BIM Maturity Levels: BIM Level 0
BIM maturity levels explained and what BIM level 0 corresponds to: here’s all you need to know about the various BIM maturity levels and level 0
We are at a stage where BIM has reached a maturity level that can be widely adopted by professionals and organizations within the AEC industry. But what are BIM maturity levels and how are they defined?
This insight will introduce you to the different levels of BIM, in particular level 0.
Before starting, why not take a look at the integrated system for managing BIM projects for free and take advantage of the BIM methodology.
The levels of BIM
Governments recognize that converting the construction industry to “full” collaborative working will be a gradual process with distinct and recognisable milestones established in the form of “levels” and corresponding to the degree of collaboration and information sharing between the different stakeholders involved in a project.
There’s still a lot to understand about this topic and we often tend to confuse BIM maturity levels with the “levels of detail” (LOD) or, again, with BIM dimensions (3D, 4D, 5D, etc.).
Specifically, BIM levels define the degree of maturity with regards to the use of the BIM methodology by a given organisational entity belonging to the construction industry and the ability of the construction supply chain to operate and exchange information.
Therefore, these levels identify different stages of BIM development, ranging from level 0, with the use of 2D digital and paper drawings (an example is the use of CAD technology), up to level 3, complete integration over the entire project (using collaboration platforms, BIM software, etc.).
When referring to PAS 1192 (literally Publicly Available Specification), we need to consider 4 levels:
- level 0
- level 1
- level 2
- level 3
The new ISO 19650 (the current standard), on the other hand, identifies 3 levels called:
- stage 1
- stage 2
- stage 3
In this article we refer to PAS level 0.
The 4 levels of BIM maturity
In detail, PAS 1192 introduces 4 different digital maturity levels:
- L0 – Low Collaboration – It’s the simplest step of the information generating process and it doesn’t practically involve any level of cooperation. Level 0 is essentially the use of Computer Aided Design (2D CAD drafting) to create drawings. Paper or electronic prints, or a combination of both, are used for output and distribution.
- L1 – Partial Collaboration – involves using both 3D CAD and 2D drafting using digital files. Within Level 1. we progress to using a parametric design method in a workflow, but there is still no collaboration and data sharing with other professionals. The standards followed are both internal and international, especially with regard to including certain information to the various elements;
- L2 – Full Collaboration – This level promotes collaborative working using BIM tools and requires streamlined information exchange related to a project and seamless coordination between all the systems and the stakeholders. Everyone works on separate models representing different parts of the project, which are eventually merged into a single federated model.
- L3 – Full Integration – is all about full collaboration, which means that every discipline works together on the same project. It has four dimensions: 4D (construction sequencing), 5D (expense), and 6D (details) (project lifecycle information). Everyone has access to and can edit the data. This is referred to as Open BIM.
To learn more, we recommend you read the in-depth article “BIM maturity levels: from stage 0 to stage 3“.
What is BIM level 0?
The different levels of BIM adoption are often illustrated by the popular BIM maturity diagram, commonly referred to as ‘The Wedge’.
Created by researchers Bew and Richards, it represents BIM modelling as a continuous process, with an increasingly complex set of technologies integrating to improve the maturity level of BIM workflows, leading to ever better results.
BIM maturity level model (Bew-Richards) – revised image
Level 0 represents the starting point or least evolved situation that we can define as “non-digital” and means no collaboration between project team members nor sharing of information in a streamlined and immediate manner.
Information is created using 2D CAD software and and makes use of paper-based 2D CAD drafting techniques. The main goal is to generate Production Information in the form of paper or electronic prints.
Moreover, a drawing only presents graphical information. In fact, a line only corresponds to a set of coordinates in the plane and nothing more, unlike BIM which allows you to assign a lot of information to any element in the project.
Follow along with our upcoming articles for more information regarding the BIM maturity levels.
