BIM Quality – A Cornerstone of Digital Construction Success

What can make digital twins a reality for building owners? What can facilitate contractors in reducing risks and improving productivity? What allows designers to save time and focus on their core competencies? The answer is building information modeling, when done right. This article looks at BIM quality, why it’s essential and how to achieve it. Imagine a contractor on site noticing that a particular hole in a precast concrete wall is missing or is not where it should be. The contractor wonders how this can have happened as the designers are using BIM, which should eliminate errors like this. Her remedy is to bring in a diamond cutter and cut a new hole, hoping that they don’t encounter any rebar during the process. This is just one of many scenarios that demonstrate the need for quality BIMs. If the quality of the models produced by the architect and the structural and MEP designers had been properly managed, the problem would not have occurred.

Why is BIM quality important?

Model-based information management in construction design is mainstream in industrialized countries. The 2020 National BIM Survey in the UK showed that 73% of the companies surveyed used BIM, a remarkable increase from 13% in 2011. Companies say that BIM enables them to manage projects better and improve productivity. Another key driver is when the client demands the use of BIM. Construction is the most networked industry. Any deviation from the required BIM data quality has a ripple effect across the value chain. Here are examples of possible problems resulting from poor quality:

• Overlapping structures in the model create false results in the quantity take-offs done by the surveyor.
• A building authority can’t effectively use automated model-checking tools, like Solibiri, since the model contains errors.
• The object information in the model does not follow the agreed guidelines, which leads to manual work or remodeling by the recipient.
• Uncoordinated models result in collisions during MEP installation on the job site.

A key benefit of BIM is that the information is available over an asset’s lifetime. ESG reporting, the EU’s taxonomy requirements, and national CO 2 emission targets all require data about a building’s materials and energy consumption. Such data are best obtained from a BIM that includes the necessary product information: what the product is, where it is sourced from, how much embedded carbon it contains, and so on. Only a quality-managed model can offer it all.

Could we have quality-certified models?

Solibri is a global leader in BIM quality management software. Ville Kyytsönen , the CEO, envisions a future where BIM quality would offer a direct monetary benefit. “We could agree with classification and inspection institutes on standards and rules that a model must fulfill. If a model has passed an automated inspection, it could receive a stamp of approval that, for example, would lower insurance premiums.”

What is BIM quality?

BIM quality is basically about ensuring conformance to specifications. A critical aspect is the intended use of the model. For example, a conceptual architectural model can’t be used for building permissioning. The claim that “BIM is of no use” typically results from trying to use a model for a purpose other than what it was initially intended for. Technical quality requirements include:

• Conformance to standards and guidelines, like the IFC schema
• Technical correctness: data mapped to objects correctly, no overlapping objects, etc.
• Sufficient information to enable machine reading: product data, fire ratings, room codes, window energy ratings, and so on
• Critical constraints, for example, expansion joints
• Coordination with other design disciplines

Conformance to rules and regulations and building codes is another quality dimension. Naturally, these must be in order, regardless of the design technology. Another question is the constructability of designs. Ideally, a design model is a digital twin of the actual installation

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