7 Tips to Maximize the Value of BIM Consulting Services for General Contractors
When you hire a mechanic, you expect them to know everything there is to know about cars—because they’ve gotten their hands dirty doing the actual work.
The same principle should apply when hiring BIM consulting services. Great BIM consultants have “been through the fire” of past challenges. They bring to the table a breadth of lived experience, industry knowledge, and hard-won best practices that can push your project and your firm forward.
But what should clients bring to the table to ensure the BIM consulting experience is a success? Given the thin profitability margins on your projects, we know you need to squeeze all the value you can out of your BIM consulting experience. In this article, we’re sharing our suggestions for preparing your project and your teams for a successful experience.
Tips to Maximize the Value of BIM Consulting Services
Create Internal Alignment
One missed opportunity with BIM consulting is a misalignment between what the consultant offers and what the client team expects. Avoid this challenge by internally defining your BIM goals, requirements, and desired outcomes from the beginning. Share it with your team, creating internal alignment so everyone buys into the project’s vision.
Understand Pain Points and Individual Solutions
BIM must be usable for all parties in your project, so take the time to understand how individual team members will use BIM and what solutions are available for them. If there are pain points for your team, address them with tailored solutions so everyone can participate and reap the value of the BIM consulting services you’ve hired.
Start the Alignment Process Ahead of Time
You hired BIM consulting services because you wanted a leg up on your project. Therefore, ensure you have a foundation to build upon in your initial conversation. BIM consulting can cover a variety of roles and services, so take the time to examine where your team may lack expertise in a given project discipline to assess how a BIM consultant can fill those gaps.
Consider Your Tech Stack
A tech stack refers to the software tools and technologies that support BIM creation, management, and analysis, such as Autodesk Revit, Navisworks, or Precogs. When working with BIM consulting services, general contractors should review and evaluate the tools your team will use and how they will ultimately come together when it’s time.
By reviewing your tech stack and understanding the tools and formats required for your project, you can help the BIM consultant understand how to provide better solutions. Remember, the goal is to have the right information, in the right format, at the right time. How does your tech stack enable this goal? And if it doesn’t, what solutions could help fix the issue?
Use BIM to Make High-Quality, High-Velocity Decisions
The insights you gain from the BIM process help you make better, faster decisions about the project. Imagine the owner has changed part of their program and now ceiling heights in a portion of the building need to be elevated. How do you make this change while limiting the impact on overhead MEP systems? Figure out your options within the digital model then move forward with the best solution.
Or, imagine the delivery of an important piece of mechanical equipment is delayed. How do rework the schedule to ensure that there is no impact on the overall schedule? Hint: A 4D BIM workflow is your friend here.
Working with an experienced BIM consulting service can help your team level up their BIM decision-making skills, making it easier to address changes and challenges as they arise in a way that keeps your overall schedule on track.
Keep Downstream Value in Mind
What you do with BIM will impact your extended shareholder network, including trades, builders, and designers. Think about the downstream value of your project to further maximize the value of your BIM consultant’s expertise. Identify opportunities where BIM can facilitate cost-effective outcomes across your project’s lifecycle, whether that relates to facility management, strategy development, or other capabilities.
When VIATechnik served as a Virtual Design & Construction (VDC) consultant for the Massachusetts Port Authority, we not only helped them expand from BIM to VDC, but we also guided them on how to utilize BIM for facilities management and ongoing renovations in the future.
Working toward this end, we assisted with developing the organization’s VDC guidelines and a robust QA/QC process and template to help ensure the quality of their deliverables was consistent with Massport’s BIM standards and execution plan. Then, we created a customized VDC training curriculum covering the people, process, and technology elements of success throughout the project lifecycle for use across Massport’s leadership teams.
Choose a Company that Helps You Grow
Great BIM consulting services meet your current needs, provide education, and enhance your processes.
“When selecting a BIM consultant, consider your business needs and choose a company you can grow with—especially as your needs expand over time.”
Think beyond your immediate project needs to assess what a strategic partnership with your chosen consultant could look like.
The same principle should apply when hiring BIM consulting services. Great BIM consultants have “been through the fire” of past challenges. They bring to the table a breadth of lived experience, industry knowledge, and hard-won best practices that can push your project and your firm forward.
But what should clients bring to the table to ensure the BIM consulting experience is a success? Given the thin profitability margins on your projects, we know you need to squeeze all the value you can out of your BIM consulting experience. In this article, we’re sharing our suggestions for preparing your project and your teams for a successful experience.
Level Up Your BIM Services with VIATechnik
The best BIM consultants don’t just prove their worth by helping projects save time and money. They help their clients feel and understand the value of their services. At VIATechnik, we strive to make an impact by helping clients succeed on their terms, setting the stage for a long-lasting working relationship.
Our domain experts specialize in enterprise-level BIM strategy, establishing standards, creating BIM roadmaps, and delivering superior ROI. In addition to providing our direct expertise and support on projects, we help clients holistically improve their competencies—whether in collecting data, building, or making better, timelier decisions.
Contact us today to learn how VIATechnik’s BIM consulting services can drive your success.
