In the first article in our BIM series, we looked at the history of BIM, both its philosophical underpinnings and the technological advances that have made it an increasingly central part of the construction process. Much of this article focused on the ways in which BIM empowers cross-departmental collaboration, from estimating and bidding to construction to maintenance and operations. In this article, we will delve deeper into this notion of collaboration as we examine the ways in which it is essential to the widespread adoption of BIM, from competitors working as collaborators to the adoption of new data standards.
Industry demand leads to the collaboration of competitors
The call for greater adoption of BIM technologies and philosophies has resulted in strange bedfellows in the construction industry. In the past, companies may have pursued some loose form of vertical integration, where a hardware vendor might develop its own software rather than working with a software developer to bring together the best of their solutions. This usually means that companies specializing in hardware do not always specialize in software and vice versa. In cases where software created exclusively to work with a rover, drone, etc. is excellent, it may encounter the challenge of the lack of OpenAPI to easily integrate with other systems. And if the data can’t be easily transferred to other systems and departments, there’s not much value in having it in digital form in the first place.
Now, companies often see the value of integrating their products and specializing in the areas they are known for. For example, Esri, a leader in GIS intelligence, has an entire page dedicated to its partnership with Trimble, another leader in global positioning technology. You’ll find the same about Esri on the Trimble website. Their association is not only philosophical, but practical. At the end of the day, there are teams using Trimble’s Esri hardware and software, and it’s much simpler and more beneficial to the end user to integrate those platforms than it is for Esri to, say, acquire a mobile company or Trimble invest in development. a software similar to ArcGIS.
This is just an example, but backed up by numbers, per BIM object;
- 73% of AEC organizations say that having a highly collaborative relationship is extremely or very important to the success of their projects.
- 48% of AEC firms will not even work with other organizations or are not competent in BIM
As BIM Object points out, “BIM is not lone wolf software. It’s a collaborative process.”
Organizations of all sizes can collaborate in the use of BIM
If you’re reading this and thinking “ok, this is great for companies like Trimble, Esri, Bentley, Autodesk, HDR, WSP, etc., but I’m a mid-sized design or technology company, or a small local agency , what? about me?,”Don’t worry: There are a number of opportunities for organizations large and small to get involved with BIM. First, don’t sell yourself short. You may not have the revenue or the numbers project of an industry leader, but there is one thing that is valuable to the entire industry: your data. but understanding the importance of making data from our systems accessible has led to partnerships with organizations such as Trimble, HDR, Esri and Bentley.If you bring a collaborative mindset and construction project data, these organizations will want to work with you .
Even if you are not yet in the partnership stage of your BIM journey, there are organizations you can join to support the pursuit of open data standards such as IFC and other technologies or processes that give BIM support:
