Some Advise for Contractors that are Planning to Outsource BIM Services

More and more contractors in the ME are planning to outsource BIM Modeling to specialized solutions providers like us and of course more and more new companies are poping up like mushrooms everywhere.

For me it's very very interesting to see the way some of them provides commercial proposals.

Let me first start with explaining the way we provide the commercial proposals for contractors.

 

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

• Get the project design drawings.

 Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

• Our technical team studies the project and even starts modeling to see the quality of the drawings and challenges of the project.  This might sound too much for some of you but it is not. Actually I am very happy with this step as certain things might seen very simple at first glance but when you go into details it might turn into a nightmare. Thus it is crucial to experiment if you want to provide a reliable proposal. I am a big fan of this step since I do not like last minute surprises:))

 Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

• Prepare a BIM Execution Plan and present it to the client. We go through every and each detail in the project and explain the client our methodology and the details of the delivery. This is the stage our clients start to speak the same language with us. They clarify what they want exactly and we tell them which ones are possible and feasible. I see this process as an educational phase for our new clients.

 Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

• Provide a Scope of Work, BIM Inclusion List (Which element will be modeled in 3D, what will be entered as data etc), sample model and shop drawings (not any sample, the model of their project).
• Once we agree on the BIM Execution Plan and Scope of Work then we provide our final Commercial  Proposal.

All this process takes 2-4 weeks for us and we submit around 40-60 pages. But at the end of the project our clients are happy and we deliver every single document we promised on time since we studied it thoroughly.

However I saw some new companies in the region quoting even 1/3 of our pricing lately. Well, this doesn't make sense at all. No execution plan... No Detailed Scope of Work... No BIM Inclusion List... No shop drawing sample... Just a 2-3 page commercial proposal...

And unfortunately sometimes the client takes only the price as the criteria and then the nightmare starts.

Usually they do get some sort of model but no shop drawing on time. And you know the construction guys on site do not read models. They need shop drawings. If they don't receive it on time then it is a BIG problem.

Unfortunately I saw some cases even the person who made the decision on BIM Service Provider lose their jobs as delaying the contractor even one day is no joke.

So, please be careful when analyzing the proposals and make sure that  the BIM Service Provider understands your exact needs. More importantly make sure that they are have to be construction background and understand the needs of the contractor. Ask for BIM Execution Plans, BIM Inclusion List agree on the exact deliverables.

Otherwise you may end up with some fancy software boxes and a dummy model.

Good Luck,
Diyane Koseoglu
www.bimes.com