BIM stands for Building Information Modeling, the process of generating and maintaining a digital representation of a building and the project it entails. BIM includes software, CAD and 3D, but it’s not only these things. Rather, BIM focuses on the process of fostering better communication and collaboration among all the parties that make a complex construction project come together.
BIM is still evolving, and challenges remain. Standards for the management and exchange of data need to be agreed on, for example, before all the data needed to design, plan, engineer, construct and maintain a building can flow seamlessly and in a unified format.
Nonetheless, the excitement surrounding BIM within the building industry is noticeable, because BIM can offer a solution to time overruns, budgetary overdrafts and the lack of transparency that often plague complex, large-scale projects. As the industry evolves towards BIM, those responsible for the success of a project are adapting to this new world and beginning to realize the benefits it can offer.