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BIM vs VDC: What’s the Difference in the Commonly Confused Terminology?

August 8, 2024 | 7 min read

To meet project objectives, your approach to modern construction must be innovative, versatile, and collaborative — requiring that project contributors work together closely to achieve predetermined design standards. But with so many co-existing priorities, from sustainability to resource allocation, construction leaders are in dire need of new design solutions that ensure even the most complex projects make it across the finish line.

In a construction environment where high expectations and limited funding are the norm, drawing sets are no longer enough to ensure an error-free project. To reduce the risk of rework and account for every step of a complicated capital project, AEC decision-makers now require solutions that track project progress — down to the very last detail.

Virtual design and construction (VDC) and building information modeling (BIM) headline the list of available construction solutions, and for good reason. But given that these two terms are often used interchangeably, there’s some understandable confusion about the difference between BIM and VDC.

What is Virtual Design and Construction (VDC)?

VDC came onto the construction scene in the early 2000s, representing a shift towards more collaborative, technology-driven processes. Its purpose is to enable project contributors to virtually design and construct the desired environment — effectively creating a digital twin of the project — to make it easier for all project contributors to visualize a project before construction begins. VDC facilitates this by representing an overarching paradigm, within which multiple tools operate to achieve the goal of capturing the design and construction of an environment virtually.

Projects using traditional construction design methods often rely on manual drawings and siloed communication, which means that contributors on the same team might have different understandings of project timelines, resources, and expectations.

VDC, on the other hand, centralizes communication and expectations around a single, shared repository of virtual project details. As a real-time representation of a project, it gives all contributors equal access to the specific project components they are responsible for, dramatically improving alignment and reducing the risk of rework.

The VDC framework is split into three categories, each one corresponding to an essential question for each project:

Why is the client doing the project? In this case, VDC serves as an objective management tool. It ensures that before any work commences, the primary goal of the project is clearly defined for all parties.
What does the project team need to achieve? While answering the first question defines the vision for the project, this question focuses on the specific objectives that will ultimately culminate in the fulfillment of the client’s primary goal.
How does the project team accomplish the project objectives? In addressing this question, VDC typically includes three key elements — Integrated Concurrent Engineering (ICE), Product Production Management (PPM), and building information modeling.
- ICE refers to a method of conducting interdisciplinary meetings using advanced visualization technologies, enabling you to introduce and approve changes quickly and efficiently.
- PPM establishes a production process defining the workflow schedule and necessary resources.
- BIM supports decision-making by allowing design challenges to be easily presented to the team or client. It also supports construction planning, because it can incorporate additional scheduling information (also known as 4D BIM).

How Does VDC Improve a Worksite?

Virtual design and construction technology can radically improve the way construction projects are planned, managed, and executed — particularly when compared with traditional design methods. Here’s how:

Visualization and planning: VDC uses 3D modeling or ‘BIM’ to create detailed visual representations of projects. This means that every member of your team can view the project before construction begins. VDC also improves clash detection, identifying potential conflicts between different building systems before contractors break ground.
Real-time updates through Integrated Concurrent Engineering: With VDC, you can automatically update all team members when project designs or schedules are updated. This real-time information sharing keeps everyone informed and allows for quick decision-making, particularly when plans change.
Mid-project flexibility: Leveraging this technology means that project contributors can easily suggest changes or customizations to overall designs, while VDC quickly incorporates these changes into the project plan.

Alongside benefits to communication and cost reduction, virtual design and construction technology also enables construction teams to reduce individual project risks. It helps coordinate all project contributors around a shared schedule, improving efficiency and reducing the total number of hours spent onsite.

What is Building Information Modeling (BIM)?

Building Information Modeling, often referred to as simply BIM, is an increasingly popular tool that contributes to achieving VDC’s aim of creating detailed digital twins of a project. BIM utilizes highly detailed 3D virtual models to replicate physical spaces, providing a digital foundation for a project’s designs. While VDC is an overarching concept that includes various technologies, methodologies, and construction processes, BIM is a specific tool within VDC that focuses on detailed design and modeling.

BIM has many applications across a capital project and follows specific Levels of Development (LOD) according to the amount of detail required in a given project’s digital designs. These levels range from LOD 100 to LOD 500:

LOD 100: Includes conceptual designs, with basic elements like general shapes and locations of building components.
LOD 200: Represents more detailed designs, including approximate geometry, spatial relationships, and dimensions.
LOD 300: Provides precise geometry and detailed information about the components, suitable for construction documents.
LOD 350: Adds further detail to the components, including interfaces between building systems and construction details.
LOD 400: Involves fabrication and assembly details, suitable for manufacturing and installation purposes.
LOD 500: Represents the as-built conditions of the project, capturing every detail of the completed construction for operations and maintenance.

These levels of development ensure that the building information models evolve from initial conceptual designs to fully detailed as-built representations, supporting various stages of project planning, design, construction, and management.

How Does BIM Improve a Worksite?

Building information modeling plays an important role in consolidating all virtual designs within a single solution — which means it can significantly improve a worksite and its operations by achieving the following:

Cost savings: By helping team members resolve conflicts in the design stage before they arise in the real world, BIM minimizes the need for costly rework during construction, leading to significant cost savings.
Sustainability initiatives: With BIM, it’s possible to simulate energy performance and estimate environmental impacts, aiding in sustainability efforts.
Sitewide communication: Encouraging close collaboration between architects, engineers, contractors, and other stakeholders, BIM offers a common platform for sharing information and ideas.
Client engagement: BIM gives project owners an easy avenue to suggest changes or customizations to the design. This flexibility ensures that the final product aligns with all project requirements.

Put simply, building information modeling represents a massive improvement over traditional building drawings and documentation. It gives all contributors a crystal-clear vision of individual project details, improving the worksite experience and confirming that all project members have the knowledge they need to function as a part of the whole.

BIM vs VDC: What’s the Difference?

Although the terms are often used interchangeably, there are some key differences between BIM and VDC, and their roles within a construction project. VDC is a master category, within which sits many methods, and BIM is simply one of these methods.

So, should you be using VDC and BIM in your projects?

If you are interested in dramatically improving the processes involved in a construction project, then VDC is definitely worth investing in. In the case of projects that do not require significant construction coordination, BIM may be used as a standalone tool to achieve numerous benefits, including increased time efficiency, collaboration, transparency, and more. Ultimately, BIM and VDC can be powerful assets that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Get the Most out of Your BIM Strategy

VIATechnik is an industry leader in the construction design space. Our proven BIM and VDC services have helped countless clients enhance project accuracy and detail, dramatically reduce rework, and ensure that all project contributors operate with the same, accurate set of design parameters. We’ve worked with clients in every major industry to deliver services tailored to their construction environments.

Connect with VIATechnik today to learn more about our BIM and VDC services and their time-saving, money-saving benefits for your next construction project.