Benjamin Gaudin These BIM 1311

School of Civil Engineering

Report prepared by Benjamin Gaudin

as part of the MSc individual project 2012/13

The material in this dissertation was prepared as part of the MSc in Construction Management and should not be published without the

permission of the University of Birmingham. The University of Birmingham accepts no responsibility for the statements made in this

document.

Impacts of Building Information Modelling (BIM) on Project Management in the French

Construction Industry

August 2013

University of Birmingham School of Civil Engineering

Dissertation i

Acknowledgements

The author would like to express his sincerest gratitude to his dissertation supervisor,

Mr John Shaw, who offered his precious advice all along this project.

The author would also like to thank all the construction professionals who accepted to

take part in this project by responding to the questionnaire or by being interviewed. In

particular, the author thanks Ms Gesnot, Mr Amara, Mr Levrot, Mr Moreau and Mr

Adnew.


Dissertation ii

Abstract

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is becoming increasingly popular in the global

construction industry. The aim of this paper is to analyse the actual and potential

impacts of BIM on Project Management in the French construction industry. The scope

is limited to main Project Management activities.

Potential impacts of BIM on Project Management were identified through a literature

review. Interviews of French construction professionals allowed the state of BIM and its

actual impacts in France to be assessed. A questionnaire was conducted in order to

evaluate the French construction professionals knowledge about BIM.

BIM is very recent in France and did not, therefore, reach its final form, which involves

collaboration and Life-Cycle Management. Consequently, several impacts of BIM,

described in the literature, do not appear in France; there is no change in the way

projects are organised.

However, Architects and Contractors use BIM internally for visualisation purposes, and

to carry out specific tasks such as cost-estimating and data-synthesis.

The results of the questionnaire indicate that 27% of construction professionals have

never heard about BIM.


Dissertation iii

Table of Contents

1! Introduction+.....................................................................................................................+1!2! Methodology+.....................................................................................................................+2!

2.1! Matrix+of+objectives+............................................................................................................+2!2.2! Methodology+flowchart+.....................................................................................................+3!2.3! Risks+.........................................................................................................................................+4!2.4! Literature+review+................................................................................................................+5!2.4.1! Aim!and!objectives!.......................................................................................................................!5!2.4.2! The!French!literature!..................................................................................................................!5!2.4.3! Sources!..............................................................................................................................................!5!2.5! Questionnaire+.......................................................................................................................+6!2.5.1! Aim!......................................................................................................................................................!6!2.5.2! Questions!..........................................................................................................................................!6!2.5.3! Responses!Collection!...................................................................................................................!7!2.6! Interviews+..............................................................................................................................+9!2.6.1! Aim!and!Objectives!.......................................................................................................................!9!2.6.2! Finding!people!to!interview!.....................................................................................................!9!2.6.3! Interviewing!people!.....................................................................................................................!9!2.7! Programme+.........................................................................................................................+10!

3! Literature+review+........................................................................................................+13!3.1! Introduction+to+BIM+.........................................................................................................+13!3.1.1! BIM!Concept!.................................................................................................................................!13!3.1.2! BIM!functions!...............................................................................................................................!17!3.1.3! BIM!interoperability!.................................................................................................................!17!3.1.4! BIM!Levels!Of!Development!..................................................................................................!18!3.1.5! BIM!Maturity!Levels!..................................................................................................................!18!3.2! Project+Management+in+Construction+........................................................................+19!3.2.1! Project!Management!Definition!...........................................................................................!19!


Dissertation iv

3.2.2! Project!Management!main!activities!.................................................................................!19!3.3! Integration+of+BIM+in+Project+Management+.............................................................+23!3.3.1! Scope!Definition!..........................................................................................................................!23!3.3.2! Time!Management!.....................................................................................................................!24!3.3.3! Cost!Management!.......................................................................................................................!25!3.3.4! Quality!Management!.................................................................................................................!27!3.3.5! Human!Resource!Management!............................................................................................!28!3.3.6! Communications!Management!.............................................................................................!29!3.3.7! Risk!Management!.......................................................................................................................!30!

4! Questionnaire+...............................................................................................................+32!4.1! Global+results+.....................................................................................................................+32!4.1.1! Level!1:!Awareness!....................................................................................................................!32!4.1.2! Level!2:!Basic!knowledge!........................................................................................................!33!4.1.3! Level!3:!Basic!usage!...................................................................................................................!33!4.1.4! Level!4:!Advanced!knowledge!..............................................................................................!34!4.2! Comparison+between+young+and+older+professionals+.........................................+35!4.2.1! Level!1:!Awareness!....................................................................................................................!35!4.2.2! Level!2:!Basic!knowledge!........................................................................................................!36!4.2.3! Level!3:!Basic!usage!...................................................................................................................!36!4.2.4! Level!4:!Advanced!knowledge!..............................................................................................!37!4.2.5! Conclusions!...................................................................................................................................!37!4.3! Comparison+between+people+who+work+onMsite+and+others+..............................+38!4.3.1! Level!1:!Awareness!....................................................................................................................!38!4.3.2! Level!2:!Basic!knowledge!........................................................................................................!38!4.3.3! Level!3:!Basic!usage!...................................................................................................................!39!4.3.4! Level!4:!Advanced!knowledge!..............................................................................................!39!4.3.5! Conclusions!...................................................................................................................................!40!

5! Interviews+......................................................................................................................+41!5.1! BIM+concepts+and+definitions+.......................................................................................+41!


Dissertation v

5.1.1! BIM!model!.....................................................................................................................................!41!5.1.2! PreTBIM!model!............................................................................................................................!41!5.1.3! Dead!model!...................................................................................................................................!41!5.1.4! BIM!levels!......................................................................................................................................!42!5.1.5! BIM!interoperability!.................................................................................................................!42!5.1.6! BIM!implementation!scenarios!............................................................................................!44!5.2! State+of+BIM+in+France+.....................................................................................................+45!5.2.1! Current!situation!........................................................................................................................!45!5.2.2! Common!practices!.....................................................................................................................!45!5.2.3! Obstacles!........................................................................................................................................!47!5.2.4! Impact!of!the!new!Thermal!Regulation!............................................................................!48!5.2.5! Outlook!of!development!..........................................................................................................!49!5.3! BIM+and+Project+Management+in+France+...................................................................+51!5.3.1! Scope!Definition!..........................................................................................................................!51!5.3.2! Time!Management!.....................................................................................................................!52!5.3.1! Cost!Management!.......................................................................................................................!52!5.3.1! Quality!Management!.................................................................................................................!53!5.3.1! Human!Resource!Management!............................................................................................!54!5.3.1! Risk!Management!.......................................................................................................................!55!

6! Discussion+......................................................................................................................+57!6.1! Difference+between+BIM+in+France+and+BIM+in+the+literature+...........................+57!6.1.1! PreTBIM!and!Dead!Models!......................................................................................................!57!6.1.2! Initiator!of!the!implementation!of!BIM!............................................................................!57!6.1.3! Limited!interoperability!..........................................................................................................!58!6.1.4! Construction!professionals!knowledge!...........................................................................!59!6.2! Current+evolution+of+BIM+in+France+............................................................................+60!6.2.1! Gateways!to!the!adoption!of!BIM!........................................................................................!60!6.2.2! Roles!of!big!Construction!Groups!........................................................................................!60!6.2.3! Design!and!Build!projects!.......................................................................................................!61!


