BIM Management Demystified

What is a BIM Manager? This is a frequent question heard around the industry. BIM management is a relatively new role that has emerged in firms as varied as stars in the sky. When a person says they are a ‘BIM Manager’, what does that really mean?

Let’sstart with the term ‘BIM’ – Building Information Modeling. BIM is defined by the NBS as ‘a process for creating and managing information on a construction project throughout its whole life cycle.’ Therefore, it should be safe to assume that a ‘BIM manager’ is someone who manages that process, right? Not so fast.

In some firms, a BIM Manager is the person who oversees the design software replacing the previous role of a CAD manager for firms who no longer use 2D CAD software. Really! A BIM manager can also be someone within a firm who manages the project building model in-house. However, in most cases, a BIM manager is a point person more on the construction side of the building project, coordinating the entire project from design through construction. Why is there so much confusion in the industry surrounding BIM management?

Looking at the history of BIM (which relatively speaking is rather brief) we see that the concept started somewhere in the 1980s when computer-aided drafting (or design, aka CAD) came on the scene. Until then, the design process was relatively linear. The architect designed a building, handed off drawings to structural engineers and to the mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers (MEP). Revisions would have been made, again going back to the architect to the engineers with an eventual handoff to the construction teams.

When CAD was introduced to the process, new digital tools started to shake the way things had always been done. While still working in a linear process with handoff of digital files from one team to another, the process remained relatively the same. However, now there was the complication of having to manage the digital files so that everyone knew where other team members were in the process, and that everyone was working with the current version of the CAD drawings. This responsibility often fell to the project managers while the ‘CAD Manager’ was the person in charge of the design software, making sure everyone had the latest updates and templates. However, things were about to change drastically once online collaboration entered the scene.

The advent of BIM had project teams emerging from their silos into this sunny new collaborative world. Suddenly the design teams were facing off with the construction teams earlier in the process. Graphics were created so that team members could visualize the BIM life cycle (see image 1). BIM execution plans were invented to establish an order to the process, so each member of the team would know exactly their role, and how to work and communicate with other members of the team. Someone had to be the point person for controlling the chaos, and thus the ‘BIM Manager’ was created. This seems straightforward, but why then the confusion over the BIM management role? In my personal experience, I worked as a CAD Manager and then morphed into a ‘BIM Manager’ named role, however now looking back on that experience, I believe my title could have been more appropriately ‘Design Technology Manager’ or something similar. I did very little with managing projects and more with managing technology. Sure, it was BIM software, and yes, I did manage it, but it was not BIM management as it has come to be known. I am sure I was not the only one with this same misapplication of title, and maybe it is still true in many firms today (although probably more so in the U.S. than European countries. They just seem to ‘get it’ faster on many aspects…but I digress. It was not until I was put into a true ‘BIM Manager’ role that I became aware of this dynamic shift in the industry from one to the other.

Kimberly Fuhrman, Assoc. AIA, is the Revit Community Manager for Autodesk. Her background includes over 25 years of experience in architectural and civil design, project management and BIM management. Past accomplishments include York Technical Institute’s Distinguished Alum (2017), Autodesk Expert Elite Alum, and member of the Autodesk Developer Network. She also currently serves on the AUGI board of directors. She has presented previously at Autodesk University, BILT NA, Midwest University and USGBC Central Pennsylvania GreenCon. Kimberly currently resides in southcentral Pennsylvania with the youngest of their three children, and rescue pup.

So how can we take back the true job description of a BIM Manager to ensure clarity in our building design processes and internally in each of our design firms? I believe it will take consistent application of job descriptions throughout the industry, so that the unique role of the BIM Manager as it applies to the design and construction process remains a highly regarded and important piece of the Building Information Modeling journey. Design Technology (CAD) Managers…you do you! BIM Managers unite!