Investigating model evolution in a collaborative BIM environment

Abstract

As the adoption and implementation of building information modeling (BIM) continues to gain momentum, the benefits and challenges of its implementation and use are becoming better defined. However, there still lacks an understanding into the reconfiguration of practice that is being induced by BIM within multi-disciplinary project teams. Part of this reconfiguration of practice involves the development of the model through the generation, authoring and exchange of project information. This paper presents the finding of a research project that investigated the evolution of a BIM developed by a vertically integrated project team on a large institutional project for design and construction purposes. The objective of the research project was to develop measures to investigate the evolution of a BIM in a collaborative and multi-disciplinary project setting. The research team analyzed the bi-weekly iterations of the models produced by the design team following a rigorous protocol. Timesheets were obtained for all project team members involved in the modeling process. The measures developed adopt both the product and the process perspective of BIM. These measures were tested to verify how they correlated to one another and to the overall time spent in the project and in BIM. Four categories of measure are developed: measures of information quantity, measures of information content, measures of information representation and measures of product evolution. These measures can serve as a benchmark to evaluate the efficiency of the modeling and ultimately the project delivery process.