{"id":6280,"date":"2019-02-19T11:08:54","date_gmt":"2019-02-19T10:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblus.accasoftware.com\/en\/?p=6280"},"modified":"2026-01-21T11:14:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T10:14:59","slug":"bim-adoption-in-usa-the-first-country-to-implement-bim-is-now-lagging-behind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblus.accasoftware.com\/en\/bim-adoption-in-usa-the-first-country-to-implement-bim-is-now-lagging-behind\/","title":{"rendered":"BIM adoption in USA: the first country to implement BIM is now falling behind in infrastructure technology"},"content":{"rendered":"

The lack of standardization and public coordination on a federal scale has slowed down the adoption of BIM technology in the USA, differently from \u00a0other countries that are making progresses<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

BIM was developed in the United States in the early 70\u2019s<\/strong>: the first description of a virtual model of a building was presented in a famous publication by Charles M. Eastman<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(today recognized as one of the world\u2019s most competent authorities \u00a0in this field) in 1974, based on a research developed at the Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA, titled \u201cAn outline of the building descrition system\u201c<\/em>.<\/p>\n

We are usually led to consider the United States as the most advanced country in regards of BIM adoption<\/strong>, but in reality, it is not.<\/p>\n

It is only in the last 3 years that the adoption of BIM\u00a0 has found its vigor spreading throughout the confederate states, but rather slowly, in the architectural, engineering and construction industry (AEC).<\/p>\n

The 2016\/2020 plan<\/strong><\/a> adopted by the United Kingdom, which requires a level 2 BIM use for all public works, shows how the USA have been left behind unlike other countries.<\/p>\n

Other countries have adopted methods and technologies from the United States, while improving them and adapting their use to fit local needs and avoiding the mistakes made by the Americans, that were caused by the difference in regulations from state to state.<\/p>\n

\"BIM-in-usa-vs-BIM-in-uk\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The origins of BIM in the USA and \u00a0current issues<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The introduction of BIM in the USA is dated back to the 70\u2019s<\/strong>, but its first real implementation started in the 90\u2019s. It is in 1997, with the first version of IFC<\/strong> files, that the US industry became fully aware of the importance of BIM technology in constructions.<\/p>\n

The opening process of digital constructions in the United States \u00a0has been slow and tortuous, because of its experimental form; long term solutions and improvements are still being experimented.<\/p>\n

To fill the gap with other countries on the adoption of BIM, the United States needs to elaborate a strategy and a national policy valid for all the confederate States and public projects.<\/p>\n

Without standard policies<\/strong> for the whole country, the diffusion of BIM technology will be strictly based on the relation between client and contractor, with different methods for each project.<\/p>\n

The fact that many federal departments and agencies have created their own standards, publishing them on specific forums like the \u201cnational institute of building science\u201d, have created an Institutional confusion,<\/strong> since those standards were created in an independent way and without relations between agencies.<\/p>\n

Some might see this non-uniformity in the adoption of BIM technologies in the United States as an advantage, since , unlike what happens with other countries, this allows a faster solution to problems tied to standards which often risk to be seen as a limit.<\/p>\n

Differently, in the United Kingdom public projects are solely delivered by one agency and, therefore, they can be perfectly planned and coordinated.<\/p>\n

\"federal-organizations-usa\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The gap \u00a0between the highest and lowest level of BIM adoption in each American state has decreased from 18% \u00a0in 2009 to only 11% in 2012, and, possibly, it could lower even more in the future.<\/p>\n

The main initiative from a government agency was in 2003, when the \u201cGeneral Services Administration (GSA)<\/strong> \u201cthrough the Public Building Services<\/em><\/strong> (PBS), <\/strong>has established a 3D\/4D\/BIM program publishing some guide lines for the construction industry.<\/p>\n

GSA is now exploring the adoption of BIM throughout the complete project life cycle, publishing the following guide lines in different sectors:<\/p>\n