Barry McAuley, Ph.D. Post-Doctoral Researcher 086 014 4853 bmcauley@cita.ie www.bicp.ie
BICP Case Study: An Irish SMEs BIM Journey – Lessons Learnt Background Engineering Documentation (ENGDoc) Ltd were set up in 2006 primarily to produce hand over documentation such as Digital Safety Files, Operation and Maintenance Manuals and CAD Services to the construction industry. Their business model involved working on site in partnership with the construction team to deliver a full professional package. Their main services comprised of marking, co-ordination and spatial co-ordination of drawings. This was primarily achieved through traditional methods i.e. overlaid drawings of mechanical services on top of electrical services. To further their business model, ENGDoc began to investigate a more rewarding construction practice where it was agreed to start using 3D modelling packages. They reached out to CitA to investigate available training packages on how exactly they could implement this change of workflow within their company. Despite not been aware of BIM as a term, they began working with Revit to produce and review 3D models.
The company adopted a top down strategy rather than a bottom up approach. This strategy was not shortterm but a five-year plan focused around becoming competent. At first, working within a BIM environment was found to be frustrating as they were unable to work as quickly with BIM technologies as with traditionally workflows i.e. 2D CAD. In order for the company not to abandon their strategy it was crucial that senior members championed BIM. To achieve this management needed to identify what the organisation wanted to achieve and set milestones to reach these targets At the start, to ensure a measured approach was undertaken it was decided to only work on small projects. This was important as the company still had to remain competitive in the existing market and could not afford to only work on BIM specific projects. Figure 1 provides a cross section from one of ENGDocs current BIM projects.
Lessons Learnt The first challenge for ENGDoc was to consider if they needed to change their workflow? While short term this was an option it was decided that if one wants to be competitive within an ever-advancing digital sector, new workflows had to be explored. Another incentive was that their Client base began demanding BIM. Further to this an analysis of the current market highlighted that their competitors were either developing their own online system or software to facilitate BIM. The company based on these factors began formulating their own strategy to roll out BIM within the company.
Figure 1: Allergan, Westport
The company had to identify the best software tools for them to achieve their goals. This was important as they had to accommodate different software and open standards i.e. Industry Foundation Class. These models would also need to be hosted in a Common Data Environment (CDE) for other professionals to access. The Northwest BIM Hub provided a valuable reference point as it provided access to a community
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of people who could assist with answering questions based around these concerns. Having access to a strong support network from the start was important. This network was expanded by hiring BIM competent staff which enabled the support network to grow internally. The company budgeted for software, training, and downtime in productivity. In relation to IT infrastructure, they had computers that they believed were acceptable for processing the models but ultimately found they slowed down as they did not have adequate Random Access Memory (RAM). To solve this, they purchased additional RAM which was found to be a short-term solution. They had to revisit their strategy and include plans for purchasing new computers. Once the computer concerns were addressed the organisation then had to put software platforms and security procedures in place for data management. This all presented costs that were not anticipated and is something SMEs must consider. As the company progressed and became more involved in BIM governed projects, they were required to recruit new staff to meet demands. It was important that any upscaling of the company was done in a controlled manner. To achieve this they put a management structure in place to ensure that they were hiring staff that could become immersed in the organisation’s BIM ethos. It was important that any new staff were BIM enthusiasts, so as the company expanded they could help keep momentum moving forward. Figure 2 provides a cross section from one of ENGDocs current BIM projects.
To demonstrate competence, the company required performance indicators They engaged both Enterprise Ireland and the BIM Academy from the UK to assist with developing their BIM strategy. The BIM Academy UK broke down the company’s roadmap and assisted them with setting reasonable benchmarks. They advised ENGDoc not to focus on becoming Level 2 BIM certified but instead provide BIM services to an established standard such as PAS 1192. As the company were already implementing an ISO system at the time, they stipulated within it that they would provide BIM services aligned with PAS 1192. This gave them an opportunity to formally establish their own protocols and align themselves with industry best practice. This resulted in them demonstrating they were BIM competent as they were following these procedures.
Conclusion ENGDoc are now reaping the benefits of adopting BIM processes as seen through their sales figures which have now overtaken the traditional documentation services offered by the business. Their business model is continuing to evolve through the measuring of timesheets to identify how long it takes them to do a project. This analysis has been transferred back into the pricing model for future jobs. BIM has offered ENGDoc the opportunity to embrace new ventures which has resulted in them expanding their business model to meet evolving digital services within the construction sector.
Acknowledgements David Mullen (ENGDoc) Case Study prepared by Dr. Barry McAuley (CitA/DIT), Dr. Alan Hore (CitA/DIT) and Prof Roger West (TCD). Published: August 2017
Figure 2: MSD, Oss, The Netherlands
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