Dissertation vi

6.2.4! Construction!professionals!knowledge!...........................................................................!61!6.3! Impacts+of+the+French+version+of+BIM+on+Project+Management+.....................+62!6.3.1! Limited!collaboration!...............................................................................................................!62!6.3.2! Common!uses!...............................................................................................................................!63!6.4! Validity+of+the+Results+.....................................................................................................+65!6.4.1! Interviews!.....................................................................................................................................!65!6.4.2! Questionnaire!..............................................................................................................................!65!6.5! Contribution+to+existing+knowledge+..........................................................................+65!

7! Conclusions+and+Recommendation+.......................................................................+66!7.1! Conclusions+........................................................................................................................+66!7.2! Recommendations+for+further+works+........................................................................+67!

8! References+.....................................................................................................................+68!Appendix+A:+Questionnaire+.............................................................................................+74!Appendix+B:+Levels+Of+Development+............................................................................+76!Appendix+C:+Capability+Maturity+Model+......................................................................+77!Appendix+D:+Maturity+Index+............................................................................................+78!Appendix+E:+Table+of+results+of+the+questionnaire+..................................................+79!Appendix+F:+Introduction+of+Interviewees+.................................................................+85!Appendix+G:+Interview+of+Franois+Amara+.................................................................+86!Appendix+H:+Interview+of+Philippe+Levrot+.................................................................+92!Appendix+I:+Interview+of+Simon+Moreau+.....................................................................+97!Appendix+J:+Interview+of+Adeline+Gesnot+..................................................................+102!Appendix+K:+Interview+of+Temesgen+Adnew+...........................................................+105!


Dissertation vii

List of Figures

Figure+1:+Methodology+Flowchart+....................................................................................+3+

Figure+2:+Planned+Schedule+.............................................................................................+11+

Figure+3:+Actual+Schedule+................................................................................................+12+

Figure+4:+Comparison+between+2D+CAD,+3D+CAD,+and+ObjectMbased+parametric+

modelling+..............................................................................................................................+14+

Figure+5:+Lifecycle+of+a+construction+project+(Guo+and+others,+2010)+..............+15+

Figure+6:+BIM+model+as+a+shared+platform+(Baoping+and+others,+2010)+..........+15+

Figure+7:+The+shifting+of+activities+caused+by+BIM+...................................................+16+

Figure+8:+Differences+between+conceptual+design+and+construction+

documents+with+BIM+(Van,+2008)+.................................................................................+23+

Figure+9:+Level+of+influence+of+decisions+in+function+throughout+the+project+

(Cherry+and+Petronis,+2009)+...........................................................................................+24+

Figure+10:+Estimating+process+(Halpin+and+Woodhead,+2005)+...........................+26+

Figure+11:+Global+results,+Awareness+..........................................................................+32+

Figure+12:+Global+results,+Source+of+awareness+.......................................................+32+

Figure+13:+Global+results,+Basic+knowledge+...............................................................+33+

Figure+14:+Global+results,+Basic+usage+.........................................................................+33+

Figure+15:+Global+results,+common+usages+of+BIM+models+...................................+34+

Figure+16:+Global+results,+Advanced+Knowledge+.....................................................+34+

Figure+17:+Comparison+between+young+and+older+construction+professionals,+

Awareness+.............................................................................................................................+35+


Basic+Knowledge+.................................................................................................................+36+


Basic+Usage+...........................................................................................................................+36+


Advanced+Knowledge+........................................................................................................+37+


Dissertation viii

Figure+21:+Comparison+between+professionals+who+work+onMsite+and+others,+

Awareness+.............................................................................................................................+38+


Basic+Knowledge+.................................................................................................................+38+


Basic+Usage+...........................................................................................................................+39+


Advanced+Knowledge+........................................................................................................+39+

Figure+C.1:+Maturity+Index+(BIM+Industry+Working+Group,+2011)+.....................+78+


Dissertation ix

List of Table

Table+1:+Matrix+of+objectives+.............................................................................................+2!Table+2:+Risk+analysis+...........................................................................................................+4!Table+3:+Project+Management+Activities+.....................................................................+20!Table+B.1:+Level+of+Development+(The+American+Institute+of+Architect,+2008)

+..................................................................................................................................................+76!Table+C.1:+Capability+Maturity+Matrix+(NIBS,+2007)+...............................................+77!Table+E.1:+Results+of+the+questionnaire+......................................................................+79!


Dissertation

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1 Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the aim and objectives of the project. The scope and the structure of this dissertation are described in this chapter.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a recent concept that is becoming

increasingly popular in the global construction industry. The aim of this dissertation is

to analyse the potential and actual impacts of BIM on Project Management in the

French construction industry. The objectives are the followings:

- Gain an overall understanding of BIM,

- Identify the impacts of BIM on Project Management activities, as described

in the literature,

- Identify the state of BIM in France,

- Evaluate the French construction professionals knowledge about BIM,

- Identify the actual impacts of BIM on Project Management activities in the

French construction industry.

The scope of this dissertation will be limited to main Project Management activities,

excluding for example Waste Management and Value Engineering.

The dissertation is structured as follows:

- The Methodology chapter: is a description of the research methodology.

Research materials that were used are identified; the aims of the

questionnaire and the interviews are detailed in this chapter.

- The Literature review chapter: is a global survey of the relevant literature.

- The Questionnaire chapter: is an analysis of the results of the questionnaire.

- The Interviews chapter: is a summary of the interviews.

- The Discussion chapter: is a comparison of the previous results with the

literature. The validity of the results is discussed in this chapter.

- The Conclusions and Recommendations chapter: is a summary of the

findings of this project. Suggestions for further works are made.


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2 Methodology

2.1 Matrix of objectives

The Matrix of objectives links the objectives with the materials used to meet them.

In order to meet the objectives defined in the introduction, the author carried out a

literature review, a questionnaire and interviews. These materials are linked with the

objectives in Table 1.

Table 1: Matrix of objectives

Materials

Objectives

Literature

Review

Questionnaire Interviews

Gain an overall understanding of BIM X X

Identify the impacts of BIM on Project

Management activities, as described in the

literature

X

Identify the state of BIM in France X

Evaluate the French construction

professionals knowledge about BIM

X

Identify the actual impacts of BIM on

Project Management activities in the French

construction industry

X

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2.2 M

ethodology flowchart

Figure 1: Methodology Flow

chart


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2.3 Risks

This chapter deals with the risks that were identified and managed in order to carry out this dissertation.

The author identified, at the beginning of the project, a number of risks that had to be

managed. In order to mitigate these risks, a list of risk responses was developed. Risks

and their associated responses are listed in Table 2.

Table 2: Risk analysis

Risk categories Risks Risk responses

Literature Review Problems to obtain books Start early to identify the

books needed

Lack of recent references Use on-line databases

Interviews Difficulties to find people

to interview

Start early to identify

potential interviewees

People do not accept to

meet me

Ask for interviews early

People are in holydays or

busy

The results of the

interviews do not add

anything to the literature

review

Identify potential

controversial issues before

the interviews.

