1. Funny thing about some words…
An article about BIM…
Written for the Construction Business Owners
By Marc Goldman
The word “building” is a funny word. By reading this article, I can practically
guarantee your initial understanding of it will be the physical assembly of parts that
you work on 200+ days a year. Your definition is the noun form of the word. As it
happens, the word “building” is also a verb, which is a term meaning the act of
assembling. Two related but different definitions that we use on a daily basis in our
work and we don’t stumble over which definition we are referring. Another word
(or at least an acronym) that has both a noun and verb definition is BIM – yes, it has
the word “building” inside. But unlike the word “building”, the term/acronym BIM
is a dynamic term.
Like the word “building”, the term “BIM” has multiple meanings; and both “building”
and “BIM” initially imply the noun. Sure, BIM has been a passion for a considerable
number of us involved in the building industryfor several years; but we continue to
educate many on the process of BIM vs. the BIM file. Perhaps it is the software
vendors who win the product battle when the industry adopts their file type as a
standard. Or, maybe it’s the fault of the early adopters whoseinitial forays into BIM
were presented as 3D renderings of 3D BIM Files. This made for some great
marketing and probably led to some better design. But it also failed to tell the story
of BIM as a verb. It is my opinion that wehave over-emphasized the noun definition
of BIM – we dwell on the creation of a BIM model, file, rendering or other output,
without focusing on the process, or journey of the BIM workflow.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m all geeked-out on the idea of a set of digital files that allow
us to view a highly detailed and complex building from any visual or data-oriented
perspective. A single (perhaps distributed) model which can be used for
visualization, documentation, analysis, simulation, construction management and
operations is the final goal which industry and academia have been pointing us to
for decades.
However, the models have been built and they continue to be built at a growing
pace, and we have our clients, the Owners asking themselves, and us: “What do we
do with the BIM model now that we have it?” They are asking what verb we apply to
the noun.
The approach is backwards. It should begin by looking for problems to solve as
opposed to justifying the creation of using a BIM model. Instead, we should be start
by identifying problems and improving currentprocess by employing BIM-centric
workflows. Of course, our efforts should result in enriching (or at least not
deterring any other uses) of the BIM dataset. We should still work toward creating a
BIM model that is useful to the owner at project handover. But we must work

2. towards BIM deliverables with the goal of improving our processes. Without
understanding the many benefits of implementing BIM workflows (the verb), the
adoption of BIM will be unnecessarily delayed and you, your team, company, project
and client will fail to realize the personal and professional benefits.
The benefits of BIM workflows for You, the reader.
You are an owner,or an executive of a construction company in the midst of the
worst economic hardship this industry has seen in generations. You are leading your
company at a time when competition is fierce – 5 to 10 times the number of bidders
for projects compared to just a couple years ago. Margins are squeezed by the need
to compete on price. Expectations are greater for a higher level of service, and you
see the quality of marketing increasing during bids. And in some markets, you’ve
seen projects where BIM and Virtual Design & Construction (VDC) is required.
For those of you who have adopted BIM & VDC, congratulations! You can skip ahead
to the next section. You are likely already seeing some return on your investment as
you are improving both speed &accuracy of pre-construction workflows. Perhaps
your BIM-enabled business lends itself to automation, and you’ve connected BIM
data to fabrication. If so, you are likely producing higher quality deliverables due to
the comfort, safety and predictabilityof a factory approach to component pre-
assembly.
Or, you have taken BIM to the field and you’ve automated worklists, punchlists,
materials management and more with a connection to the BIM model. With your
BIM / VDC experience, you are able to promote your services more aggressively, by
bidding on projects that once seemed out of reach. BIM allows you to manage some
of your ongoing processes and deliver new and improved work products as well.
You and your client have more visibility into the project, resulting in a well-
informed and hopefully long-term client. You are weathering the economic crisis,
and perhaps even growing.
Perhaps these BIM benefits sound attractive, but do not yet describe your
business.If you fall into the category of “not yet adopted BIM”, it’s not too late.
Despite the message you might have heard, BIM has not passed you by, yet. There is
still an opportunity to figure out what BIM benefits you can realize for your
business.There are a wide range of sources and resources to help you determine
how to implement BIM workflows that benefit you, the reader – the owner.
The benefits of BIM workflows for your Team And Company.
As business owners and leaders, your passion and motivation is attributed to more
than just the paycheck. You likely have a long tenure and deep interest in the
company’s lasting success. You want to work with people who have the passion you
have; this requires creating an environmentwhere your team members feel as
though they are on a winning team.

