Why do you need a BIM Execution Plan?

Are you an experienced BIM user?

Are you very new to BIM?

Is this your first in-house BIM Project?

Are you outsourcing BIM?

Are you a BIM Service Provider?

Whoever you are, you need a BIM Execution plan to successfully use BIM in a complex project.

WHY?

1 - CLEAR COMMUNICATION
At the moment, there is a huge gap between people's BIM knowledge within the same project. For example, when you say IFC (Industry Foundation Classs) file, another construction professional can understand "Issued For Construction". You might continue talking about it for minutes without noticing those are totally different things. Don't tell me "Noooo!". I saw it a couple of times already:)

This can happen even between BIM User with expertise on different software. The word "parametric" may not ave the same definition.

SO,
- Create a BIM Execution plan which defines the terms and everyone agrees with it.

2 -  BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WORKFLOW
It is very difficult to foresee challenges before you face it. For example, when I first started cooking, I used to get recipes from my mom. She used to give me the ingredients and almost no detailed instructions because for her it was extremely obvious that I need to first put oil, than onions then x, than x etc. Unfortunately it wasn't that clear for me so I used to end up with uncooked zucchinis and overcooked eggplants:)
It is very similar to our situation with BIM. For you it might be crystal clear that you don't need to wait for the model to be completed to start with 4D but what about the gentleman sitting next to you?

SO, 
Clearly explain the workflow in the BIM Execution plan and also define the responsibilities.

3 - BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHALLANGES
A recent example from my own work. For a small presentation, we were supposed to create a small model and show the workflow. We decided on the software to be used for each discipline but since we were in rush, we did not create a BIM Execution plan which asks you the software version to be used.
Well, after a couple of hours work, we noticed that a colleague has recently upgraded to the latest version which is not compatible with  the 4D software. As a result we ended up spending our valuable time on converting the structural model to the older version so that we could integrate with the rest of the system.
We are in dayd-to day BIM business and even we make mistakes if we do not plan in advance and communicate it very well amongst the team. Can you imagine if this was not a small presentation but an actual project and you have contractor, consultant, owner and subcontractors involved. The mess would be significant!

SO,
Go into details and indicate software names, version, input and output file types etc.

4 - BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF INPUT - OUTPUT RELATION

Allright! I know everyone understands what input is required for what output! But the key is timing!
I have noticed that many new BIMers do not  understand that the majority of the input is required at the early stage of building a BIM Model. Therefore we clearly state the date we need each data.

SO,
Clearly define what do you need to deliver what is required and do not forgot to mention when do you need it.

Well, this list can continue but I am running out of time I allocated for this post:) Don't worry! I will give you a link where you can learn more about how to prepare your BIM Execution Plan.

http://bim.psu.edu/Project/default.aspx

Enjoy!

Diyane Koseoglu
www.bimes.com