BIM Planning for Facility Owners

Abstract

In 2009, The Building Information Modeling (BIM) Project Execution Planning Guide was released to support project teams by leading them through a planning process for BIM. A core principle of the planning procedure was to ‘Begin with the End in Mind’. This principle, when applied to the Architectural, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO) Industry highlights the need for facility owners to understand and communicate their goals for implementing BIM throughout the lifecycle of the facility so that teams can produce the information during a project that will add value to the owner’s business operations. When the BIM Project Execution Planning Guide was released, few owners had outlined their BIM strategy for implementation – both within the operations of their facilities and within the design and construction process. Therefore, this Guide was developed to aid facility owners as they develop strategic, implementation, and procurement plans for BIM integrating into their organizations.

Facility owners should have a different outlook on the value of BIM for their projects. The BIM Project Execution Planning Guide was focused on streamlining the planning and implementation of BIM use within one capital facility or project. The value of BIM tools and processes for owners can be very much attuned to the tools and enabled processes within a given project, or it can differ with a focus on the facility operations and related data after complete. The BIM Planning Guide for Facility Owners seeks to facilitate an owner’s review and planning for the proper investment in BIM in line with the specific project focal points or strategic business interests, in addition to improving the value in delivering a single facility.

This Guide presents a structured approach to effectively plan the integration of BIM within an organization. Three planning procedures are presented: STRATEGIC PLANNING to assess existing organizational conditions; align BIM goals and objectives with desired BIM Uses and maturity level; and develop a transition plan for BIM implementation -- IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING to develop the detailed implementation plan within the operations of the organization; and -- PROCUREMENT PLANNING to identify key issues to consider when creating BIM contract requirements.