10 Advantages of using BIM Services for Contractors & Contracting Companies

While BIM Modelling services are swaying the AEC industry with the immense power it holds, the contractors and contracting companies are the ones that find it essential even during the pre-construction stage. In times like now, contractors are responsible for handling large infrastructure projects which will not only have to be sustainable but also comply with RERA guidelines and ‘COVID-19’ policies and so BIM services are their perfect solution to success. Here we will investigate some of the way contractors are benefited using BIM.

1. PreConstruction Stage: To understand the design intent accurately coordination with the designers becomes an important step during the pre-construction stage. With BIM the contractors can now constructively coordinate with the project owners and designers which aids in delivering the correct expectations and information about the project. In no time the contractors can have hands-on accurate cost estimates and schedules, in addition to having visual representation that will help in validating costs and managing risks beforehand. Contractors can identify design-flows during the pre-construction phase which can be expensive, tricky, harder, and labor-intensive if done with manual 2D drawings instead of BIM.

2. Precise Project Bidding: For designing a bid which is not only customer friendly but also suitable to the contracting companies there has to be cost estimation of systems & equipment and building materials. When this estimation is done using manual procedures of estimations that are 2D quantity surveying based it does not bring about efficient and accurate requirements and costs. Instead, it becomes a time-consuming, labor-intensive, and error-prone method. The easy and tech-driven solution to this is BIM as it helps contractors to create accurate project bids by deriving quantities from the BIM model making it faster and precise.

3. Construction Stage: When it comes to on-site construction BIM models aid as being the information resource. With the information provided by the BIM model, one can actively assign tasks during the construction stage. Not just this with a constant update of BIM models one can even monitor the construction progress accurately. Transparent construction progress and productivity of labor can be reported by contractors by linking schedules with BIM models. Since changes in BIM models are reflected and visible to the entire team it helps promote collaboration between the sub-contractors and contracting companies. Collaboration is the key to success in any of the Scan to BIM services projects or simply MEPF modeling.

4. Management of Change-Orders Effectively: The traditional 2D techniques have not been that efficient when it comes to handling change orders due to the process not being automated or intelligent enough to detect modifications, deletion, additions done to a project. But when BIM is brought to use the change order management becomes more efficient due to the following ways:

• Any system or component that is added, changed, or deleted is isolated
• Visually present all changes which could include associated quantities
• Review the quantity variances and then validate the change orders
• Develop better insights for having effective control on changes
• Verify every cost submittal of the subcontractors using minimum resources

5. Conflict Identification and Coordination: With BIM the contractors can detect clashes in a semi-automated and fully automated manner which will empower them to visualize the conflicts so that better decisions can be taken. With BIM implementation if there is any HVAC duct clashing with firefighting pipes for example can be identified automatically and resolved immediately. Such a mechanism does not just save big on time and money but helps secure the design intent and keep up to client expectations. With BIM coordination provided by the BIM outsourcing companies in India, the expectations of the client are safeguarded, and the disputes are minimized or completely avoided bringing about good relations. Not just this, due to the collaboration involved BIM also allows easy and quick interference checks between various elements and disciplines of the model bringing about the detection of conflicts at the initial stages itself. Due to this BIM makes the entire work more economical and helps spend less time on changes and corrections that are usually never paid extra.

6. Seamless Documentation: when there are multiple tasks on the table easy documentation is what everyone aspires for and with BIM, contractors can simply extract construction documentation from the BIM models directly without much effort as compared to the traditional CAD workflows. The dynamic behavior of 3D elements is one of the biggest advantages that BIM provides in the documentation process. Say for example, when someone makes a change to plan views, these changes automatically get reflected the section and elevation views too thereby saving a huge amount of time that was needed in manual updating of section and elevation view in applications like CAD.

7. Efficient Quantity Take-Offs: This is one of the biggest helps that BIM modeling services provide to the quantity surveyors of the construction project. With BIM most of the elements are available in 3D with their approximate location, size, and shape. This makes it easier for determining the quantity as expected by the quantity surveyors, helping save a lot of man-hours spent doing this job manually.

8. 4D Construction Simulation: Using 3D BIM this 4D simulation becomes a type of value addition for the contractors which brings about project scheduling. The project planners can plan a construction site by putting to use advanced planning software packages like Gantt charts etc. These charts can be added to the 3D objects of the BIM model representing the MEPF elements, architecture, structure, and a visualization of the construction time that can be derived.

9. 5D Cost Planning: For a construction project an appropriate cost planning can be achieved based on the construction timelines and can then be easily visualized along with 4D construction simulation. When the rate analysis found by the quantity surveyors is integrated into 4D simulation it brings about a clear intent of investment required and payment stages. In addition to this, the data showcasing the progress of construction helps minimize the delays in payments. This cost planning is termed as 5D cost analysis or 5D BIM.

10. Facility Management: Once the project reaches completion and is in the post-construction phase, most of the contractors offer maintenance services to the components they are responsible for installation during the construction phase and this is termed as facility management. The BIM models have data like installation dates, location, manufacturer details, warranty date, size, installer details, model number, part number, services routing, and much more which helps in this facility management and maintenance which means resolving post-construction issues effectively. Contractors can use this data to plan new installations or modifications to increase the quality, efficiency, productivity, and safety of the facility. With these errors can be reduced, reworks can be eliminated, and overall costs can be saved. Lifecycle data aids in achieving the cost forecasts that are associated with these improvements and upgrades. It is known that about 40% of the contractors or contracting companies have been reported to use BIM services for facility management.

With these advantages, BIM contractors gain greater insight and control over the construction projects thereby improvising the entire construction life cycle, success rate, and ROI of the project.