Questionnaire Not enough responses Design a short

questionnaire so that people

easily accept to respond.


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2.4 Literature review

In this chapter, the aim and objectives of the literature review are detailed. Issues related to the literature review are mentioned.

2.4.1 Aim and objectives

The aim of the literature review is to summarize the work produced by other researchers

in the area of BIM. More precisely, the objectives are to gain an overall understanding

of BIM concepts and technologies and to identify the potential impacts of BIM on

Project Management activities.

2.4.2 The French literature

Although this dissertation concerns the impact of BIM in the French construction

industry, this literature review is mainly based on Anglo-Saxons research papers

because of the lack of French materials. The author collected a large amount of articles

taken from French magazines but they were considered too general to be used in this

dissertation.

2.4.3 Sources

In order to carry out this literature review, the author used mainly recent on-line

sources, considering that BIM is a very recent technology that is changing rapidly.


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2.5 Questionnaire

This chapter describes the aim of the questionnaire and how it was designed. The response collection process is detailed in this chapter.

2.5.1 Aim

The aim of this questionnaire is to evaluate the French construction professionals

knowledge about BIM. Consequently, there is only one condition to respond to this

questionnaire, namely having a job experience in the French construction industry, apart

from site workers.

2.5.2 Questions

In order to collect as many responses as possible, the author decided to make a short

questionnaire based on different levels of knowledge. The questionnaire can be found in

Appendix A.

2.5.2.1 Level 1: Awareness

The first level of knowledge is the awareness of the existence of BIM. The question

asked is simply: Have you ever heard of BIM? . In order to identify whether or not

this awareness is the result of a company initiative, the additional question is: If Yes,

from where? . The proposed answers are: Collegue(s), Company training, Studies,

Press, A project where BIM was implemented and Other.

2.5.2.2 Level 2: Basic knowledge

The second level of knowledge deals with software. The author considered that the

knowledge about BIM software was a good indicator of the general knowledge. The

question asked is, therefore, What BIM software packages do you know. In order to

make it faster and easier to answer this question, several propositions were given,

namely Revit, AECOsim, and Tekla; respondents could also mention other software

products in the Other section. It must be noticed that the main objective of this

question is to determine whether or not respondents know BIM software products.

2.5.2.3 Level 3: Basic usage

The third level of knowledge relates to the utilisation of BIM. The author assumed that

construction professionals who already used BIM software know more about BIM than

those who never used such software. Consequently, the question is: Have you ever


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used BIM software? . The additional question that is asked, in order to identify if it is a

basic or a more advanced use, is: If Yes, for what purposes? .

2.5.2.4 Level 4: Advanced knowledge

The last level of knowledge relates to Industry Foundation Class (IFC). In order to

identify if respondents know about some technical issues of BIM, interoperability issues

in particular, the question is: Do you know what IFC is? . The author made the

assumption that if respondents know what IFC is, they would also have already used

BIM software. This assumption was correct.

2.5.3 Responses Collection

2.5.3.1 Short Questionnaire

Given that French students very rarely ask professionals to respond to questionnaires,

people are not used to this practice. Consequently, it is quite challenging to collect

many responses. That is why the author decided to make a short questionnaire, with

closed questions or open questions with propositions. Consequently, the questionnaire

could be completed in few minutes only.

2.5.3.2 Site Visits

From the authors experience, the only way to collect responses from random French

professionals is to meet them directly; sending massive unsolicited e-mails would have

been totally ineffective. For this reason, the author decided to visit sites and meet

directly construction professionals. In order to find a list of sites to visit and their

addresses, the author went to the city council of Lyon to meet the person responsible for

Land use. However, that person was unavailable during the summer. Consequently, the

author asked construction companies for a list of their sites. One company, Eiffage

Construction Rhne provided the author that list. After two days of site visits, the author

collected only 10 responses. It was not as effective as expected. Another strategy was

therefore considered.

2.5.3.3 Friends

In order to collect responses quicker, the author asked all his friends and former

colleagues who work in the Construction sector to respond to the questionnaire and to

ask their colleagues to do it as well. 45 responses were collected that way.


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2.5.3.4 Response Rate

In total, 55 responses were collected; this number seems sufficient to provide results

that are representative of the French construction industry. However, considering that

the author is a young engineer with a little work experience, his friends network is

mainly composed of young professionals with the same university background.

Consequently, the questionnaire is biased and is not totally representative of the whole

construction sector. For example, only seven architects filled the questionnaire against

fifteen project managers and 65% of respondents are younger than 25 years old.


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2.6 Interviews

This chapter describes the aim and objectives of the interviews, and how interviewees were identified.

2.6.1 Aim and Objectives

The aim of the interviews is to contrast the points of view of French construction

professionals, who have a strong knowledge about BIM, with the literature review. In

addition, considering that most materials used are taken from the Anglo-Saxon

literature, these interviews were an opportunity to identify French particularities about

BIM. The objectives were, therefore, to understand the state of BIM in France and to

identify the impacts of BIM on Project Management in France.

2.6.2 Finding people to interview

In order to find construction professionals with a strong knowledge about BIM, the

author used his friends network, and the on-line professional network called LinkedIn.

Two interviewees were friends with the author. Two other interviewees were directly

contacted via LinkedIn, although they did not know the author. One interviewee was

contacted via a common friend. The author tried to meet people with different

approaches about BIM. The introduction of interviewees can be found in Appendix F.

2.6.3 Interviewing people

In order to meet the objectives, the author tried to guide interviews towards the question

of the impacts of BIM on Project Management. However, considering that their jobs

and expertise did not always match exactly with these issues, it was sometimes difficult

to talk precisely about this particular subject.


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2.7 Programme

This chapter details the planned and actual schedules of this dissertation.

In order to meet the objectives of this dissertation in time, the author produced a

programme at the beginning of the project. This programme is represented in Figure 2.

The author kept a schedule updated all along the project; the actual schedule is

represented in Figure 3.

Considering the lack of time, the planned case study was cancelled, and the time

allocated to site visits was greatly reduced.

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Figure 2: Planned Schedule

TaskPreliminary-Literature-review

2mSite-visits

2w

Meet-professionals3wAnalyse-Interviews-and-site-visits

2wFinal-literature-review

1wCase-study

3wDiscussion

1wConclusion

1wCheck-References

2dReread

5dPrepare-the-presentation

2w

Due-Date

AprilMay

JuneJuly

August

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Figure 3: Actual Schedule

TaskPreliminary-Literature-review

3mSite-visits

4dMeet-

professionals5d

Analyse-Interviews-and-site-visits

2wFinal-literature-review

4dCase-study

0Discussion

2wConclusion/-Introduction-/M

ethodology1w

Check-References

2dReread

5dPrepare-the-presentation

2w

Due-Date

AprilMay

JuneJuly

August


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3 Literature review

3.1 Introduction to BIM

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the reader to BIM and its related issues.