3. BIM by it’svery nature is a team effort, and winning companies are adopting BIM
processes. Today’s successful construction companies are BIM-ready, and BIM-
centric companies. These companies and teams have been forced to evolve, or
sometimes create newmethods and workflow as BIM best practices are a moving
target. Recognizing there is still a lackof standards in many areas of BIM, some
teams have developed best practicesand work processes that address
interoperability and collaboration.
These teams have impressive metrics and statistics, which they present at industry
events and publish in industry publications. Some of these teams are those you’ve
seen in ENR lists; others are companies who you hadn’t heard of until this year.
Now, you see these companies contributing to news-worthy construction projects
and mentioned in case studies and articles about BIM. Regardless of your familiarity
with the company, these are the organizations that have positioned themselves for
the future, and they are the teams your players want to work with, work for, and
spin-off and emulate.
If your goal includes keeping your company viable and profitable in the long term,
consider the impact BIM and VDC might have on your team and your company.
The benefits of BIM workflows for the Project and the Client
As I write this article, we are nearly 2 years into a recession (yeah, I know they say it
ended) where 20% – 40% unemployment are the numbers discussed for segments
of the design and construction industry. This situation can’t go on forever –
industry analysts predict that commercial construction will begin to stabilize
somewhere in the third to fourth quarter2011 and then begin a slow assent in what
the economistare labeling “the new normal”. Given this, those organizations who
design, build and deliver most efficiently in end the will reap the rewards of an ever
smaller, but growing market.
Many of the owners who have continued to build during the past 2 years are
requiring BIM data and processes to be utilized as part of their contracts. They
don’t all have a clear understanding of what BIM means, and they might not have an
immediate use for the data modeled and delivered. But they understand, at an ever
growing pace, receiving a “digital double” will help them in a wide range owner-
specific business processes. For some, the vision of the model applies to facilities
management, others asset tracking, others lease management or property and tax
purposes. Your ability to work and contributeto the BIM workflows and models
creation helps you serve your clients’ various uses of BIM.
Some of the most innovative uses of BIM for Owners comes from the Retail industry.
Crate&Barrel and Target, two distinctly different retailers, recently presented their
perspective and their uses of BIM data. Originating at building design, BIM is used
by Brand Management to ensure the design meets corporate standards: Target’s
brand is more recognizable; Crate&Barrel’s brand is less obvious but arguably
delivers astronger architecturalstatement.Throughout design and into construction,

4. BIM models are created, aggregated and analyzed, improving both owners’ ability to
manage the project and ensure the doors are ready to open ahead of schedule and
under budget. As stores are re-configured, merchandising models are created
demonstrating optimal signage, product positioning and store traffic flow.
Are these two companies the “standard of practice”, or are have they risen above the
average and are they setting the standard for the future?
Regardless of the answer, they are using BIM to serve their business needs. Their
needs are generally unrelated to often discussedBIM purposes such as clash-
detection, construction sequencing or quantity take-offs. These clients, and many
others, use BIM to manage, differentiate and grow their companies. BIM is a
strategic element of these clients success. As the owner of a construction business,
you must position yourself to serve these clients in creative&profitable ways.
Adopting BIM, and promoting your BIM expertise will allow you to move beyond
business as usual, and win projects where the client expectations exceed your
competitors’ ability to deliver.
Your company servesyour clients by improving the processes, shortening the cycles,
uncovering issues earlier, removing the risk of delays and overruns. BIM delivers
these benefits and you deliver the benefits to your clients.
The benefits of BIM workflows for the Industry
The number of “scholarly articles” on the declining rate of productivity of the United
States Construction Industry surprised me. : 493,000 with 15,000 published in
2010, 400 specific to “Building Information Modeling”. Enough has been written,
with plenty of suggestions for improvement. One might wonder how something so
well understood remains so unproductive.
We know we work in an industry of great fragmentation wheresimilar information
is exchanges, processed, massaged and output. Drawings are re-drawn, lists are re-
entered, quantities are re-counted and materials are ripped out and replaced
unnecessarily. The examples of unproductive workflows are all contributors to a
declining productivity. What’s needed is an acceptance of new workflows that
contribute to the individual, the team, the company and the client’s typical and
specific business goals. What’s needed is BIM.
BIM is certainly not the panacea to all that ills the construction industry; but many
of the BIM workflows do address many elements of the unproductive environment.
ButBIM can be more to the Industry than workflows, differentiators and career-
advancing techniques. BIM can be part of the “brand” which the construction
industry conveys. Modeling, 3D-4D-5D,Virtual Design & Construction, Laser
scanning, Animating, pre-fabricating and more. These are the things that attract the
next generation of workers. We are in an industry that we love, many representing
the third or fourth generation in their family business. It is important that the
Construction Industry attract the best and the brightest of all generations; and it is

5. imperative we are attractive to a younger workforce than the rapidly increasing
average age.
We are at an exciting time in the building industry. Some are taking a wait and see
approach. And some of us are doing more than waiting. We are instead
experimenting and pushing our teams, our industry and ourselves.
I welcome you to join me, and many others for an exciting ride (the verb, not the
noun).
Mr. Marc Goldman has a twenty-year track record of forming, building, launching and
managing profitable technology-based product and service businesses in the
Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry. Most recently, Marc successfully
led the global BIM business development efforts for Pinnacle InfoTech, Inc. &Satellier
Inc. His prior work history includes eight years in senior product development and
management positions with Autodesk, a leading provider of BIM development tools. He
is responsible for guiding The Blue Book Building and Construction Network in its
continued development of web-based information products and applications for the
AEC Community.
About The Blue Book Building and Construction Network…
The Blue Book Network has been connecting the commercial construction industry
since 1913. Building from a database of over 1,000,000 classified company listings in
560 classifications – The Blue Book Network today provides digital information and
communication solutions designed to enhance the daily workflow of the entire
construction industry.