IMPLEMENTING BIM TECHNOLOGY The phrase BIM has now spread around the industry.

It seems to be the new way of working in the future and on some occasions it has already set itself as a standard way of working. But implementing BIM technology remains a challenging exercise. This proposal centres upon three main essential points. Business approach and strategy Before starting any implementation, it is critical that the management body takes some time to devise the strategy that will lead the BIM rollout. They need to appreciate and understand the concept of BIM to its full extent. A common mistake is, for example, to think that BIM is just a 3D CAD. Instead they should consider all the different aspects of BIM such as discipline collaboration; resolving design issue capabilities; 4d construction sequencing planning and much more. Simultaneously an analysis of the business requirements needs to take place. Aspects such as improvement of the company image as perceived by clients, improvements of internal processes related to project work and the project financial results should be the core of focus at this stage. The ensuing business plan that drives the implementation would then result in prioritising the key requirements with budgeting and planning to achieve these goals. The final step is putting indicators in place to monitor the success of the program as well as developing a risk management plan. Technical and project skills build up There are various ways to start the technical aspect of the implementation. One of the key points is the choice of the project and the team that would support each phase of the implementation program. For example, if the first goal is to produce documentation out of Revit, this will impact on everyone involved in the project because of the change of methodology, and modification of resourcing and time references. This mean from day one, everyone has a role to play in the implementation, from the director to the CAD operator and these roles are clearly identified from the start. The other key to success is to stick to the business plan at least up until results starts to show. There are many examples where results are difficult to discern as they pre-maturely moved away from the initial plan. The implementation manager needs to enforce the direction set in the business plan and use his technical skills to help everyone in the organisation to achieve so. He needs to deliver quick answers in a pressured environment but maintain a firm vision of where the implementation is heading to. Management of development and internal knowledge The result of the implementation program would be a general increase of the BIM skills of everyone in the company. CAD operators would increase their ability to use BIM software. Engineers will have a better understanding of the benefit of BIM in their project management roles. Directors would appreciate the improvement to match or surpass client expectation and see the general improvement of the internal functionality of the organisation. However, to achieve a maximum return on investment it is very important to have solid mechanisms to ensure all these skills and knowledge are retained and reused widely throughout the organisation. A strong file and library management system, the development of BIM knowledge portal and the creation of a BIM manual with standard procedures can help ensure that BIM is used at its maximum potential. These tools are also an excellent way to plan for further implementation and achieve new goals with a deeper adoption of BIM.