Building Information Modeling and Integrated Project Delivery - Essay Example

BIМ IРD (INTЕGRАTЕD РRОJЕСT DЕLIVЕRY) Name: College: Course: Tutor: Date: BIМ IРD (Intеgrаtеd рrоjесt dеlivеry) Information systems (IS) have pervaded many industries including the construction industry as well. However, the construction industry players are increasingly embracing application of technology and particularly information systems in the industry although adoption levels remain challenged by availability of suitable technologies and the complexity of construction projects (Jung & Joo 2011). Currently, construction projects have to be implemented within tight budgets, short durations and increased demands for quality, thus justifying the incorporation of technology in construction projects (Volk, Stengel & Schultmann 2014). In addition, the multiplicity of professionals and requirements involved in the construction industry has encouraged the development of integrated technologies that can be utilized collaboratively by different professionals participating in a construction project. Indeed, Building Information Modeling (BIM) enables architects, engineers, contractors, and owners to work on a construction project collaboratively using a common technological platform. Building Information Modeling is particularly useful when intending to implement a construction project using a collaborative approach in which all stakeholders in the project are involved collectively from the conceptualization stage of the project to the eventual commissioning and utilization f the project thereafter. In this aspect, the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) approach has emerged as collaborative approach of implementing construction projects amid the myriad of challenges and obstacles that such a project has to overcome. A mixed-use development project that is to expend 25 million pounds would benefit from the employment of Building Information Modeling to deliver it within budget and time while ensuring that it meets all the specification that contribute to its complexity. The application of the integrated project approach may facilitate the implementation and delivery the project to the expected standards of all the stakeholders involved, including the owner of the project as well. The ensuing report dwells on the strengths and limitations of employing building information modeling with integrated project delivery associated with the implementation of the mixed-use development project. The discussion focuses specifically on the influence of employing building information modeling with integrated project delivery on the cost of projects, the errors in projects and risks associated with projects in the construction industry. BIM and PID Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a set of interacting, or mutually supporting network of technologies, processes and policies constituting an approach for managing pertinent digitized designs of a building and the project data throughout the lifecycle of the construction project (Steel, Drogemuller & Toth 2012; Succar 2009). According to Bryde, Broquetas and Volm (2013), building information modeling is an innovative way of approaching the designing, construction and maintenance of construction projects that are complex and involve a large number of stakeholders. As such, building information modeling adopts a holistic approach to all aspects related to a construction project including the technological aspects, the human resource aspects and the management aspects as well reason why it is considered as a technology and a process at the same time (Azhar, Khalfan, & Maqsood 2015; Bryde, Broquetas & Volm 2013). Specifically, BIM is dependent on modeling technology to enhance the collaboration among the different stakeholders in a construction project such that all the stakeholders associated with the construction project are at the same understanding from the commencement to the demolition of the construction project (Arayici 2008). On the other hand, Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is a system of delivery that focuses on aligning objectives, interests and practices pertaining to a project using a team-based approach. It brings together the primary stakeholders in a project to form a team, which can make project-related decisions in a collaborative manner while taking the advantage of the diverse skills available in the team to prescribe the best approach with which to approach a given project (Fewings 2013). As such, integrated project delivery consolidates the different disciplines involved in the project into a single form that works cohesively towards a common goal while sharing information, responsibilities, risks and rewards as well throughout the lifecycle of the project. This project delivery approach is motivated by the need to orchestrate the different team members and enhance operational coherence through increased information sharing and collaboration to help deliver high quality but complex projects. As such, integrated project delivery approach is premised on the combination of lean construction and integrated practice concepts to help solve problems associated with contemporary construction projects. Building Information Modeling helps enhance the effectiveness of integrated project delivery by enabling information collaboration with the aim of increasing the productivity of the construction team throughout the process of construction. In other words, the architect, the building engineers, the general contractor and subcontractors, the fabricators and