Structurally Speaking: A practical approach to implementing BIM

The following is an excerpt from a recent article published in Structure Magazine. Microdesk Solutions Specialist, Leo Salce, AIA, LEED AP,  writes about how BIM is impacting structural engineering, the benefits and challenges of BIM, and strategies for how businesses can successfully implement BIM within their organizations.

Today, Building Information Modeling (BIM), the process of creating virtual information-rich three-dimensional models of a building or structure, is being leveraged in some capacity at every stage of the project delivery process, from design to construction to operations and maintenance. This is a far cry from where we were 10 years ago. Extraordinary advancements in technology and processes have not only made BIM possible, but effectively necessitated its use in many projects today.

Much of the reason for this movement can be attributed to the fact that the benefits of BIM, from improved visualization and model analysis to increased coordination and reduced project costs, are being realized in one shape or form by all the key players, structural engineers included. Adoption has progressed significantly in recent years, albeit largely due to the proliferation of more requests to have BIM models as the project deliverable. The ability to propose on more projects and potentially win more business are powerful motivators for any firm to get BIM-ready and become more marketable.

However, beyond being able to answer more RFPs, the structural industry is lagging behind some of its counterparts in the other design industry segments, such as architectural and MEP engineering. The reason for this is that, in most projects, creating drawings and using a BIM model for coordination are still the primary uses for BIM software by structural engineers; documentation is not dependent on analysis links or the other disciplines’ models.

Read the full article. (Structure Magazine)