Barriers In BIM Implementation For Planners

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is one of the main ways in which the construction industry has started to adopt a more technologically driven approach. The use of BIM has been rapidly increasing around the globe as it offers a multitude of benefits to all areas of construction and planning.

Although BIM awareness and adoption has been on the rise, there are still some factors keeping people from embracing the process. This has started to create an environment where some firms get to enjoy the many benefits of BIM, while others are held back by not making use of the collaborative, model-based process. Even though many construction planning professionals may not be jumping towards BIM for these reasons, there really should be no reason not to work with it.

What are the barriers in BIM implementation For Planners?

BIM is a process that many are unfamiliar with and its adoption can scare new users off. Here are some common barriers in BIM implementation for planners.

1. High Costs In Changing To BIM Processes

Switching over to a whole new system of processes can be expensive for construction planners. This is one of the main reasons that hold many people back from using BIM.

Most architectural offices have less than 3 employees. This means that buying new software, updating the system and training the team is an expensive initial investment. These offices would rather stick to their current systems, without spending any extra money or time on upgrades and additional software.

To tackle this, we have to be a bit more creative and turn the issue into a new opportunity like establishing co-operations. For example, smaller offices can join forces with other planning offices. This can make training and upgrading systems much less of a burden.

2. The Wrong Attitude Towards BIM

Planners often say “we do not have developers who want to use BIM”. However, many people are not realising the kind of efficiency and long-term financial savings that BIM can provide.

Managers and company directors need to stop looking at BIM as an optional extra, and rather realise the critical value of this kind of collaborative system. Shifting to BIM is an investment for the future.

It will help to make your firm more interesting for big property developers and employees, as well as add a competitive advantage over others. Working properly with BIM can offer great exposure and can be thought of as free advertising. This is not to mention the long-term monetary savings that BIM can provide.

3. Employees Do Not Want To Change Their Way Of Working

Current employees that have been in the business for a long time often see the adoption of BIM as an unnecessary hassle. Many old employees that are already used to a certain way of working do not want to change the way they do things.

However, it is important to involve old employees when making new changes as their knowledge and experience is priceless. Their feeling towards if something will work or not can strengthen your BIM strategy. While they may be resistant to change, actively involving these employees will make them more eager to contribute.

In addition, learning how to use BIM requires extra time and effort – something that employees are not getting paid more to do. However, there are certain tools and platforms out there that can make BIM adoption for old employees a more simplified and efficient process. BIM may require some initial effort and hard work, but this pays off in the long run.

4. Only Being Hired For The First Phases

Planners often get hired for the first phases of BIM use (until permission is given). This can be a major reason to put people off of utilising the software.

When you do planning in BIM, much more effort is required during the earlier phases than with computer-aided design (CAD). Although, you do save a great deal of effort and stress in construction planning. So, if people do not get hired for all of the phases of BIM use, then it may not add up financially.

Implementing BIM for planners becomes much more appealing (and it makes more sense) if they know they will be required to work on all phases.

5. A Lack Of Long-Term Thinking

We need to continue to develop a whole-life thinking culture in order to better understand and appreciate the value of BIM. Infrastructure is becoming an increasingly information-based industry, with the aim to build assets only once with the idea to last long periods of time.

Data is one of the key areas of using BIM as this process allows for a far greater understanding, sharing and utilisation of data. Planners need to really come to grasp with the long-term value of data and how using the information in BIM systems can help to revolutionise projects. Unfortunately, many people do not fully understand the importance of this.

In addition to this, planners can sell their models to their clients along with classic planning. If the model quality is high enough, they can further use this in the building operation and management.

6. Relevance

Most small firms carry the idea that BIM is not actually relevant to their work. They might think that their typical projects are not complex enough for the need for BIM. Many may believe that the use of BIM is limited to large scale projects and civil work.

However, this is a complete misconception. Even domestic projects, no matter what the size, can benefit greatly from using BIM in the planning. Even if they are small, these kinds of projects can still hold many complexities.

For example, BIM can help planners avoid problems thanks to ‘clash detection’ where potential issues within the design of an asset become clearer.

Make BIM Implementation Easy

bimspot helps planners to see the value of BIM in their own work. By making it possible for the owner to use their models, bimspot can help planners in their fee negotiations, as they can create an additional level of value. bimspot also allows those who are not so tech-savvy to easily monitor their work planning at a high level of quality.

BIM may seem like a daunting transfer to some planners, but it offers a massive world of opportunity for the future. Utilising technology is something that small firms should place more value on. Platforms like bimspot can help to make this process substantially easier.