the owner of the project work collaboratively in a technology-assisted environment to enhance their production and the quality of their performance as well (Arayici 2008). According to Rowlinson (2017), combining the two approaches enable co-creation of innovative and complex projects because of the facilitation of inputs from a wide range of the professionals associated with the construction industry. Strengths of adopting BIM with IPD Employing building information modeling in integrated project delivery of the mixed-use development project under consideration or any other construction project of similar complexity is that it facilitates faster project delivery times while lowering the cost of project implementation. This approach helps reduce the possibilities of litigations pertaining to conflicts between the stakeholders of the project while facilitating the implementation of the project within the prescribed budget to the satisfaction of the project owner. Specifically, adopting building information modeling in integrated project delivery enhances budget accuracy. Accuracy of the construction budget is pertinent in ensuring that all aspects of the project are funded adequately in the lifecycle of the project. However, accurate budgeting is dependent on the certainty of all the costs associated with the project. Indeed, project costs can be ascertained and projected accurately when there is sufficient information from all the stakeholders of the project that are likely to incur costs and expend resources. Expert opinion from each discipline involved in the construction project is a valuable input to the deliberations of a project team that is aiming at making collaborative decisions regarding costs of the project as prescribed in the integrated project delivery approach. To this end, Building Information Modeling ensures that information is shared seamlessly within the project team, which would ensure that all the stakeholders involved agree on all the costs associated with the project (Fewings 2013). Indeed, this ensures that over-budgeting or under-budgeting is avoided in addition to avoiding wastage of resources and project overruns as well. Ultimately, cost certainty enables the owner of the project to secure finances that are just enough to facilitate the delivery of the project while reducing the need to seek refinancing of the project while it is being implemented due to the inaccuracy of the financial estimates that may have been done during the project-planning phase. Another benefit of employing Building Information Modeling in integrated project delivery of a complex project is the reduction of errors that become costly to the project owner, particularly when parts of the construction have to be reworked (Fewings 2013). Indeed, rework is often necessitated by new information that was not available at the start of the project, changes in the project as it is being implemented, particularly when the changes were not foreseen during the planning stage, and fragmented planning of a project in which every section of the project makes independent plans and decisions (Ilozor & Kelly 2012). Unfortunately, errors in projects lead to project overruns and extending of the time provided for project implementation, which can bring conflicts between the project owner and the project implementers and even litigations, when the stakeholders cannot arrive at a mutual understanding. At the worst, project errors can lead to the stalling of a project. Nonetheless, in this case, errors in the project are reduced particularly because the integrated project delivery approach ensures that all the stakeholders are present during the project planning stage and in all the other subsequent stages of the project (Fischer, Ashcraft, Reed & Khanzode 2017). Such presence ensures that the inputs of all the stakeholders are considered during the decision-making process and thus any concerns are addresses before the commencement of the construction of the project. However, due to the huge diversity of the stakeholders involved and the disparities of their disciplines, it is pertinent that they are able to communicate and share information seamlessly and in a timely manner. Building information modeling ensures that information is shared among the project team members thus enabling the making of informed decisions. In addition, building information modeling allows modifications of particular aspects of the project to be incorporated into the whole project while adjusting the other aspects of construction closely associated to the changes in real time. When such changes are communicated to all the project stakeholders and can be accessed by the project team members at any time and stage of the project, the project can proceed with a collective understanding of all the members of the project team, averting conflict along the way. Using building information modeling in integrated project delivery can reduce the risks associated with the project. Indeed, sharing information in a comprehensive project team enables in-depth appraisal of the risks associated with the project. In fact, the bringing together of the project team under one roof during the project planning process as prescribed in the integrated project delivery approach enables all the team members to be involved in brainstorming about the possible risks that the project is exposed to from the different perspectives of the team members. In addition, employing building information modeling technologies in the construction project facilitates sharing of information pertaining to the