Not knowing how to effectively adopt BIM for construction project management has led to ad-hoc implementation across organisations. While teams continue to adopt a silo-based approach, true benefits are rarely ever realised for projects in the industry.
Project teams lack the know-how to adopt a strategic approach to implementation. This leads to basic issues that cause immense rework and a complete loss of value, negating the entire purpose of digitalisation in the first place.
BIM/Digitalisation is not an automatic solution for efficient Project delivery
So how do we enable a holistic digital transformation?
While each BIM use or solution deployed has a specific role and benefits, independently they are not enough. The parts need to come together and work like a well-oiled machine to really make the project run smoothly, delivering efficiency as the work progresses.
The new technology is first brought to organizational structures based on a previous paradigm, and it takes about 2 decades before the new social and institutional arrangements start moulding.
Miettinen & Paavola (2014)
The key is to focus on a Stepwise-Gradual Transformation
It is important to realise that first attempts are never a 100% success; there is a process of experimenting, learning, and then generating adaptive solutions. Before diving into any digital solution, due diligence is important to understand the real problems across the industry to establish what have been the success factors that will be relevant to your team and project.
And this is exactly where appropriation comes in; for example, for small projects, the BIM outputs need to be simple and applicable to smaller jobs and their teams – so you start by focusing on immediate benefits.
Find the Right Solution that suits your Project & your Teams
Know what your project needs and then start deploying strategies for BIM uses and project management digital tools that can help you improve the flow of information, action, and materials.
Create the right Environment
IPD, Big Room, project partnering, alliancing – all play a crucial role in the path towards digitalisation. You must ensure that the environment enables collaboration – the sure-shot ingredient to successful implementation on any project.
Keep an eye on the End-Goal
It will take a gradual, successive approach with constant review; you will have to revise your strategy multiple times based on the challenges specific to your teams and projects. The key is to not lose sight of the eventual benefits at the organisation level as a whole.
The importance of Integration
The solution is quite simple – but making it happen is very tricky! You must ensure that your teams are working in sync, information is flowing efficiently, and the tools are supporting production by minimising waste in the entire process.
Understand and work with your Teams
Successful digitalisation requires a setup that can truly enable collaboration and communication between your teams – this requires changes in behaviour at both individual, as well as organisational levels towards adopting new project management practices and overcoming resistance.
Focus on Information
Information empowers pro-active decision making – ensuring that the right information is communicated to the right people at the right team is easier said than done. Accurate adoption of digitalisation is designed to enable exactly this, ensuring that benefits are realised across the supply chain.
Adopt the right Processes
While there are plenty of solutions in the market and various starting points to begin your digital journey, you must remember that digital alone is NOT the solution. The results are never automatic and tools can only enable the teams if deployed effectively; hence, it is absolutely essential to adopt a solution that is flexible to your processes and enables collaboration between teams.
The magic is done by the people.
If you are interested in knowing how you can adopt BIM in your existing construction workflows and stay informed about your site real time, sign up for a 30 days fully featured free trial at VisiLean – https://visilean.com/free-trial/
VisiLean is a cloud based construction project management software that is based on Lean BIM integration. Head over to https://visilean.com/features/ to know about our ground breaking BIM features.
