What do I need to know when hiring a BIM Consultant?

by Murillo Piazzi | August 26, 2022 | 5 min read

What do I need to know when hiring a BIM Consultant?
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Looking for guidance when it comes to BIM implementation? Here I have put together three steps that could help you when hiring a BIM consultant or putting together a tender document.

In the construction industry, BIM is essential in the information management processes of an asset. It has a fundamental role to play in ensuring that the data created by different professionals across the supply chain throughout the lifecycle of the asset is structured and consistent enough to enable the implementations of new technologies brought about through the introduction of Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Many of those who are embarking on their BIM journey feel overwhelmed with the apparent complexity of the processes and systems that need to be put in place to make the change to digital first. This is often more evident in public sector which is faced with the task of bringing their organisations up to speed with these latest developments in industry when putting together a robust tender package for services on mandated BIM enabled projects.

Many organisations simply don’t know what they need to ask for, and often ask for things that are not relevant or do not follow best practice. This results in systems that are out of date as soon as they are delivered and, ultimately, a waste of taxpayer’s resources.

Here are my three tips on what to ask for when hiring a BIM consultant.

1. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, ask for the latest standard

Do you see this keyboard in front of you? It has been specified, manufactured and tested against a recognised standard. What about the phone you are using? This would be the same. Therefore, why would it be different when using BIM?

BIM has been carefully and methodically set up with specific working methods, aligned to international standards. The hard work has already been done; all you need to do is follow the instruction manual.

A standard won’t give you the most advanced means to do something, but it will describe what needs to be done to achieve a product with a certain quality. It will also describe the tests that the supply chain needs to carry out to make sure that they are delivering what has been asked. All you need do to incorporate all this accumulated knowledge to your tender package is to ask for “BIM according to standard …”.

The current standards for BIM are in the ISO 19650 series but, as every standard, they could be updated or superseded by newer versions. It is always a good idea to have a look at what are the latest standards when you are asking for a BIM enabled project.

2. Know how to differentiate strategy documents from project documents

A New Year’s resolution is probably a medium to long term plan, something big enough to take us out of our comfort zone. Sometimes we aim for a goal that is too big – and fail. No problem, we always have the next year to try again. What would be a problem, however, is if we started every day with a new New Year’s resolution. This would be a source of endless frustration and unfinished plans.

Likewise, we shouldn’t ask for a new BIM strategy on every new project. Some of the documentation specified in current BIM standards, such as the Organisation Information Requirements, don’t need to be put together for every new BIM enabled project. It is, however, acceptable to make adjustments on the strategy based on previous experiences.

Similarly, some specifications are project specific and should not have a standard ‘template’ which is replicated on different projects. As you can imagine, using the same set of specifications to create a digital model of a building block and a motorway will probably not give us the expected results. Again, it is ok to have a document with a predefined structure that project teams update according to their needs.

When a client needs to specify the delivery of BIM documentation on a project, they should refrain from using buzzwords like BEP, LOD 500, IFC just for the sake of it. Each document has a purpose, a focus on a specific aspect of information management implementation – if in doubt, ask!

3. Always ask for openBIM

It is common for software vendors to push BIM out and be the first advisors to public sector organisations in markets that are developing BIM maturity. Of course, all the knowledge and advice vendors can give is useful information and should be retained. However, we always need to remember that they are vendors trying to sell a product – their product!

It is not uncommon to see organisations who have been locked into a family of products and focus more on how these tools are used than on how they manage their information. Of course, the focus should be always on information management: what information is needed? Who needs it? For what purpose?

On top of that, vendors can possibly discontinue a product or give you limited support. Not to mention the risk of having potentially sensitive information being held by companies that are not based in your territory. That is why public sector organisations should act strategically and ask for a data format that is not owned by a single company, and that is stable and maintained throughout the years, hence open-BIM.

There are many more points that could be considered when producing a tender package for BIM services; hopefully these three will be a good starting point when you are trying to adopt modern information management methods and knowing what to ask for on tender documents.

For further information and more detail on what is needed when hiring a BIM consultant, contact Murillo directly at [email protected].