risks associated with each sector of project particularly for project implementers who are widely dispersed in space and time. Identifying projects risks in the early stages of the project facilitates the early formulation of risk mitigation strategies in a collaborative manner thus increasing certainty during the project implementation process afterwards. From a different perspective, collaboration in the identification and assessments of the possible risks of the project enables the sharing of the possible risks thus enhancing collective responsibility because the project team operates as a single entity rather than fragmented segments in which each stakeholder attends to its own risks independently. This approach has a motivating effect of ensuring that every member of the project team is responsible for the collective success of the project, which delivers other successes to the project implementation process. The motivation provided by adopting BIM with IPD in as far as project risks are concerned emanates from the multiparty agreement (MPA), which is a single agreement binding all project stakeholders together (Lahdenperä 2012). In this circumstance, the interest of each party associated with the project is accommodated, particularly regarding the compensation and reward structures, which are closely intertwined to minimizing the projects risks. The benefits of adopting building information modeling in integrated project delivery extends beyond the planning and building of the construction project to include the performance of the project after it has been commissioned. By facilitating the projection of how the building would perform after completion through simulations, it enables the incorporation of aspects that would influence the performance of the building in terms of energy efficiency, greenness, ventilation efficiency, and even aesthetics at the project design stage (Schlueter & Thesseling 2009; Stundon et al. 2015). Consequently, this helps reduce errors during the project implementation stage, which would be costly to remedy leading to budget overruns. Limitations of adopting BIM with IPD Interoperability of technology associated with building information modeling can present challenges to adoption with integrated project delivery (Goedert & Meadati 2008; Yousefzadeh et al. 2015). The market has many versions of BIM packages available and thus different stakeholders associated with the project may present this project with different BIM software that are not compatible. Indeed, the development of standards in BIM has been slow and is still ongoing, which means that compatibility of software will continue to present a challenges for a while in future (Demian & Walters 2014; Howard & Björk 2008). In such as case, the cost of integrating such disparate software may be overlooked during the budgeting process thus presenting uncertainties in the overall cost of the project. In addition, adoption of certain BIM software in the project would be accompanied with training of project stakeholders who are not familiar with the software. Again, the training costs may escape the initial budgeting process and thus present further cost uncertainties to the project budget (Ghassemi & Becerik-Gerber 2011). In addition, training is a time consuming activity meaning that stakeholders are exposed to a learning curve, which if steep, may increase the chances of committing errors as stakeholders use the software during the project implementation (Arayici, Egbu & Coates 2012). This has the effect of lengthening the time for delivering the project as well as increasing the risk of committing errors, all of which can lead to project overruns and conflicts among stakeholders. Conclusion Employment of building information modeling in integrated project delivery is increasing in the construction industry because of its ability to reduce the cost of projects, shorten the project delivery times and reduce conflicts among the members of the project team thus enhancing the efficiency and success of implementing construction projects, regardless of their complexity. Specifically, adopting BIM in IPD enhances the certainty of project costs because it helps bring together all the project stakeholders on the same table throughout the project lifecycle and particularly during the design and planning stages. The collaborative budgeting process undertaken under this approach guarantees certainty of project costs, while reducing the project errors and risks, because of the seamless sharing of information and collaboration in decision making as well. However, interoperability of the technologies used in building information modeling may compromise the benefits that can be accrued in terms of cost effectiveness particularly when new software has to be acquired by the project team and team members have to be trained to use the new technologies. Nonetheless, the benefits of adopting building information modeling in integrated product delivery outweigh the challenges presented by the technology. References Arayici, Y., 2008. Towards building information modelling for existing structures. Structural Survey, 26(3), pp.210-222. Arayici, Y., Egbu, C.O. & Coates, P., 2012. Building information modelling (BIM) implementation and remote construction projects: issues, challenges, and critiques. Journal of Information Technology in Construction, 17, pp.75-92. Azhar, S., Khalfan, M. & Maqsood, T., 2015. Building information modelling (BIM): now and beyond. Construction Economics and Building, 12(4), pp.15-28. 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