Why is coordination between all engineering disciplines so important?
The implementation of BIM in construction has created an environment of coordination. In years past the design of a project was done in 2 dimensions and the coordination of the building systems was not as easily done. Engineers and design teams did as best as possible but a disclaimer was always on the first page of each section of a set of plans. That disclaimer was that the plans were diagrammatic only and it was the responsibility of the contractor to coordinate the system with the building conditions.
In a recent press release from McGraw-Hill dated October 11, 2012 it was stated that for the first time in history contractors (74%) were utilizing BIM tools more than Architects (70%) and the percentage of companies using BIM jumped to 71% in 2012 from 17% in 2007.
The industry has found that the coordination of the building systems before construction can drastically shorten the installation time which directly effects the construction duration. Industry studies show that 30% of construction costs are accredited to waste from cost over rides, time delays, and expensive change orders. By coordinating the building systems beforehand this greatly impacts this in a positive way.
Works Cited
Malangone, Kathy. “New Research by McGraw-Hill Construction Shows Dramatic Increase in Use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in North America.” McGraw Hill Construction October 11, 2012: 19 October 2012 http://www.construction.com/about-us/press/new-research-by-MHC-shows-dramatic-increase-in-use-of-BIM-in-North-America.asp
. Weaver, Pat. “The 4th Dimension of BIM.” Mosaicproject’s Blog (July 1, 2012): 19 October 2012 http://mosaicprojects.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/the-4th-dimension-of-bim
