Building Information Modelling (BIM) is increasingly transforming the way we deliver construction projects globally. It emphasises more on project stakeholders coming together collaboratively to share key project data that supports every party’s decision-making.
This collaborative work is underpinned by three things: people, processes, and technologies. However, there are other regulating factors such as contractual and legal aspects of construction project management.
It is people who deliver projects, following well-set-out procedures and work processes (methodologies and workflows). That does not mean technology is not needed, it means that even without technology we can still deliver projects – but longer, and less efficiently.
Technology is an enabler. It serves to automate any manual repetitive tasks that may take a lot of time and effort. This makes the work easier, and more efficient in terms of resource usage. In BIM, software plays a key role in supporting project participants and their work processes.
All construction businesses, whether consultancy firms (architecture, engineering, quantity surveying, project management, contract administration, etc.), contracting firms, or product and component manufacturers use software in their jobs.
When planning to evolve your business towards progressive BIM adoption, the decision to pick one BIM software and not the other is a tough one. This is the same also for individual consultants and practitioners making a switch to BIM. How do you decide that a given software is better for your business and not the other?
In the following paragraphs, we discuss the ten (10) main factors that must be taken into consideration when choosing what BIM software to acquire for your projects. Let’s get started.
- Compatibility with Your Business Needs
Your business needs come first (in as much as this list of factors is not in any order of importance). Unless you are running a not-for-profit organisation, your main goal is to make profits as a business and every decision you make must align with that.
I propose that you re-examine your business needs and evaluate to see whether the software available in the market satisfies those needs. This is an evaluation of the software’s usefulness in your business and its ease of use.
For example, if you are a quantity surveyor running a consultancy business – can the software help you with your daily tasks of quantity take-off, preparation of bills of quantities, appraisals, and valuations, among other tasks? It is important the software you choose supports your core business functions and adds value to your service delivery.
Also, ease of use of the software is important. You don’t want to bring in a software application that has a complex user interface that you or your employees find hard to navigate. It’s better when the application is intuitive enough to make it easy to learn, able to open work files that you created with earlier versions of other software and generally useful in executing important tasks in your business with ease.
- Cost and Flexibility of the Software Licensing Options
Another important consideration is how much the software will cost you. Software can be expensive. For example, Autodesk’s Revit (a building information modelling software for architects, structural engineers, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineers, and contractors) $2910 per year for a single user.
High software costs have the potential to eat into your profits. So, you want to choose a software that you can afford to pay for your user license for your employees too without breaking your bank account.
Other software vendors have designed their software licensing options to give you more flexibility and control. Some licensing subscriptions allow you to pay annually or monthly. I opine that the monthly subscription can be a good fit for a person starting to test the software then they can make a long-term commitment when they are satisfied with its performance or have long-term projects that will need the software license.
- Integration with other Software for Collaboration (Interoperability)
In the context of BIM, interoperability refers to the ability of different BIM software and tools to exchange, interpret and utilise data seamlessly. This is crucial for collaboration among various stakeholders involved in a construction project, including architects, engineers, contractors, and facility managers.
IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) and open BIM support are seen as indicators of interoperable software. BIM is about collaboration with other parties in the project. Therefore, you must choose software that can seamlessly exchange data with software used by other consultants and contractors if you want to participate in BIM.
- A Dedicated User Community
A powerful user community is a social proof that the software solution works.
Also, it is an integral part of your initial learning and continuous use of the software.
Look for BIM software that has a dedicated community of users who support each other by sharing tutorials, learning resources, tips, tricks and digital resources. With this, you can get quick fixes on the internet for anything you encounter while using the software.
Where customer technical support of the software developer company may take a long to respond in case you need help (they may be overwhelmed with a lot of enquiries), the user community will be your go-to place for seeking help occasionally.
- Availability of Companion Products for Other Consultants
Does the software have companion products for other consultants to further facilitate project coordination?
For example, a software developer of architectural modelling software may have developed other software solutions for MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) modelling, quantity surveying and cost estimation, or structural modelling.
These options are vital in the BIM ecosystem to facilitate seamless data exchange among software applications which will support collaborative project delivery.
Remember you will be working with other people on the projects, you will not be alone. These people may use software solutions different from yours because your business needs are not the same. If they come from the same company, it’s easier to integrate them into your existing business workflows.
- Security and Hardware Compatibility
BIM software sometimes may be resource-intensive in terms of how it utilises the hardware capabilities of your desktops, laptops and tablets. You need to review the hardware requirements for the software you intend to buy to see if it will be compatible with your existing hardware configurations. Things like the size of the RAM (Random Access Memory), storage disk size, graphic card requirement, and Wi-Fi connectivity capabilities are important considerations to make.
Besides hardware compatibility, the system should be secure from malware and other malicious pieces of code that can make it vulnerable to data loss or theft. Also, ensure physical security in the office so your valuable computer systems are not stolen.
- Availability of Customer Support and Training
Many companies offer technical support to customers who purchase their software products. This support includes troubleshooting when you run into technical problems, licensing issues, or training to get you started with using the BIM software.
These after-sales services may be free with your license or you may be required to pay an extra coin to access them.
However, their availability speaks volumes about the software company’s commitment to supporting you in your transition to using their software. It makes your life easier and you can focus on doing your work diligently and leave the technical issues to them to solve (unless you enjoy solving them – some people do).
- Availability of Digital Resources such as Object Libraries and Templates
BIM software, especially design authoring and modelling software, relies on a collection of object libraries to develop 3D models. A BIM model is a collection of these objects arranged to produce a visualisation of the proposed structure, and containing text-based cost information and specification data that will be useful in the construction and assembly process.
Check and verify to see whether object libraries (doors, windows, furniture, etc) and software templates are available. They will be useful in extending the functionality of your software.
Are manufacturers providing objects that are compatible with the software? Are there other resources to expand the object libraries? These are the relevant questions to ask.
- Reputation of the Software Developer Company
Here, the thing to consider is the reputation of the software company.
Is the BIM software created by a dependable and stable company? Is it a well-established product in the market?
These are important as they will tell what the future of the software application looks like. Pick software that is likely to be available in the market in the next over 10 years. That will guarantee you consistency and you will not be investing your efforts in a product that is going away soon.
- Open-source or Proprietary?
Open-source software is developed publicly in a collaborative manner, usually by a team of volunteers who are passionate about it. The code is made publicly available to anyone who wants to access it and can be modified. For example, software such as Libre Office.
Proprietary software is developed in a closed ecosystem and its code is not publicly available. Most private software development companies build proprietary software for profit.
Proprietary software may become more advanced and developed as there is a deliberate investment by the parent company in research and development.
However, in terms of stability and security, open-source software wins because the huge number of developers can easily catch and fix bugs without the bureaucracies of proprietary companies as the code is publicly available.
Conclusion
That’s the ten (10) factors you should look out for when considering buying a new BIM software.
Above all, it must fit within your business requirements and needs. Do not buy software that will not be useful in your business. That will be a complete waste of resources.
Is there another factor that you feel is more important for consideration in your BIM software choice? Let me know in the comment section below.