BIM Adoption can boost USA’s growth in the construction sector.

 Digital transformation is the lever that can Launch AEC sector into its next wave of growth. This is where Building-Information Modelling (BIM) comes into view.  In World Economy Construction Industry is the largest one, though it has challenges and gaps. The sector that requires a large amount of labour and has processes deeply set in the physical realm. Low efficiency, delayed construction and high costs are a few aspects that offer opportunities for optimisation.

BIM provides real time information model which will fosters real time collaboration between stakeholders and will also help them evaluate risk associated and reduce the future errors. BIM has capability to digital represent all aspects of design and construction which is at preconstruction level. It also gives access to information of every stage has deep effect on time scheduling for completion

There are eight dimensions of BIM and Implementation of same is possible at different stages, which translates to information for all stakeholders at various depths.  

The case for a BIM mandate in USA

The demand for housing is steady rising, residential projects picking up pace with multi-family complex, Post the pandemic-led pause, the sector is expected to bounce back with anticipated growth in the transportation, healthcare, commercial, and sectors starting in 2021. With expenditures reaching over 1,293 billion US dollars, the United States is one of the largest construction markets worldwide.

From 1970 construction firms in the USA had started implementing BIM yet the BIM adoption rate us slow.

Construction companies need to manage increase in workload with no significant drop in productivity would need the right technologies. Quite evidently, BIM Adoption has a solution for many of these incumbent challenges

Among all states in USA, Wisconsin was the first to implement a BIM mandate for public construction projects for over a USD 5 million budget or more.  In 2003, the US General Services Administration created the National 3D-4D-BIM Program that included a BIM adoption mandate for public building projects. Even at a projected growth rate of 15.6% in 2021, the USA Construction sector doesn’t yet have a national-level BIM mandate.

Without a mandate, BIM Implementation is likely to be slower as it will be dependent on the association between contractors, architects, construction firms, and other stakeholders.  BIM mandate in the USA has been challenging because there is no single federal agency that can plan and mandate BIM for all public projects.

The information at every level of construction enables enhanced control over the entire project, reduced risks and errors, better safety, optimized costs, and faster completion and logistics. Besides, BIM can be used in diverse construction arenas including road engineering and highway, rail and metro transportation engineering, land development and landscape, subway architecture and tunnelling, offshore and marine architecture, heritage building conservation to name a few. For BIM adoption to grow, we must think of BIM beyond its use as a design tool and explore the depths of information that BIM models provides.

 

The regular revisions of the National BIM Standard-United States (NBIMS-US) will propel the adoption of BIM as a comprehensive tool for construction simulation, visualization and facility management for any project. The government should refine the mandate based on its own experience with BIM. Besides, a mandate governing construction projects in the private sector may also be worthwhile, especially based on the building size, height or environmental impact or complexity.  A gradual implementation would work in the nation’s favour with federal buildings leading the way for BIM implementation. Even if a universal mandate is not feasible

 

Adoption of BIM Globally

The Scandinavian countries Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark have been among the early adopters of BIM Technology. In 2007, Norway adopted the BIM mandate for its state projects in 2010, followed by Denmark in 2011 and Sweden in 2015. In 2016, Norway shared an open BIM certification. Similarly, Finland implemented IFC compliance and BIM adoption for all public construction projects.

Many countries are moving faster towards BIM adoption because of the increasing demand for smart cities and urban planning,

The Swedish Standards Institute has published a series of guides with the aim of promoting BIM in the country since 1991, while starting from 2014 the BIM Alliance Sweden has brought together the main public and private stakeholders, to find more resources and support construction innovation.

Portugal and Spain are already going strong on BIM, France and Germany have scheduled a phased-out introduction of BIM in the last couple of years. While UK has also been a forerunner when it comes to BIM adoption. In 2011, the UK government aimed at digital transformation of the construction industry that would eventually project UK as the leader in the sector. Thus in 2016, the UK implemented a BIM Level 2 mandate for all its public construction projects.

In Asia, Singapore was one of the first countries to adopt BIM, followed by Japan, Korea, and China. In 2015, the Building and Construction Authority in Singapore had made BIM obligatory for all construction projects over 5,000 square metres. Since then, the Singapore government has witnessed a significant increase in construction productivity. In fact, the government estimates that productivity increases by up to 30% when using BIM. Australian state governments see similar benefits, and some have introduced similar mandates.

A strong BIM mandate is helping them achieve this goal and build a smart nation. These leading countries share a common goal: digitizing the construction industry to help ensure sustainability. and minimize costs.