What is BIM?

What is BIM in its Simplest Form?

Its Simplest Form

A digital representation of the building project containing geometry and data. But, of course, BIM can be and is more than that.

BIM is more than Geometry and Data

BIM, via softwares, can allow the construction project to have intelligence that can streamline the design and construction process. The intelligence can uncover issues, digitally, before they cause costly real-life issues on the construction site. The intelligence allows AEC's to collaborate and solve challenges digitally leading to better and more efficient designs.

What Construction Issues Does BIM Help With?

Imagine you are on the job site and your teammate calls you over to the 2nd floor where the offsite custom created HVAC system is being installed. But ... Yep ... There is a steel beam in the HVAC ducting path. Great! This will cost $10k and 4 weeks to fix. Before utilizing BIM, this is common place on the job site. Millions lost. Months lost.

This collision detection software now uncovers these issues digitally, long before they would appear on the job site.

Collision detection remains the best feature of BIM. But, collaboration, communication, and streamlined documentation also give AEC's solid reason to pursue moving their tech to BIM.

So, why don't all firms use BIM? It is a major technical investment in software, process and time. It is an investment that has a big payoff shortly down the road.

Common BIM Technical Hurdles

There are many. And, they are being addressed by a large number of stake holders from the contractors to owners to manufacturers. This is not an exhaustive list, but a start:

• software learning curve


• software cost


• softwares working with other softwares


• lack of common file formats


• ease of customizing software


• ease of adding custom software solutions


• lack of open software communication


• lack of open entity (products and materials) data and interactivity

Onuma BIM and Hypar show the potential of what the future of BIM looks like.

What is the Future of BIM?

I think the future of BIM will include visionaries like Kimon Onuma and Ian Keough working together to create methods for creating an organic series of modules that work together around a central database of geometry and data. Modules that take as input geometry and or data and outputs an entity that can be fed to another module and so on.

So when? Soon. Soon-ish? In a few years ... I have no clue. But, I know it will take young energy and enthusiasm. It will take open minds. I can't wait to see the results.