How does BIM help project management?
The organization of work and identification of processes in the construction industry: how BIM helps project management.
The organization of work and processes in the construction sector has always been at the center of the debate among the many protagonists in the AEC world. The solution to the problems raised is the optimization of resources in the different phases of the work (feasibility study, design, execution, etc.) and can be facilitated thanks to the use of BIM.
How does BIM help project management and, therefore, the management of all available resources?
Surely, the answer lies in the best control and the fastest sharing of information with all the figures involved.
In the lines below, the role of BIM in the field of project management will be dealt with more in detail. In the meantime, let me recommend a BIM management system to discover all the advantages in digitizing buildings and infrastructures in an easy, safe and shared way.
How BIM helps project management | Management of professional roles
What is BIM in construction project management?
Building Information Modeling is the process of creating 3D models that contain a set of information. The end result is a container of useful data for the management of the work. To learn more about the topic, I recommend you read the article “What is BIM for and who should use it?”
Apart from being useful for the implementation of the model with data and information, BIM is essential for managing projects and controlling all technical aspects in the different phases of the work’s lifecycle.
In fact, thanks to the great amount of available information, you can identify and organize maintenance operations already during the design phase. In fact, you can rapidly detect any execution phase interferences and identify solutions straight away, minimizing wastage of resources.
These are just some of the aspects that make BIM a valid solution for managing construction projects.
How is Building Information Modeling integrated into project management?
BIM is very important in project management because it allows for better jobs management thanks to the sharing of information in the cloud.
This is made possible by the use of so-called BIM project management software.
These tools allow you to structure the folders in CDE (Common Data Environment), highlighting all the activities, managers, times and costs of execution, etc. In this regard, I recommend you read the article “What are the advantages of the CDE?” to learn more about the CDE.
In this system, all the figures involved are aware of their responsibilities and obtain access to documents according to the tasks to be performed by them.
Taking advantage of the potential of the cloud eco-system, all the activities and costs of each manager are recorded and shared, generating a time schedule. This can be compared with project planning, thus obtaining a very useful dynamic comparison to always keep the use of resources under control.
The ability to easily share all the information and track all the activities makes it easier for the project manager to direct and manage the work of the various teams. In this way, the process becomes faster and more organized, obtaining as a positive effect the minimization of errors.
How BIM helps project management | managing resources
Benefits of BIM with project management
BIM has enormous benefits in all areas of construction, especially when it comes to project management.
Here are some advantages that can highlight the importance of project management and its usefulness in the BIM process:
- improved communication and collaboration – compared to classic methods with these processes you can communicate and collaborate with your team more easily, also improving the final result. This is also possible thanks to the different tools that allow you to view the changes made in real-time;
- decrease in construction costs – wastage due to errors can be eliminated during the design phase, which are generally identified only during the execution phase. This entails a reduction in the materials used and, therefore, in the costs associated with them;
- complete visualization of the project – all actors can see the complete model in all its parts (architectural, structural, MEP, etc.) so as to obtain an overview already before the complete execution of the work;
- increase in productivity – with the project management processes integrated into the BIM, each actor involved is well aware of what to do, delivery times, operating methods, etc., so as to obtain better results;
- efficiently planned activities – the organisation of work is optimised by the planning of the various activities;
- collision detection – any interference (overlap between window and pillar) is easily identified thanks to the federation of models of the various disciplines (architectural, structural, MEP);
- integration of all dimensions of the BIM – the model is not only used for its geometric characteristics (3D) but also for the organization of times (4D), for cost analysis (5D), etc.
- reduced delivery times – all processes are optimised, obtaining, as a positive effect, the reduction of the preparation times of the documents;
- increasing project quality – the better organisation of work (both in the decision-making phase and in the executive phase) also leads to more structured models and, therefore, easier to manage;
- immediate availability of information models – models are always available thanks to the use of cloud tools, unlike classic methods where more or less time is required;
- no duplicate files – models are “unique”. In this kind of workflow, files may have different versions available for viewing and that can be accessed when necessary;
- better management by the project manager – models are organized according to what has been said so far, this means easier reading and, therefore, a more accurate careful review of content.
