What Does Every BIM Manager Need to Know?

Advice for Building Information Modelling Managers

Construction is going through a very exciting time at the moment; many innovative buildings going up all over the place that push the boundaries of design, material and sustainability. Technology is also moving quickly in order to keep apace. New BIM software has been introduced to the construction industry to help to make these projects achievable. All of this has helped to make it a great time to be a BIM Manager as well, giving people the tools they need to carve out a successful BIM strategy for their firm, win new business and execute profitable projects successfully. Becoming a BIM manager will give you the opportunity to combine your love of construction with all the latest technology to expand your own personal success. However, as Building Information Modelling experts, we know that it can sometimes be hard to get other departments at work as excited about BIM as you are, so we have pulled together a list of things that you need to keep in mind:

Articulate Your Strategy Well

As a BIM specialist, we know it is often easier to craft your businesses BIM strategy, post it on your firm’s intranet and then just forget about it. Instead, you need to develop your communication and presentation skills and get the whole company involved. Listen to the questions that your fellow employees are asking you and try to answer them in as simple a way as possible. Give everyone a good understanding of BIM and your strategy and you should find that everyone gets on board.

Don’t Forget To Get Project Owners On Board

As a BIM manager, you should never forget that the building owner is driving the project and they have specifications that you need to adhere to. You need to balance the deliverables the owner wants with many other variables, to deliver a successful and profitable project. This means that you need to provide owners with a BIM model that is tied to budget and schedule restraints to show the owner how any design changes will affect cost and timescale.

Keep Learning

As a BIM manager, you may not have any actual experience in the construction field so it is important that you learn as much as you can about means and methods and keep on learning. If you don’t know how the building process works, all the BIM software in the world won’t help you to create and manage a successful project.

Ensure Model Updating Is Seamless

Anyone who works in construction will tell you that models and designs change all the time, so don’t forget to integrate your BIM systems rather than just link them. The BIM information you keep needs to be seamless so that every time the design changes, the budget and schedule information needs to be updated as well. This can be a nightmare if you have to go in and manually change all the links, which is why it is so important to ensure you are making the right choices when it comes to IT.

For more information on how The CAD Room can help your BIM Manager control the BIM process, please give us a call on 0161 427 0348 or send us an email to office@thecadroom.com