3.1.1 BIM Concept

Although BIM has no single definition accepted by all (Eastman and others, 2008),

most specialists agree that BIM is both a modelling technology and a set of associated

processes aimed at creating a virtual model of a building (Smith, 2007). This model will

form, therefore, a reliable basis for decision-making during the complete life-cycle of

the project, from conception to demolition (NIBS, 2007). For the purpose of this

dissertation, BIM will be defined as follows:

BIM is a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics

of a facility. [] it serves as a shared knowledge resource for information

about a facility forming a reliable basis for decisions during its lifecycle

[...]. A basic premise of BIM is collaboration by different stakeholders at

different phases of the lifecycle of a facility to insert, extract, update, or

modify information in the BIM to support and reflect the roles of that

stakeholder. (NIBS, 2007)

3.1.1.1 BIM as a technology

From a technology perspective, a BIM model is a digital 3D representation of a project

that brings together all the information about the project components (Azhar and others,

2012).

Unlike previous CAD software, BIM models are not made of 3D graphical entities such

as spheres or arcs; this technology is based on parametric objects that contain

information about what they represent (Azhar and others, 2012), as represented in

Figure 4. Object-based parametric modelling uses a number of characteristics, called

parameters, to determine the properties of each object and the rules that define the

relationships between them (Autodesk (a), 2007). This data rich object-orientation

allows the model components to be automatically updated when a change is made

(Woo, 2007). It also enables to capture the design criteria directly during the modelling

process by converting them into object properties (Eastman and others, 2008). In

addition, each component can contain any additional information such as its material


Dissertation 14

and its price. Consequently, the model can be used as a platform to manage all the

building information (Succar, 2009).

Figure 4: Comparison between 2D CAD, 3D CAD, and Object-based parametric

modelling

3.1.1.2 BIM as a process

A common misconception about BIM is that it is only 3D modelling software (Eastman

and others, 2008). The other important aspect of BIM is the associated processes, which

are defining a new paradigm in the construction industry, which notably involves

significant changes in information exchanges, workflows, and project delivery

processes (Azhar, 2011).

Indeed, BIM supports integrated collaboration based on life-cycle approach (Rizal (a),

2010), by focusing on open information sharing and integration of all project phases

(Rizal (b), 2010).

In traditional Construction Project Management, which is divided into several phases,

participants of different phases do no communicate with each other (Grandsberg and

Ellicot, 1997; Guo and others, 2010). By contrast, Life-cycle Management aims at

integrating all phases of Project Management, by considering the impact of each

decision on the whole life-cycle, described in Figure 5 (Guo and others, 2010).

Consequently, all project participants must be involved in every phase of the project.


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Figure 5: Lifecycle of a construction project (Guo and others, 2010)

As a shared platform for all stakeholders in all project phases (Rizal (a), 2010), BIM

encourages this collaboration, as shown in Figure 6. It favours concurrent design and

engineering by different disciplines (Rizal (b), 2010), which causes project phases to

overlap (Succar, 2009). This phenomenon leads to the shifting of most activities from

their dedicated phases to the early design phase (Rizal (a), 2010) as described in Figure

7.

Figure 6: BIM model as a shared platform (Baoping and others, 2010)


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Figure 7: The shifting of activities caused by BIM

The Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) concept naturally emerged to support processes

associated with BIM (Azhar and others, 2012). According to The American Institute of

Architects (AIA) (a) (2007), IPD is a highly collaborative project delivery approach

based on open information exchange between project stakeholders. It notably takes the

advantage of the early contributions of participants expertise in order to increase

project value and maximise efficiency through all project phases. BIM and IPD appear

to be highly complementary. BIM supports the IPD approach by providing a platform

for collaboration that can notably combine design, fabrication information and project

logistics in a single database (The American Institute of Architects, 2007). Reciprocally,

IPD supports BIM by encouraging project participants to be involved early and to share

building information.


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3.1.2 BIM functions

3.1.2.1 Clash detection

According to the BIM Journal Editor, (2012), clash detection is a crucial element of

BIM. As models of every discipline can be combined into a single composite master

model (Grilo and Jardi-Goncalves, 2010), clashes can be detected. A clash refers to

an occupation of the same space by two different objects (Words & Images, 2009).

Consequently, design inconsistencies and constructability issues can be easily identified

before the construction phase, which prevents expensive and time-consuming defects

and reworks (Words & Images, 2009).

3.1.2.2 Analyses

BIM models can be used to carry out a large number of analyses of different types

(Words & Images, 2009). Using the data of a BIM model, specialised software can be

used to simulate and analyse the buildings characteristics in various categories such as

energy performance, structural analyses, acoustic and lighting analyses (Words &

Images, 2009). The proposed design can, therefore, be measured against the Clients

requirements and the expected building performance. The other main benefit of these

tools is their abilities to run what if scenarios that will lead to optimal solutions (Azhar

and others, 2008). Therefore, the project value will be highly increased, particularly in

terms of energy efficiency, which is a crucial criterion for the accreditation of

environmental labels.

3.1.3 BIM interoperability

Considering that collaboration is a fundamental aspect of BIM and that different BIM

software packages can be used, the interoperability of information is a crucial issue.

This is why several exchange formats were developed. Industry Foundation Class (IFC)

is the main protocol for interoperability (Eastman and others, 2008). This format was

developed by the buildingSMART alliance and therefore does not belong to a particular

software vendor. Most BIM software is IFC compliant, which means that they correctly

implement IFC. A list of the IFC compliant software can be found on the

buildingSMART website (Espedokken, 2013). Although it has been proved that the IFC

protocol is sufficiently mature to be adopted in BIM projects, the use of IFC requires an

important knowledge about interoperability and BIM standards (Pniewski, 2011). In

addition, IFC does not enable to import/export the totality of a BIM model (Pniewski,

2011).


Dissertation 18

3.1.4 BIM Levels Of Development

BIM technology offers the opportunity to develop a realistic and detailed model of a

building or a basic model that represents the conceptual geometry of project

components. This is why the American Institute of Architects (2008) defined 5 Levels

Of Development (LOD). These LOD are contractually used by the different

stakeholders to identify, for each element, to what extent the BIM model will be

detailed and who will be responsible for developing each component. Table B.1 defines

the five LOD as described in the AIA BIM protocol exhibit (2008) and can be found in

Appendix B.

3.1.5 BIM Maturity Levels

While BIM Levels Of Development are contractually used on projects, maturity levels

were developed for organisations to benchmark their BIM practices and processes.

There are several Maturity Levels models such as the Capability Maturity Matrix

developed by the NIBS (2007) and the Maturity Index defined by the BIM Industry

Working Group (2011). Table C.1 defines the Capability Matrix and can be found in

Appendix C. Figure D.1 represents the Maturity Index and can be found in Appendix D.


Dissertation 19

3.2 Project Management in Construction

The purpose of this chapter is to give a brief overview of Project Management of a construction project. This will allow the author to analyse the potential impacts of BIM on Project Management in the next chapter.

