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The Delray Beach Medical Center Bulk Oxygen Tank Replacement
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Within the last decade or so, the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) on healthcare facility projects has skyrocketed. Design and construction teams have hopped aboard the bandwagon in record numbers in response to the growing buzz about BIM’s ability to transform the outcomes on technically challenging projects through reduced cost, improved schedules and enhanced efficiency.
Yet even as BIM adoption has soared nationwide since it first rolled out in the 1990s, one thing has become clear: BIM is NOT a “magic bullet” that will solve any project issue simply by being pulled out of the toolbox and selectively implemented.
To achieve the return on investment that most healthcare owners now expect from BIM, teams must first answer some key questions. Among them: how BIM fits into the bigger picture of a collaborative team focused on common goals; why it is being implemented and what is hoped to be achieved; who should be involved in building the model; and what level of detail should be included, among other things.
Billed as a “transformative evolution” in the industry, it has been DPR Construction’s experience that BIM must be set up correctly from the outset to truly bring the results that owners are looking for. Just one example is a 230,000-sq.-ft. patient tower addition, where an integrated team used BIM during preconstruction to identify savings totaling more than $18 million. By having the right disciplines involved at the right time, the team coordinated all MEP, fire protection, architectural, structural and equipment scope, resolving some 24,000 clashes.
Based on this experience and more than 90 other projects implementing different levels of BIM, DPR has identified several key lessons and learned to assist teams and owners in maximizing the rewards of adopting and integrating BIM into their projects.
Lesson One: Determine the WHY first. There are many projects where BIM is either implemented as an afterthought or severely under-utilized. Identifying the reasons why you want to use BIM and setting team expectations accordingly can eliminate duplicated modeling or the need for “re-modeling,” helping owners and team members save a substantial amount of time, money and effort while achieving breakthrough results.
Lesson Two: WHO creates the BIM is as important as WHAT you want to model. The mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems for technical projects such as hospitals can make up as much as 50% of a project’s cost. Using BIM to its full potential during construction to eliminate mis-coordination, as well as identify components that can be prefabricated, is where the most time and money can be saved. To gain the most value, DPR recommends that the trade or contractor responsible for doing the bulk of the physical construction work should create the BIM in collaboration with the design team whenever possible to avoid rework.
Lesson Three: Beware of software interoperability. Test and select software applications that best fulfill the virtual modeling goals set for the project. If all team members are not engaged in collaboratively building the model from the design phase, there is a real threat that the platform chosen by the designer will not be easily integrated across the programs utilized by other key team members.
Lesson Four: Compensation and contracts should support BIM. All participants should have “skin in the game” to incentivize them to collaborate deeply for project success.
Lesson Five: Even the smallest elements have a big impact. Using BIM to coordinate labor, materials and installations works best if every element that can potentially cause an issue in the field is included in the virtual model.
Lesson Six: Co-location – Yes; Co-creation – Absolutely! To gain the greatest project value, it is essential that all project participants co-create the virtual model. Assemble the group to decide how they will work together, what metrics to use to track performance, and how success is determined, as well as map and identify the decision-making process.
Lesson Seven: Model management infrastructure is a key requirement. Determine how a virtual model – or models – will be accessed, managed, shared and updated over wide area networks and the internet.
By incorporating the lessons and best practices that have already been established for BIM use on healthcare projects, owners have the ability to reap the maximum benefits and achieve the highest level of value possible.
