Understanding Building Information Modeling

Have you ever wondered how governments and the infrastructure industry manage to plan, build, and improve your city and country? With everything going on in industrialized and developing countries, it’s hard to imagine how much effort and resources go into urban planning.

However, through the help of technology developed through decades of research and collaboration, experts now use a solution for problems in various high-level industries. They combined project management, communication, and design tools and came up with Business Information Modeling (BIM). While BIM as a process involves organizing and managing digital representations of, for example, a building’s master plan, the BIM files themselves can be modified and exchanged through various networks and among everyone involved in that building’s project management and construction.

The idea for BIM goes as far back as the 60s. While your grandparents probably worked on drafting tables for hours just to come up with a full building master plan, the younger building professionals have started to enjoy tinkering with computers to show clients a digital, full-color representation of a proposed master plan.

BIM has become an efficient tool for those working in the fields of architecture, engineering, construction, and other related industries. Architects and engineers use AutoCAD, Revit, and other BIM software solutions to design floor plans that turn into 3D images, which can then be turned into a blueprint for client presentation. While it still takes hours to render realistic perspective drawings, using BIM in construction management has undoubtedly become the best practice among professionals.

So what are the advantages of BIM consulting services? According to experts, using BIM tools makes the entire building cycle more efficient. Because everything is tracked, charted, and the progress is monitored, a project’s stakeholders can determine the precise budget, materials to buy, and man-hours needed from start to finish. This also minimizes human error in project, budget, and building management.

BIM has become a standard among different yet co-existing disciplines in both developed and developing countries worldwide. Governments have established authorities, who in turn has drafted and approved specific guidelines in construction management and safety. In Dubai, authorities have issued circulars that address this issue. With the city skyline rapidly growing, BIM has indeed become a necessity in terms of guiding architects and engineers in urban planning and development.

With efficient BIM systems in place, governments, in partnership with private entities, can create more efficient, environment-friendly, and practical approaches to building a city. This allows professionals to cooperate with one another, brainstorm new building plans, and in general give their clients the best space solutions in construction management.