3.2.1 Project Management Definition

According to Ward (2000), there is no single definition of Project Management,

accepted by all. The Project Management Institute (2013) defines Project Management

as the application of management skills and techniques to execute effectively and

efficiently projects, whereas businessdictionary.com defines Project Management as

the body of knowledge concerned with principles, techniques, and tools used in

planning, control, monitoring and review of projects. For the purpose of this

dissertation, Project Management will be defined as the interdisciplinary process, from

a concept of an idea, to the achievement of a satisfactory end result (Ward, 2000), and

a Project Manager will be defined as the person responsible for carrying out this

process, regardless who this person is working for.

3.2.2 Project Management main activities

According to the Project Management Institute (2000), the Project Management

Knowledge is based on nine areas:

1. Scope,

2. Time,

3. Cost,

4. Quality,

5. Human resources,

6. Communications,

7. Risk management,

8. Procurement and,

9. The integration of all these areas,

For the purpose of this dissertation, only the first seven areas will be developed

considering that no information about potential impacts of BIM were found for the two

last categories.

The deliverables, the associated processes and the objectives of each area are identified

in Table 3, as described in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (2000). Each

area is further explained below.


Dissertation 20

Table 3: Project Management Activities

Responsibility Deliverables Processes to develop the deliverables

Objectives / Utilisation of the deliverables

Project Scope Definition

1. Scope Statement

2. Work Breakdown Structure

1. Identify the customers requirements

2. Identify the project goals and functions

3. Identify the project deliverables

-

1. Ensure that all the stakeholders understood the project scope and objectives

2. Ensure that all the project deliverables have been identified

Project Time Management

1. Project Schedule

1. Activity Definition 2. Activity Sequencing 3. Activity Duration Estimating

1. Monitor progress to ensure that the project will be completed on time

2. Identify the specific activities that must be completed and when

Project Cost Management

1. Cost Budget 1. Resource Planning 2. Cost Estimating 3. Cost Allocating

1. Ensure that the project will be completed within the budget

Project Quality Management

1. Quality Planning

1. Identify Quality Standards relevant for each activities

2. Identify solutions to meet these standards

1. Quality Assurance 2. Quality Control

Project Human Resource Management

1. Organisational Planning

2. Staff Acquisition

1. Assign roles and responsibilities of stakeholders

2. Determine the relationships between stakeholders

1. Ensure that roles and responsibilities are properly defined

Project Communication Management

1. Communication Planning

1. Determine the information needs of the stakeholders

1. Information Distribution

Project Risk Management

1. Risk Identification

2. Risk Analysis 3. Risk Response

Planning

- Determine what hazards could occur

- Evaluate the probability of occurrence of these hazards

- Use Qualitative and/or Quantitative Risk Analyses methods

- Develop possible risk responses

1. Risk Monitoring and Control


Dissertation 21

3.2.2.1 Project Scope Definition

The Project Management Team is responsible for clearly identifying the project scope,

which includes the project goals and functions, the customers requirements and the

extent of works to be carried out in order to successfully complete the project (Project

Management Institute, 2000).

This task is usually performed by writing a Scope Statement which is an agreement

among the key stakeholders and the project team (Project Management Institute, 2000).

In addition, a Work Breakdown Structure is generally carried out to clearly identify the

boundaries of the project in terms of deliverables (Project Management Institute, 2000).

3.2.2.2 Project Time Management

In order to ensure that the project will be delivered on time, the Project Management

Team is responsible for developing a detailed project schedule (Project Management

Institute, 2000). This process involves identifying all the tasks, estimating their

durations, and sequencing them according to their dependencies (Project Management

Institute, 2000).

This Schedule must then be used to measure progress.

3.2.2.3 Project Cost Management

The Project Management Team is responsible for delivering the project within budget.

Therefore, a detailed cost estimate must be developed (Project Management Institute,

2000). This process involves identifying the quantities of materials required to perform

each task, and cost controlling (Project Management Institute, 2000).

3.2.2.4 Project Quality Management

Concerning the quality requirements of the project, the Project Team must implement a

quality management strategy, which includes quality planning, quality assurance and

quality control (Project Management Institute, 2000). Quality planning is to identify the

quality standards that are applicable to the project and to develop solutions to meet them

(Project Management Institute, 2000). Quality assurance is to assess the overall quality

of the project on a regular basis (Project Management Institute, 2000). Quality control is

to monitor the quality of specific works performed and to determine their compliances

with the relevant quality standards (Project Management Institute, 2000).


Dissertation 22

3.2.2.5 Project Human Resource Management

In order to manage the key stakeholders of the project and to organise the staff working

on the project, the Project Management team is responsible for developing a Human

Resource Management plan (Project Management Institute, 2000). This includes an

organisational planning that determines the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders.

Staff acquisition and team training must also be considered (Project Management

Institute, 2000).

3.2.2.6 Project Communications Management

In regards to communication between the key stakeholders, the Project Management

Team is responsible for developing a communication planning that defines the

information required by each project participant and the information exchanges to be

carried out (Project Management Institute, 2000).

3.2.2.7 Project Risk Management

The Project Management Team is responsible for managing the risks of the project.

They must therefore respect a risk management framework that includes: risk

identification, risk analysis, risk mitigation and risk responses (Project Management

Institute, 2000). In addition, these risks must be monitored and controlled during the

project (Project Management Institute, 2000).


Dissertation 23

3.3 Integration of BIM in Project Management

The purpose of this chapter is to analyse how BIM can impact the several Project Management activities, as described in the recent literature.

3.3.1 Scope Definition

BIM models are typically created after the Project Scope Definition stage (Performance

Building Institute, 2009). Consequently, BIM is not used to help define the project

scope and to develop the scope statement. Nevertheless, it can be used to visualise and

check the design concept and the scope of work (Himes and Steed, 2008).

Indeed, BIM can be used during the Conceptual Design phase whose goal is notably to

develop design alternatives in order to respond to the projects requirements mentioned

in the scope statement and the programme (Association of Professional Architects

Belize, 2013). This phase involves generating the general appearance of the building

and describing how it will meet the basic building programme. Figure 8 illustrates the

differences between conceptual design and construction documents with BIM.

Figure 8: Differences between conceptual design and construction documents with

BIM (Van, 2008)

BIM allows the project team to ensure the compliance of the proposed design(s) with

the owners requirements. By using the 3D representation, spatial analyses can be

carried out and the owner can quickly provide feedbacks (Eastman and others, 2008).

These early feedbacks have a strong and positive impact on the overall project success,

since most of the major decisions are made during the conceptual design phase

(Eastman and others, 2008). Changes can therefore be made earlier in the project life-

cycle, which increases their influences on the project outcomes (Cherry and Petronis,

2009) as described in Figure 9.


Dissertation 24

Figure 9: Level of influence of decisions in function throughout the project

(Cherry and Petronis, 2009)

In addition, later in the design process, the several analyses that can be conducted

through the BIM model, such as energy, light, and acoustic analyses, allow the design

team to ensure that the project will meet the project requirements regarding these areas

(Words & Images, 2009).

3.3.2 Time Management

Construction planning and scheduling is a complex process that involves estimating

tasks durations and sequencing activities according to their dependencies (Project

Management Institute, 2000). Spatial constraints, procurement and resources are some

of the issues that need to be considered during this process (Eastman and others, 2008).

