A brief account on BIM’s expansion over the years

Building Information Modeling has a dramatic history when it comes to its expansion in the landscapes of AEC industry over the years. BIM which is also known as Virtual Design and Construction has a dominant presence in AEC industry because of the fact that is has the potential to realize project outcomes and can control them significantly as per requirement. In short design and construction professionals can attain superior control over project outcomes by analyzing multidiscipline models.

Well, Building Information Modeling evolved as a concept some four decades ago but it was not practiced by AEC professionals in the industry at that time. For approximately ten years since it first appeared in the journal, the term ‘BIM’ used to be seen only in research papers. BIM as a technology and a process started to be implemented in construction projects some thirty years ago. So once AEC professionals started using BIM in construction they never looked back to their sluggish performance. BIM strengthened every aspect of construction process by enabling design and construction professionals to execute engineering services smoothly.

In the initial stages of BIM’s implementation in construction industry it only used to assist design and construction professionals in developing 3D models which incorporate all the physical and functional attributes of the building.  Building Information Models are created for each building discipline such as architecture, structure and MEP services which are often coordinated in the end.  For the purpose of developing 3D models Revit is used globally by design and construction professionals.

Slowly and gradually other effective BIM software such as Navisworks and 3ds Max came into picture which allowed AEC professionals in streamlining the process even more. Navisworks is effective project review software which is used for clash detection and for generating simulation videos. Nothing can beat BIM technology when it comes to detecting and eliminating clashes between model elements. Apart from detecting clashes construction professionals can see the entire construction process in a sequential manner with the help of simulation videos.

Numerous new dimensions have been added to 3D models over the years which are extremely significant in providing imperative information to AEC professionals. The new dimensions include 4D, 5D and 6D which help in finding out the time, cost and sustainability of the building in making.

This clearly says that BIM has made a tremendous growth since the time it was first used in AEC industry.