Advantages of Open BIM vs Closed BIM

Building information modeling (BIM) continuously disrupts the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. 

With a powerful BIM software solution, organizations can explore design options and provide stakeholders with comprehensive visualizations while simultaneously reducing costs and increasing productivity A Forbes report reveals that using a BIM platform can improve construction organizations’ productivity by 50 to 60%.

This empowers you to help stakeholders capture everything and understand the building before being built, resulting in more minor errors and increased satisfaction. Like other software tools, BIM is brimming with different formats. Knowing their strengths and weaknesses allows you to maximize the software’s potential and deliver client preferences. This article will examine a list of BIM standards and provide you the advantages of implementing open BIM over closed BIM.

What is Open BIM?

Open BIM is a progressive approach that empowers you to connect AEC personnel with stakeholders to construct better buildings. With this approach, organizations can exchange project information with their stakeholders using neutral and non-proprietary file formats regardless of the BIM tools. AEC projects are complex, requiring constant collaboration and communication, but there is often an underlying gap between teams, especially those based in the field and office. 

Using open BIM standards, you can provide interoperability between project stakeholders and ensure that everyone is on the same page for faster completion. It also develops a singular language for standard processes and delivers consistent project information across the asset lifecycle. This makes it easier for you to ensure data quality and prevent several inputs of identical data and significant issues. 

What is Closed BIM?

Closed BIM is a BIM environment that requires vital project stakeholders to use the same software platform throughout the building process. It involves several exchanges using the BIM tools of the same provider to ensure interoperability and prevent incompatibility issues. 

Unlike open BIM software solutions, this approach does not need file conversions, reducing model reviews and improving efficiency. It also boasts dynamic cloud storage that lets users access models and their information anywhere to supercharge productivity.  

3 Advantages of Open BIM

While closed BIM does not require time-consuming file conversions, this approach can be somewhat restrictive with several barriers in BIM implementation for planners. This is because it only allows participants skilled with specific tools to work together and exchange data. 

In contrast, open BIM guidelines promote a workflow-level collaboration amongst project stakeholders for assured data quality. 

Outlined below are why open BIM will become the worldwide leader and the future in the AEC industry. 

1. Compatibility

A common challenge for business projects is not everyone uses identical BIM software platforms, making data exchanges nearly impossible. As software products that improve AEC processes continue to boom, professionals need to find the best solutions to all their issues to keep their clients and remain competitive. 

With an open BIM platform, you can provide quicker access for importing or exporting information between disparate software solutions. This can significantly help large global projects that require greater collaboration among collaboration partners to transcend national borders and improve productivity.

2. Increased Collaboration

Most AEC professionals don’t want several upstream changes from their clients. After all, numerous changes entail continuous reworking that would most likely involve spending additional financial resources. A McKinsey analysis reveals that 80% of average cost overruns of large investment projects are due to change orders. 

However, with open BIM standards, users directly access products and information for increased collaboration. It also lets users connect any application to the project to download data and finish the corresponding part’s development before uploading it in IFC file format. 

3. Transparency

Building a transparency culture in the AEC industry is vital in improving trust, increasing efficiency, and improving decision-making. Unfortunately, 45% of professionals report that lack of visibility is a constant issue among their building projects.  A significant reason for this uptick is the organization’s inability to create an approach that allows everyone to participate in the project. 

An open BIM eliminates these issues by providing everyone with an available workflow wherein project members can participate regardless of the software they are using. This way, AEC professionals can offer a higher quality of work and ensure greater accountability among their members to match other teams’ performance. 

Adopting Open Standards for Continuous Success

As technological advancements rapidly change the AEC landscape, organizations must ensure that their building information modeling software can reach a broad group of stakeholders and coordinate with them seamlessly to increase satisfaction and ensure success. Therefore, AEC professionals need to take advantage of open BIM platforms to address critical issues of translation and compatibility. One of the leading BIM solutions that is flexible to meet market changes is Bimspot. It is an open BIM platform that empowers users to require, verify, and leverage building data from IFC models to save time and financial resources in building projects. Get in touch to know more.