The roles and benefits of BIM in construction management

BIM in construction management allows a more efficient construction phase’s punctual management. Discover all the benefits now

If you deal with the construction phase of work’s various activities management, you will certainly be wondering on how and wich software takes full advantage of BIM’s potential. The answer to both questions is “if”: In fact, it is always necessary to create a digital BIM information model to manage more efficiently and smoothly the construction phase. Only having all the necessary information, you’ll be able to face through specific construction management software, all the problems thus finishing the project successfully and on schedule.

But let’s see in more detail the roles of this methodology in the construction management phase and what advantages they may bring to the delicate construction management process.

What are the functions of BIM in construction management?

We know that with the term BIM, acronym of Building Information Modeling, we refer not to a software or a tool, but to a working methodology capable of returning a digital model’s geometry and containing all its life cycle’s information phases – from planning to demolition.

But how does this methodology fit into construction management?

In the construction management phase, the BIM methodology allows for close communication between the various professionals involved in the asset’s life cycle, thanks to its multidisciplinary and interoperable nature. This collaborative and communicative process makes it possible to efficiently monitor and manage the various activities of work’s construction phases .

To understand well the role of BIM in the construction management phase, we must remember that the BIM methodology is applied from the planning phase allowing you not only to virtually reproduce the model itself but also to carry out interference control, evaluate the economic and energy aspects supporting the construction site management phase. At the construction stage, BIM provides construction manager with an informative project that can be used in specific construction management software.

Thanks to the BIM model it will therefore be possible in the construction management phase:

monitor the various construction activities;
track the progress of work on site;
identify and manage any problems;
produce documents and change them;
communicate in an interoperable way with the various professionals in the sector;
save time and costs.

functions in Construction management

What are the advantages of BIM in construction management?

From what we have said so far it is easy to imagine how in the construction management phase, BIM applications entails a series of benefits. Let’s explore them together:

constructive feasibility of a project’s verification: especially when we are faced with a complex project, BIM allows us to evaluate a priori the feasibility of design choices. Thanks to the BIM methodology’s application it is possible to hypothesize different project scenarios, proceed with the federation of models and with BIM clash detection, plan the construction site’ sphases, etc. In other words, BIM allows us to reach the construction phase already having behind us the as-built model of our asset and therefore allows us to save time and costs due to unforeseen problems, construction site stops and reworks;
best economic project’s estimate: the BIM model of a work also contains all the information about facilities and materials – performance, type, quantity, etc. Thanks to this information it will be easy to make an accurate estimate of project costs;
Planning construction activity: Another key advantage of BIM for construction management is the ability to digitally plan and simulate the succession of various construction activities. The possibility of simulating construction process’ various scenarios allows to select the most efficient both from the point of view of time and costs, always taking into account also the risks associated with the various activities and safety on site. BIM, therefore, greatly increases the productivity of this phase and provides the perfect basis for a Lean Construction.
support for prefabrication and off-site construction: construction techniques change and advance over time, adapting to design needs. Especially for large works or public projects, the use of prefabricated and modular elements that reduce construction times and material waste is increasingly taking hold. Having the as-built model of the work to be carried out is an essential source of information also for the realization of these modular construction sections;
best process for completing and moving the project to the next phase: during the construction phase the BIM model is updated with any changes made in the process. In this way, when the construction phase is completed, it will be easy to extract any drawings or documents on a computerized and updated model that will be delivered to the professionals of the subsequent management and maintenance phases on which to plan the Operation&Maintenance activities.

BIM in construction management

What is the future of BIM in construction management?

BIM is gradually becoming AECO sector’s reference in the reality . If until some time ago there were still few professionals who implemented BIM it in their project workflow. Today, BIM thanks to the gradual mandatory nature of public projects is becoming an increasingly widespread methodology in the world of design.

The same applies to BIM applied to the construction management phase. Although the realities in which this methodology is applied to the construction phase are still few and limited to large public works, its advantages are becoming increasingly evident.

A BIM approach to the construction management phase guarantees a reduction in construction costs, better efficiency and accuracy of projects and an overall higher final product’s quality. Then you just have to try the construction management software yourself to manage the construction phase, efficiently and smoothly!