Consequently, it requires the schedulers a significant personal experience to take into

account all the parameters, using only 2D drawings and the description of the project

constraints (Tulke and others, 2008).

To address these difficulties, BIM allows schedulers to include planning data within the

model such as the start date and the end date of a component, and float time available

(Autodesk (b), 2007). Some software applications allow schedulers to directly import

MS Project or Primavera files into the BIM model to automatically add the planning

data into the model (Autodesk (b), 2007). Construction simulations can therefore be run

to visualise the sequence of activities on the model. This visual link between the


Dissertation 25

schedule and the situation on the ground provides a reliable basis for decision making

when evaluating various options (Chau and others, 2004) and help schedulers to

consider all the project constraints (Eastman and others, 2008).

The construction simulations are very effective to communicate with stakeholders.

Traditional methods of representing schedules, namely Gantt charts, are difficult to

understand. Only people who developed the schedule can fully understand its impact on

site logistics (Eastman and others, 2008). This is why one of the benefits of 4D models

(3D+time) is its ability to visually communicate the planned construction process to all

the stakeholders. This allows the project stakeholders who did not develop the schedule

to review the proposed construction process, which can lead to better solutions and/or to

correct mistakes (Eastman and others, 2008).

3.3.3 Cost Management

Cost-estimating is a major task of Cost Management. This estimating process as

described by Halpin (2005), is divided into 4 phases that are represented in Figure 10.

Although Quantity take-offs is only one of these 4 phases, this is the longest activity

that traditionally takes from 50% to 80% of the overall process time, depending on the

type of the project (Autodesk, 2007 (c)). Indeed, estimators typically carry out manual

quantity take-offs from the 2D drawings (digital or paper-based), which involves

potential human errors and a lot of efforts (Sabol, 2008). BIM models offer the

possibility to automatically generate quantity take-offs, counts and measurements, since

they do not only contain graphical entities but parametric objects. Estimators can extract

these quantities from the BIM model and use this information in cost-estimating

applications (Hartmann and others, 2012). Consequently, a lot of time is saved and

errors are reduced (Autodesk, 2007(c)). Besides, as the quantity take-offs can be almost

instantaneously updated from the BIM model, estimators can rapidly react to design

changes (Eastman and others, 2008).


Dissertation 26

Figure 10: Estimating process (Halpin and Woodhead, 2005)

Some estimating software applications, such as Innovayas Visual Estimating, provide a

graphic interface that allows the user to visualise the model for estimating purposes

(Sabol, 2008). For example, by selecting an object type in the cost estimate table,

Innovaya can display the concerned objects in the model, distinguished from the non-

selected objects. This visualisation has a significant impact in the accuracy of estimates;

it allows estimators to gain a better understanding of the project and to make fewer

assumptions (Thurairajah and Goucher, 2013).

However, BIM does not automatically generates cost estimates, it is just a starting point

that provides some of the required information. The accuracy of quantity take-offs will

depend on the level of details of the model; in order to create a detailed cost estimate,

the model needs to be sufficiently detailed (Eastman and others, 2008). In addition, the

quantity take-offs activity does not become effortless with BIM, since estimators still

have to map the model and to identify project components in the same way these

components are divided in estimators cost databases (Hartmann and others, 2012). The

skills required to carry out this operation are new (Hannon, 2007). This may be the

reason why only 8% of Quantity Surveyors often use BIM to extract quantities

(Building Cost Information Service, 2011).


Dissertation 27

3.3.4 Quality Management

BIM offers new ways of managing quality of construction projects and creates new

quality issues that must be managed.

First, BIM greatly facilitates the quality assurance and control of the design. The

possibility to run performance analyses allows testing the design against the clients

requirements and the quality standards that must be met in such areas as energy,

acoustic, lighting, and even structural performance (Rizal (b), 2010). In addition, the

clash detection function makes possible to rapidly correct many design errors (Editor

BIM Journal, 2012). This constitutes, therefore, an effective quality control of the

design.

Secondly, the combination of 3D laser scanning and BIM makes possible to compare

what is actually built on site with the BIM model. 3D laser scanning is a recent

technology that enables to produce a collection of data points, called point clouds,

which generates a 3D representation of the scanned area (Slattery, 2010). BIM models

can thus be compared with the laser scan to detect potential deviations from the design

(Jones, 2012). This can therefore be used as a quality control technique. However, it is

costly and time-consuming; 3D lasers are expensive high-tech products and scans can

take a relatively long time, depending on the required level of details. This is why it can

be more specifically used to control the quality of structural components that does not

require a high level of details (Haijian and Brandow, 2012). Indeed, structural

components such as rebar can be modelled as cylinders and steel sections can be

selected from standard section lists (Haijian and Brandow, 2012). Akinci et al (2006)

demonstrated the capability of this technology to detect the construction defects and

deviations in general. This technique is currently not widely used, but some specialists

are confident about its future expansion (Jones, 2012).

Although BIM offers new possibilities concerning quality assurance and quality control,

it also involves managing the quality of the BIM model itself. According to Kim and

Seo, (2010) BIM models must be checked on three distinct areas, namely: physical

elements, logical elements and object definition.

Physical elements refer to the level of details of the model, which must be checked and

measured against what was contractually defined (Kim and Seo, 2010).

Logical elements refer to logical checks such as the compliance with the programme in

terms of space areas, rooms, safety regulations etc. (Kim and Seo, 2010).


Dissertation 28

Object definition refers to the names, attributes and properties of project components

described in the model. For example, if a wall is defined as a window, a quality control

must detect this mistake in order to correct it (Kim and Seo, 2010).

Given that BIM models are object-oriented, these quality checks can be performed

using software tools to support the process (Kim and Seo, 2010).

3.3.5 Human Resource Management

As a new technology that is associated with new processes, the use of BIM on a project

requires new roles and responsibilities to be assigned to new individuals. Modifications

in the way major stakeholders perform their activities are also needed (Rizal, 2010).

One of the most critical factors to successfully implement BIM on a project is the

personnels quality and knowledge (Sacandi, 2013).

According to Sacandi (2013) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (2010), a BIM

team must be established in the initial phases of a project where BIM is to be

implemented. This team must comprise a BIM Manager, a BIM Sponsor and Technical

disciplines/trades Lead Coordinators. There can be several BIM Managers, for example

a Design BIM Manager and a Construction BIM Manager (Department of Veterans

Affairs, 2010).

A BIM Manager is an individual with an important BIM experience and a sufficient

knowledge of the proposed authoring and coordination software (Department of

Veterans Affairs, 2010). His main role is to guide the rest of the project participants to

use BIM (Sacandi, 2013). He is responsible for ensuring the coordination and

integration of model information by providing appropriate technical configurations

(Department of Veterans Affairs, 2010; Sacandi, 2013).

A BIM Sponsor is a higher management BIM advocate who understands the need of

resources to successfully implement BIM (Sacandi, 2013).

Technical disciplines/trades Lead Coordinators must be the BIM leaders of major

operating units, such as Architecture, Civil, MEP and Structural units (Department of

Veterans Affairs, 2010). Their role is to coordinate the works of their units with the

other project participants (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2010; Sacandi, 2013).

