The Top 5 Reasons You Need A BIM Execution Plan (BEP)

INTRODUCTION

In this article we use the umbrella term of “BIM Execution Plan” to discuss many of the important aspects of BIM planning and execution.

Maybe you are looking to build Exchange Information Requirements (EIR), a Master Information Delivery Plan (MIDP), the Responsibility Matrix or another BIM planning document?

This article discusses five reasons why these planning documents are so important for Building Information Modeling (BIM) on a project.

Reason 1:

To Define Why You Are Doing BIM In The First Place! 🤔 

Before starting a BIM Execution Plan (BEP), you must answer some of these important questions:

• WHY are you building a model in the first place? Are you doing BIM because everyone else is or is the model going to be used for certain purposes/BIM uses? (for example 3D Coordination, Cost Estimates, Phase Planning, etc..)
• WHY are certain model elements required at specific times throughout the project and who will create the models?
• WHY do you need teams to follow definitive workflows or processes or deliver in a particular file format?
• and many more “WHY” questions!

“Only once you have established a true purpose for using BIM on the project can you then more easily define the who, what, when, and how for project teams to achieve the true potential of BIM for the customer(s).”

For help on clearly defining information/BIM objectives – check out the ISO 19650 Workflow & Standards (International Information Management Standards for BIM).

Reason 2:

To Describe What BIM Is Required For THE PURPOSE 🎯  

Once you have defined one or more purposes (Model Uses or BIM Uses) teams must define the project-specific requirements.

To define these requirements it is recommended to use a known framework like the BIM Forum Specification or the new Level of Information Need framework from the ISO 19650 standards (EN 17412-1 2020) – examples below.

Using a known framework helps define clearly what is actually required and also better communicates these requirements to eliminate wasted effort by the project team. 

• BIM Forum Example:

• Level of Information Need Example (using Plannerly):

Completing the Asset Information Requirements (AIR):

For help defining BIM Execution Plans our industry actually has many BIM standards, BIM guidelines, BIM best practices, BIM templates, BIM spreadsheets, BIM… everything!

Whichever framework is used – it is essential that teams can understand the requirements.

DEFINE AND AGREE ON THE LEVEL OF BIM REQUIRED – BE CLEAR ON HOW MUCH BIM IS ENOUGH AND ALSO HOW MUCH BIM IS TOO MUCH!

Reason 3:

To Be Clear On Who Is Responsible and When ⏰ 

When a job needs doing and nobody is assigned the task it is unlikely to get done.

It is also true that if you assign a task but forget to define an end date it is unlikely that the task will be completed on time.

This is why clear assignment of tasks and also deadlines is critical for all BIM tasks.

Defining who is responsible starts with Information Management tasks – like setting up the Common Data Environment – right through to the BIM modeling tasks.

These tasks are typically established within Task Information Delivery Plans (TIDPs) and Responsibility Matrices to summarize and clearly communicate to the teams and team members responsible.

Tasks must also be contracted.

In Plannerly there is a simple BIM eSignature tool to ensure that teams can review, comment and sign-off for the work:

This highly secure workflow collects agreements on the signature page:

Getting approval on the BIM Execution Plan supports cross-company agreement and will result in teams spending more time on work with a purpose. 

Reason 4:

TO CLARIFY How Information Must Be 🤝Exchanged  

It doesn’t stop when the information is created – the next step is delivery, sharing, checking and publishing of information.

Smooth implementation of the BIM Uses requires a clear protocol for exchanging information.

Information must be delivered in the correct “Containers”, within the correct “Classification”, using the relevant “Naming”, in the correct “Medium/Format”, in the expected “Location/CDE” – with the correct “Metadata” added!

There are many items that teams must consider when exchanging information on a project – see the video below describing the Information Model Delivery process in more detail – this is reason number 4 😉  

Reason 5:

To Communicate How Project Performance IS MEASURED 📏  

One of the most famous phrases in business is “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” (by Peter Drucker).

This is also true with BIM.

The UK Government says the benefits of BIM can save projects up to 50% in design, 33% in construction and 20% in operations.

Using a BIM Execution Plan you can define the GOALS, the PROCESSES required to achieve desired results, and the DETAILS about how success will be measured.

These benefits can be gained through the use of a good online BIM Execution Planning workflow.

If we can plan BIM in the most efficient way the savings are well worth it so why not add some SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) BIM goals to your BIM Execution Plan for everyone to aim for?

😃 CONCLUSION 

In order to achieve huge time and cost savings design and construction professionals can adopt a BIM Execution Plan to specify the who, what, when and how for BIM.

If you wish to grow your organization’s use of BIM a BIM Execution Planning workflow should be mandatory as it will help eliminate waste through implementing a more repeatable workflow.

The challenge is putting all of this together in a simple way for the whole team to understand.

Plannerly customers are able to do this all in a simple and intuitive web-based interface – click the chat bubble (bottom right) if you would like to learn more or join free to access free BIM Execution Plan templates and create your first BEP in minutes!

Which BEP template will you use first?

More reasons to add? Share your ideas! 👍 

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