Sagi D. • I know a bunch of smart BIM engineers that can add the necessary formulas and data to fill in the "I". :D

Brendan M. • Strictly speaking Khaled, it isn't BIM it is just modelling, often referred to as the low hanging fruit of the process, as it provides significant benefits for not that much extra effort. It is a great way to build up experience and develop skills before moving further along the road to full implementation.

Khaled E. • @Sagi I am sure you do ;)

Khaled E. • @ Brendan, I agree with you but most of the clients aking for BIM are looking for clash resolving and 2D documentation only. and with sorrow many experts just save the headache and get paid rather than pointing them to the "I"

Brian M. • The real issue is that most "experts" either don't understand the value of BIM either or don't know how their piece of the BIM pie can be leveraged in the specific projects they are working in. Knowing what BIM can do is different from knowing how to leverage it and getting paid to lead that part of the implementation into a project.

Brian L. • Owners looking to develop a project are not necessarily looking to set the world on fire, or be the vanguard of what they may see as just another process du jour that someone is favoring this decade (like "design-build," or "partnering,"). They may not want to take the time up front to become informed. The designer can try to lead an owner to the water, but owners are not horses, and sometimes resent being led. In any case, the drinking part is definitely up to them.
But you ask a good question, Khaled. If the location, scheduling, cost, performance, manufacturer, and maintenance data or other "I" gets added only later, is the initial model still a BIM? I would say it is a potential BIM if it has "hooks" for those kinds of data. If data is eventually hung on those hooks, then I suppose that the potential, hollow BIM(odel), or virtual building could be called a complete BIM(odel), even if the BIM(odelling) its development did not involve a collaborative effort.
But I really think we try too hard to pin down the term BIM, which is pretty darned indefinite and flexible. It covers a wide range of entities and activities, and that range is ever-expanding. I don't see a hard, bright line where modeling stops an BIM starts.

Khaled E. • Most of the Models that are claimed to be BIM are only 3D Parametric Models. The clash detection and 2D documentation are results of the space occupied by Physical objects while INFORMATION has nothing to do with it although still called BIM. I have found that most of the REVIT models can’t be categorized as BIM. I am sure still some experts are able to make real BIM out of them.

Walter B. • I think there is a range of "BIM-ness" that people are working with that matches the needs of a particular project and the skills of people involved. While we all aim for per-BIM-fection (to coin a term), each situation calls for different BIM configuration/approach. It therefore behooves all the team members to get on the same page at a project's outset. Just my 2-cents.

Clive J. • Hi Khaled,

We agree, here's a video showing how a simple BM can make a BIM, 5D BIM:

http://bit.ly/3d-4d-5d-bim-video 

Best regards,

Clive

Khaled E. • @Clive Sorry but the link doesnt work.

Khaled E. • @Walter I agree with you, keeping in mind that any BIM model is subject to Progressive Elaboration throughout different stages of the project. BIM data structure should be kept dynamic to accommodate any future changes or integration that might be needed. I have always believed that Modeling is the easiest part while the real challenge is how to structure the Data.

Clive J. • Let's try this one:

http://bit.ly/3d-4d-5d-bim-video

Best regards,

Clive

Brendan M. • The NBIMS Capability Maturity Model provides a means of classifying BIM based on a matrix of maturity level and area of interest, and is a good first attempt at differentiating between projects that are low and high BIM maturity. The interesting feature of this classification is that it has a minimum threshold, below which the project cannot be classified as being BIM compliant, and can therefore clearly differentiate between what is and is not BIM.

For the project we are currently working on, a quick run of the check indicates we have a Silver rating, and I thought it was pretty advanced... Clearly we have some way to go to get the full Platinum level.

http://www.wbdg.org/bim/nbims.php

Dianne D. • In order to efficently define the "I" in BIM you need to start with the use cases and define to an object/element level the data needed. We did this for VA.
The formula- Use Case + Object Set + Phase = Information Requirements
We do this for all our clients. Doing it now for USCG.
The use case also informs the Phase Requirrements, LoD, and exchanges.

Donnie G. • This may be an unpopular response, but what creates more value to a client, metadata or better designs? While I would agree that clash detection alone isn't BIM, using information such as that derived from performing clash detection certainly is.

I feel a large number of design teams create intelligent models, add a profound amount of metadata, and call it BIM. Frankly that's no closer to being BIM than the clash detection example above.

The I in BIM is as much about the data (information) you add to the model as it is the information you derive from your model through analysis. Such analysis should be used to create better, more efficient designs. Unless that full profile of Information is satisfied, it's not BIM - rather modeling in 3D.

Mihai P. • easy: Revit, column schedules. I file that under Information

Brian L. • Hmmmm. Mihai seems to have stopped the show - temporarily, I am sure.
Schedules, not only for columns, and not only in Revit, do express information. Footings, wall assemblies, beams, baseplates, Equipment, Room Finishes, and openings have been described in tables since tables were invented. And these tables are models. If the table is generated by software from digital information embedded in model elements, we have a digital building information model. It may only be apply to some construction and FM uses. It may exploit very little of its potential. It may not be BIM as measured by the latest version of NBIMS Capability Maturity Index. But it is hard to deny that it is a Building model, that it carries quite a bit of information, and that it can be a valuable part of, or serve as the basis for a more complete model, and thereby be part of a larger BIM process.

Dianne D. • Of course schedules are a form of information and the way to gain derived information from the model. It is the reporting mechanism within BIM. The information added to an object is done so for a purpose, a use case. The NBIMS model builds its progression on a combination of model based intelligence, or information derived from the model, and the efficiency of the processes used by the team.

Donnie G. • To me Information has several subcategories; metadata (information added to items like doors and windows), reporting (information derived from metadata, and analysis (information derived from the model itself). Because the reporting and metadata components are easy to quantify (how much data did I input, how much did I report) it's the area many design teams become fixeated on and use to define the I in BIM.

My point is while reporting and metadata are certianly part of the I in BIM, so is analysis. Likewise, I think it's also important to emphasize that analysis is more than running clash detection in Navis. For example, I know many don't consider visualization as analysis, but given the information that's often derived from visualizations, I'd consider them as much an analysis tool as Navis for clashes.

We have a customer that creates renderings of equipment rooms in 3ds. Using those renderings they can more easily determine if shadows from other equipment will reduce the light cast upon electrical panels to a level it violates code. Other scenarios include exploring design alternatives such as building orientation, or window size/position to reduce the environmental impact of a building.

While difficult to quantify such analysis functions, I consider them to be just as (if not more) important than the metadata and reports. Afterall saving a customer money through analysis is likely to create more sustained value than any metadata will.

Dianne D. • Certainly the analysis opportunities of BIM are very important, and a main reason for creating a BIM as a value proposition. Derived data is another important aspect as is the spatial relationship of objects and elements. Finally, the ability to provide a component level inventory and simulation (another form of analysis).