In addition, BIM implementers must be involved in the project (Sacandi, 2013). They

are not necessarily part of the BIM team, as they do not participate in decisions

(Sacandi, 2013). Their role is to assist the operating units by actually using the software


Dissertation 29

applications and helping them to understand the processes associated with BIM and the

information required (Sacandi, 2013).

Considering these new roles and individuals, the project manager must include them in

the organisational planning and the staff acquisition strategy.

Furthermore, the collaboration promoted by the use of BIM involves changing the roles

of the major stakeholders, namely: the Client, the Architect, and the Contractor (Rizal,

2010). These changes must be managed by the Project Management team to ensure an

optimal use of BIM (Rizal (a), 2010). Unfortunately, according to Rizal (a) (2010),

there is no complete practical knowledge on how these stakeholders should be managed

to allow collaboration to be effective. However, it is clear that traditional project phases

must be adjusted, as mentioned in chapter 3.1.1.2, to allow all the stakeholders to be

involved in early phases (Autodesk, 2008). In addition, the Project Management team

must clearly explain the importance of collaboration to the Architect and the Contractor

(Autodesk, 2008).

3.3.6 Communications Management

In theory, BIM makes possible for all members of the team to see any modification

made on the model in real-time (Mondrup and others, 2012). Consequently, BIM

improves the speed of communication and the quantity of information that can be

exchanged (Socha and Lanzetti, 2012). However, it does not necessarily improve the

overall communication among the project participants if the project team does not

develop a clear and appropriate communication strategy (Goldberg, 2011).

The Project Execution Planning Guide that was developed by the Computer Integrated

Construction Research Program (2010) details the several communication issues to be

considered.

The project team must define a collaboration strategy that determines the general

collaboration process, which should include communication methods and document

management (The Computer Integrated Construction Research Program, 2010).

Collaboration activities and their procedures should be defined, including frequency,

participants, and the location of each activity. (The Computer Integrated Construction

Research Program, 2010)

More importantly, the model delivery schedule of information exchange must be

developed. It should include the due dates of exchanges, but also the file type of the

model, the software used to create the file, the native file type, and the file exchange


Dissertation 30

type (The Computer Integrated Construction Research Program, 2010). This is part of

the general electronic communication procedures that must be established by the project

team.

In addition, the project team must determine which software applications and versions

will be used (The Computer Integrated Construction Research Program, 2010). This

must be done at the very beginning of the project in order to be able to solve any

interoperability problems that could arise. Project participants must agree upon the

modelling content and reference information (The Computer Integrated Construction

Research Program, 2010).

Thus, the speed of communication made possible with BIM must be combined with an

important communication planning and the development of procedures to truly improve

communication between the project stakeholders (Goldberg, 2011).

3.3.7 Risk Management

BIM does not change the way risks are managed on a construction project, but it

generates new risks and mitigates others.

From a technology perspective, some benefits of BIM effectively mitigate several

significant risks (Hammad and others, 2012). For example, the clash detection function

allows the risk of design errors to be reduced and, therefore, potential reworks are

avoided (McGraw Hill Construction, 2011). The building performance analyses allow

the certainty to meet the Clients requirements to be increased, which notably reduces

the risk of not achieving sustainability goals (McGraw Hill Construction, 2011). In

addition, the automatic extraction of quantity take-offs reduces the risk of errors in cost-

estimates (Hammad and others, 2012).

From a process perspective, 77% of respondents of the SmartMarket Report, published

by McGraw Hill Construction in 2011, believe that integrated teams and collaboration

made possible with BIM help to reduce several factors of risk in construction. For

example, the involvement of all the major project stakeholders in early phases tends to

result in a more complete design (McGraw Hill Construction, 2011). Communication is

improved in a collaborative environment, which reduces risks of delays and

misunderstandings (McGraw Hill Construction, 2011)

However, BIM also generates new risks due to collaboration between project

participants. Disputes are very frequent in construction projects; this is why the

contractual relationships between stakeholders traditionally detail the several


Dissertation 31

responsibilities of each party. Because of the collaborative environment that is

associated with BIM, it is difficult to establish liability when a problem appears

(Martin, 2012). Given that the BIM model and data are shared between all the project

stakeholders, it is arduous to track the genesis of errors (The American Institute of

Architects, 2007). In addition, some changes that are made automatically can also lead

to mistakes (The American Institute of Architects, 2007). Consequently, there could be

a higher risk of disputes and litigations on projects where BIM is implemented (Martin,

2012). Although this issue could theoretically be managed by the use of BIM-specific

contractual provisions (The American Institute of Architects, 2007), some argue that

aggressive use of disclaimers and clauses would strongly reduce the benefits of BIM

(The American Institute of Architects, 2007).


Dissertation 32

4 Questionnaire

The purpose of this chapter is to present and analyse the results of the questionnaire.

4.1 Global results

The table of results of the questionnaire can be found in Appendix E.

4.1.1 Level 1: Awareness

As described in Figure 11, 27% of construction professionals never heard of BIM.

Have you ever heard of BIM?

Figure 11: Global results, Awareness

Figure 12 describes from where respondents heard about BIM.

From where have you heard about BIM?

Figure 12: Global results, Source of awareness


Dissertation 33

4.1.2 Level 2: Basic knowledge

As described in Figure 13, 42% of respondents do not know any BIM software package.

How many BIM software packages do you know?

Figure 13: Global results, Basic knowledge

4.1.3 Level 3: Basic usage

As described in Figure 14, 62% of respondents have never used BIM software.

Have you ever used BIM software?

Figure 14: Global results, Basic usage


Dissertation 34

Figure 15 represents for what purposes respondents used BIM.

For what purposes have you used BIM model(s)?

Figure 15: Global results, common usages of BIM models

4.1.4 Level 4: Advanced knowledge

As described in Figure 16, 82% of respondents do not know what IFC is.

Do you know what IFC is?

Figure 16: Global results, Advanced knowledge


Dissertation 35

4.2 Comparison between young and older professionals

As mentioned in the methodology chapter, most respondents are young construction

professionals. For this reason, the author decided to make a comparison between young

and older construction professionals answers to determine if the global results are

biased by the young average age of respondents. This comparison also makes possible

to identify a potential evolution of the construction professionals knowledge about

BIM.


Figure 17 indicates that 86% of professionals younger than 25 have ever heard of BIM,

against 47% of older professionals.


People up to 25 years old

People strictly older than 25

Figure 17: Comparison between young and older construction professionals, Awareness


Dissertation 36


Figure 18 indicates that 72% of professionals younger than 25 have at least a basic

knowledge about BIM against 32% of older professionals.




Figure 18: Comparison between young and older construction professionals, Basic knowledge


Figure 19 indicates that 50% of professionals younger than 25 have ever used BIM

software, against 16% of older professionals.




Figure 19: Comparison between young and older construction professionals, Basic usage


Dissertation 37


Figure 20 indicates that 22% of professionals younger than 25 know what IFC is,

against 11% of older professionals.




Figure 20: Comparison between young and older construction professionals, Advanced knowledge

4.2.5 Conclusions

Two conclusions can be drawn from these results.

