The beauty of BIM is complete clarity, says ISG's BIM lead

The beauty of building information modelling lies in its clarity, says ISG head of BIM, Mark Norton.

Mark shared his thoughts as part of Construction News roundtable, which asked the question; is BIM holding back digital construction?

ISG’s BIM lead highlighted the misunderstanding that BIM is solely a 3D design software tool as one of the largest obstacles the industry needs to overcome if it is to fully adopt and utilise the technology.

Mark insists that the benefits of BIM outweigh the challenges – especially for clients – pointing out how the processes provide a substantial amount of digital information about the project that can be handed over to the client once the building or asset has been completed.

Clients can use this data – and update it themselves – to run the asset more efficiently.

For example, if an air conditioning unit failed in a client’s building, they could access the BIM data to see which model is needed to replace the faulty product. 

Furthermore, clients could update the database if any changes are made to their asset to make sure all information is accurate.

Data collected by BIM processes can also provide transparency in terms of monitoring the quality of build, and who is accountable when building standards fall short.

“The beauty of BIM is that it produces complete clarity. You get an audit trail of everything, from cradle to grave, on every project,” said Mark.

BIM is what you make of it, explained Mark: “You’ve got to get in and get your hands dirty if you want to see the benefits.

“People should be more open-minded and try things out. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work – but I think people will be suitably surprised about the benefits.”

Follow the link to read the full article, ‘BIM: Is it holding back digital construction?’, which can be found at constructionnews.co.uk. Please note the article may only be available for registered users.