BIM Implementation Team make an initial pass at the information needs using the information needs template available at the project website (http://bim.psu.edu).

If the organization has undefined information needs, the BIM Implementation Team may determine that it is more beneficial to adopt the information needs documented by other organizations. Organizations such as the DoD Military Health System, the US Army Corps of Engineers, Penn State Office of Physical Plant, and the Department of Veteran Affairs, along with others, have comprehensive information needs documented in their contract language, which is freely available.

To determine the information needs for the working group or organization, four primary questions should be addressed:

1. What building elements or other information (e.g., rooms and zones) is tracked and what additional formation would be beneficial to track?

2. What information is beneficial to be displayed geometrically (in a model) and what information is best displayed in a spreadsheet or database?

3. What is the level of development necessary for each element of the Model to receive the benefit?

4. What are the properties or facility data about the building elements that need to be documented, including those that are currently tracked and those that would be beneficial to be tracked?

12. Choose a Model Element Breakdown Structure for the Organization:

To transfer information seamlessly from one application to another, information must be categorized according to a model element standard. To answer the four questions above for each operating unit, the BIM Implementation Team should use an element breakdown structure similar to the Information Needs Template. There are several different model element breakdown structures that can be used depending upon the granularity the organization wishes to document. The Information Needs Template, provided at http://bim.psu.edu, is based on the OmniClass Table 21 – Elements breakdown structure; however OmniClass Table 22 – Work Results, and OmniClass Table 23 – Products are viable options as they are open standards which can be freely shared. CSI UniFormat and MasterFormat are also widely used depending on an organizations existing documentation format. It is important to note that some breakdown structures lack information that may be important to owners, e.g., spaces, zones, or temporary facilities, and therefore, the team may wish to add these elements.

13. Determine Model Needs:

Once a model element breakdown structure has been selected for the organization, the model needs of each facility element for each working group should be determined. Stepping through each element of the facility data and determining if a visualization of that element would be beneficial to the working group can accomplish this.

14. Determining Level of Development:

If a model element has been determined to be valuable to the working group, the working group then determines what Level of Development (LOD) is necessary to achieve the benefit for that specific model element. The Level of Development describes the level of completeness to which a Model Element is developed. There are several ways that Level of Development can be documented. An indicator for the Level of Development, as found in the original BIM Project Execution Planning Guide and shown in Figure 3-1, can be used to represent geometric reliability.

A more detailed option to select is the Level of Development (LOD) defined in the model progression specification and adopted in AIA E202. This Level of Development is currently the most widely accepted breakdown in the industry. The descriptions are in the process of being updated, however Table 3-1 shows an example of the Level of Development descriptions. An additional format has also been proposed by the US Army Corp of Engineers which is the Minimum Model Matrix (M3) which is available at https://cadbim.usace.army. mil/. If possible, it is recommended that, at a minimum, an organization would select an industry standard.

BIM Planning for Facility Owners by Computer Integrated Construction Research Program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.