First, it can be noticed that younger construction professionals know more about BIM.

Proportionally the difference between these two categories becomes greater with the

level of knowledge, apart from the last level.

Secondly, the global results are biased by the fact that most respondents are young

construction professionals. In reality, it can be expected that the global knowledge of all

construction professionals is significantly lower than presented above.


Dissertation 38

4.3 Comparison between people who work on-site and others


Figure 21 indicates that 31% of construction professionals who work on-site have ever

heard of BIM, against 26 % of other construction professionals.


People who work on-site

Others

Figure 21: Comparison between professionals who work on-site and others, Awareness


Figure 22 indicates that 56% of construction professionals who work on-site do not

know any BIM software package, against 36 % of other construction professionals.



Others

Figure 22: Comparison between professionals who work on-site and others, Basic knowledge


Dissertation 39


Figure 23 indicates that 63% of construction professionals who work on-site have never

used BIM software, against 62 % of other construction professionals.



Others

Figure 23: Comparison between professionals who work on-site and others, Basic usage


Figure 24 indicates that 100% of construction professionals who work on-site do not

know what IFC is, against 74 % of other construction professionals.



Others

Figure 24: Comparison between professionals who work on-site and others, Advanced knowledge


Dissertation 40

4.3.5 Conclusions

From these results, it can be concluded that construction professionals working directly

on-site know less about BIM than others. However, this is not due to the utilisation of

BIM on projects, considering that the percentage of people who already used BIM is the

same for the two categories of professionals.


Dissertation 41

5 Interviews

The purpose of this chapter is to summarise the results of the interviews.

5.1 BIM concepts and definitions

5.1.1 BIM model

Mr Amara explained that a real BIM model is to be used by several participants at

several phases of the project (e.g. design phase and execution phase).

In more practical terms, Mr Levrot stated that the objective of BIM is to produce a

complete virtual model of the building before the execution phase.

5.1.2 Pre-BIM model

Mr Amara defined what he calls a pre-BIM model. A pre-BIM model is created with

BIM software, but it is not used by several participants and/or at several phases of the

project. It cannot be called a BIM model, since it does not comply with the condition

mentioned above.

5.1.3 Dead model

Even more specifically, Mr Amara defined what he calls a dead model. A dead model

is created with BIM software, but it cannot be used during the utilisation phase, since it

does not represent the final building. For example, if a model is created by the Architect

during the design phase, and is not updated by the Contractor during the execution

phase, there will be many differences between the model and the final building; it will,

therefore, become a dead model.

BIM is aimed at being used until the maintenance and utilisation phases, or even the

deconstruction phase. If a model is created and used only during the design phase and is

not updated according to the modifications that will be made afterwards, this model will

eventually be different from the real building. Consequently, this model is not a real

BIM model, it is only a dead model.

Franois Amara (2013)


Dissertation 42

5.1.4 BIM levels

Mr Amara defined three levels of BIM. Each level involves different missions and

software products.

5.1.4.1 Level 1: Modeling

Each member of the design team (Architect, MEP Engineers, Structual Engineers etc.)

creates a model using BIM software, such as Revit, AECOSim etc. (Amara).

5.1.4.2 Level 2: Navigation

The different models are compiled to create the BIM model that will be used for several

analyses, such as clash-detection, using for example Navisworks or Navigator (Amara).

5.1.4.3 Level 3: Collaboration

This level refers to a real collaboration between the project stakeholders, involving

verifications and approvals. Buzzsaw and Projectwise can be used for this level

(Amara).

5.1.5 BIM interoperability

5.1.5.1 The three operability levels

Mr Amara distinguishes three operability levels:

1. Compatibility: A is compatible with B; C is compatible with D. This level

refers to the different software from the same software publisher (ex: Revit MEP

is compatible with Revit Architecture; AECOsim Energy simulator is

compatible with AECOsim Building Designer)

2. De-facto standard: A, B, and C are compatible with D. This level refers to the

scenario when a specific software product is used by most project participants;

the others must, therefore, work with the same format.

3. Interoperability: A, B, C and D are all compatible through an open standard.

This level is not currently reached in BIM.


Dissertation 43

5.1.5.2 IFC

Mr Amara considers that IFC is not harmful when a file is imported from a different

software product, considering that it is almost the only way to convert the information.

Moreover, IFC is relatively effective for visualisation purposes.

However, Mr Amara pointed out the fact that IFC conversions cause 15-20% of random

data loss and double the size of files. This is unacceptable for the client and it causes

liability issues (Amara). Indeed, if a file is converted into IFC, the author of the original

file cannot guarantee the converted version (Amara).

The main point is the difference between exchanges and deliverables (Amara).

Exchanges refer to the regular exchanges between designers, whereas deliverables refer

to the final exchanges with the Client (Amara).

There is absolutely no project in the world where regular exchanges were to be in IFC

contractually. The last New York Guidelines, published in July 2012 is IFC-free.

American companies do not want to use IFC.

Franois Amara

Nevertheless, Mr Amara thinks that working with a single software publisher and

delivering a final BIM model to the client in IFC - what is called Native + IFC - is a

good practice.

IFC are useful, but professionals must accept that exchanges between designers cannot

be in IFC.

Franois Amara

In order to ensure operability between designers, Mr Amara thinks that a de-facto

standard must be established on every project. This means to impose the software

publisher that is used by most project participants (Amara). However, some BIM

specialists disagree, considering that each software editor offers particular advantages

(Moreau, 2013). For example, Revit is particularly effective for Architectural elements,

whereas Tekla is specialised in steel structures (Moreau, 2013).


Dissertation 44

5.1.6 BIM implementation scenarios

Three different kinds of BIM implementation scenarios were identified by Mr Amara,

depending on who takes the initiative to implement BIM on a project.

5.1.6.1 Client initiative

The ideal scenario is when the client wants to use a BIM model and appoints a Project

Manager who will be responsible for the entire project, from design to delivery

(Amara).

5.1.6.2 Contractor initiative

The Contractor can decide to use BIM, even though the Architect works with 2D

drawings (Amara). In that case, the model is called a synthesis model and is used to

carry out the data synthesis (Amara). The Contractor will create this model on the basis

of the 2D drawings made by the design team (Amara).

The Contractor can then decide to sell this BIM model to the Client so that it could be

used during the utilisation and maintenance phases (Amara). Most of the time, the

model is used only to synthesise the data and is not sent to the Client (Amara).

5.1.6.3 Architect initiative

Sometimes, the Architect takes the initiative to implement BIM on the project. This

leads to different options (Amara).

First, if the Client did not express any needs for a BIM model, the Contractor can decide

to work with 2D drawings (Amara). This is the most common scenario in France;

models are only dead models that are used only by the Architect in order to visualise

the project (Amara).

Secondly, if the Contractor chooses to work with BIM, or if the Client imposes him to

do so, he can work with a synthesis model, different from the Architects model

(Amara). This is what is happening on the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris (Amara).

Thirdly, the Contractor can work with the same model as the Architect, as it is the case

on the future Paris Courthouse

Benjamin Gaudin These BIM 1311

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