Plan to BIM – put a simple project into BIM…?
- April 15, 2024
It’s a common experience during negotiations when the investor sitting opposite us, after half an hour of wild explanations, understands the essence of BIM, visibly thinks, gets a little nervous and cautiously asks the question, “If my plan is already done, can my project be BIM?”
Table of contents
Integration of an investment in progress into BIM
Because of the benefits of BIM, the option of “timing out” traditional projects often arises.
The good news is that it is possible.
The bad thing is that it costs money, as there is another design cost: the model.
It’s not like using a conversion program to decompress a pdf into word format and just format it. Existing plans help – they are linked so that you don’t have to resize everything – but this can only serve as a sort of guide to show that there is an object of a certain size in a given place.
The design must restart but with a different methodology: building a BIM model.
At this point, an important question immediately arises.
Is it worth moving your project to BIM?
The answer is that for complex technology or large and complex facilities, the cost of BIM will be recouped, even if the project is already underway or in the brownfield phase.
The fundamental reason for the move to BIM is that traditional 2D designs cannot effectively handle complex, multi-disciplinary design tasks. At the same time, they cause protracted negotiations and recurring problems, which in all cases result in serious budget and time overruns, and the finished house will almost certainly be a compromise.
BIM, on the other hand, can be used to create a comprehensive 3D digital model that includes all the data for the entire life cycle of a building. This enables more accurate design, facilitates disciplinary work and data provision (e.g. for BREEAM certification), helps to anticipate clashes, manages construction and operational processes more efficiently and ultimately saves significant time and money.
☛ The difference between classic and BIM workflow is summarised here.
BIM is generally worth using when applied to the largest possible slice of a building’s life cycle. That’s why it’s important to decide to switch as early as possible so that from then on you can manage your building project based on building information rather than 2D drawings.
But switching to a BIM workflow is like learning to drive a car after riding a bike – it requires investment and a change of mindset, but it quickly turns out to be more efficient and go a lot further.
Brown discount instead of green premium – hello, ESG!
BIM is very relevant in 2024, for example for office buildings.
The ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) regulations will make the assessment and retrofitting of non-ESG-compliant office buildings a priority in the next 5-6 years.
There are also visible economic signs of this: the real estate market has changed noticeably for some time: it is no longer necessarily the growing demand for sustainable buildings that is driving higher market prices and rents. Rather, it is the opposite that is driving price levels, i.e. the value of unsustainable buildings is declining and there are fewer and different types of investors interested in them.
Buildings in a better technical and physical condition, with more energy efficiency, command higher rents and higher values, while houses built in the early 2000s sell for much lower prices than today’s cost price.
To maintain the value of the office building stock, it is essential to respond to ESG – to assess what return and other indicators can be expected in the future through upgrading investment. BIM technology can play a key role in this.
☛ Read how BIM can help you meet ESG requirements!
What are the methods?
There are basically two ways of “timing”:
- 2D plan to BIM ⮕ plan to BIM
- For brownfield development, scan and model ⮕ scan to BIM
Plan to BIM
In “plan to BIM”, a 3D BIM model with data is created from the traditional 2D design documentation (drawings, plansheets).
Designers (architects, professional engineers) process and transform existing 2D plans and documentation in BIM software (e.g. Autodesk Revit) to create detailed 3D models.
Plan to BIM helps you eliminate the hassles of a traditional construction project and achieve the key benefits of BIM – including the ability to use traditional design documentation in a modern, digital format. It improves design accuracy, helps prevent conflicts, and facilitates collaboration between disciplines.
What you want to use the BIM model for depends on the BIM goals defined in the project, but in practice, you can get all the benefits of BIM – better late than never.
Scan to BIM
In “scan to BIM”, the physical condition of existing buildings is digitized using laser scanning or other 3D survey technologies, and a BIM model is created.
Scan to BIM is particularly useful for brownfield projects, like plant extensions. Integrating existing building structures, knowing the exact location and size of individual objects (piping, equipment, etc.) and on-site change management are key to avoiding problems such as unexpected plant downtime.
☛ If you are interested in what tools, projects and steps scan to BIM works with, read our What is scan to BIM post!
This is when civil engineers and surveyors use laser scanners, drones and other 3D surveying tools to create an accurate digital replica of the building. The resulting point cloud file is used to create the 3D model in BIM software.
A huge advantage of both solutions is that we can produce near-net-project-level designs that would otherwise only be possible in a greenfield project.
The scan to BIM can be used effectively in many construction processes: construction control/tracking, technological modernization, or when surveying large, complex buildings, structures and systems – such as the modernization of the Spike Hall.
Other ‘to BIM’ methods
At a less practical level, there are additional “to BIM” concepts, such as “Design to BIM“, which is effectively BIM-based design in another way. “Construction to BIM” integrates the data collected during the construction process (site changes, construction processes), while “Facility Management to BIM” integrates the operation and maintenance data of the completed building into the BIM model.
These “to BIM” methods feed data from different sources into the BIM model, and all contribute to increasing the efficiency and accuracy of construction projects. BIM models link design, construction, operation and maintenance together and make them more efficient, providing a comprehensive and integrated approach based on shared building information for the entire building lifecycle.