Do you already know what a BIM platform is? This technology is increasingly popular in civil construction because of all its benefits.
Compared to the traditional method, the adoption of BIM creates many opportunities. BIM technology provides civil construction projects with greater control and precision to all parties involved - who can more efficiently manage some variables such as cost, quality, and time.
These types of benefits have a great influence on productivity and production efficiency, in addition to all activities related to information management. As a result, data about a work becomes available to all interested parties, who are then able to support decision-making initiatives through better management, use, and sharing of information.
Do you want to better understand what a BIM platform is and its greatest benefits for civil construction? Check it out soon below!
Do you want to discover what a BIM platform is? So let's go!
BIM is an acronym for Building Information Modeling, which is a process of creating a virtual model with technical building information. It allows the collaborative management of different professionals during the viability, design, planning, execution, and operation of a work.
In other words, the BIM platform is a way of adding and managing information in a project from its beginning, through its completion, management and ending. What is behind BIM is a three-dimensional model that consists of information from each of its components. The information is so meticulous and detailed that it covers every possible way in which individual elements can be specified.
Before the rise of BIM, the parties involved in a project were used to using their own tools and systems to share information that was structured and appropriate to their needs and specialized requests. For this reason, the amount of information that could be distributed was limited due to the lack of a central source of information. The problem has now come to an end, because today project data can be accessed through different BIM software that controls the information of a project more efficiently.
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5 benefits of the BIM platform for civil construction
Now that we understand what a BIM platform is, we can better understand the contributions of this technology to civil construction. See what are the biggest benefits generated:
1. Cost and resource savings
A significant benefit of the BIM platform is that it provides reliable construction cost estimates long before the construction phase begins. Architects and engineers can use this tool to estimate costs related to:
Materials
Submission of material
Shipping prefabricated or modular parts
Labor, including payroll-based construction schedules
Not only does this give them a better idea of how much the project will cost, but it also helps them discover ways to reduce costs. For example, it is possible to:
Choose more economical materials
Find the ideal time to buy materials at the lowest market price
Decide whether it's cheaper to prefabricate or build on site
Simplify the construction workflow so that the customer pays for less total hours
Reduce human errors that lead to project delays or costly repairs
2. Higher efficiency and shorter lifecycles
When we talked about what a BIM platform is, we saw that it is a tool that allows collaboration between all parties involved in a construction project, right?
Generally, the faster you complete the construction of a structure, the less money you will spend on the overall project. Additionally, finishing a project on time or early accelerates your potential return on investment, as occupants can start using the space as soon as possible. With BIM, it is possible to design buildings faster and start construction earlier.
3. Improved communications
BIM improves communication between architects, engineers, clients, contractors, and other relevant parties involved in the project. That's because BIM represents a single source of truth. That is, all relevant information—including models, estimates, and project notes—are shared and stored in one place. Everyone involved in the project can see the information and even make suggestions. It is a true collaboration that eliminates information silos and helps to find the best solutions based on data analysis.
Another benefit of BIM is its use on site. Contractors have access to BIM software on the go, so they can build the building based on the most up-to-date plans and workflows. This also reduces the chances of failures — as it's easier to visualize problems before construction begins, so contractors don't waste time finding solutions on site.
Finally, BIM uses communication systems to make construction safer. BIM allows architects and engineers to predict potential construction risks and avoid them by adjusting the project.
4. More opportunities for prefabrication and modular construction
The BIM platform is ideal for making detailed production models that can later be prefabricated off-site. In addition, there are also more opportunities to design modular architectural pieces that fit together perfectly and include complex tolerance calculations. This, in turn, can save time and money, as contractors spend less time building from scratch at the construction site.
5. High-quality results
While the benefits of BIM are more evident in the design and construction process, customers may also notice an improvement in construction quality. The use of BIM makes calculations and models more detailed and accurate, and this results in a higher-quality structure.
And because the BIM process includes several visualization tools, the structure can also be more aesthetically pleasing. It is possible to see how the building will look in its final form and even see how natural and artificial light will behave in the structure. In fact, there are five types of visualizations, called dimensions, that can be viewed and customized on the BIM platform:
3D: height, width, length, depth
4D: the time it takes to complete each design element
5D: how much will it cost to build each element
6D: the environmental impact of the structure over time
7D: estimated facility management costs over the structure's lifecycle
Did you already know what a BIM platform is and what are its benefits for civil construction? Did you have any questions about the matter? Leave your comment!
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