BIM as a communication and collaboration tool for the design and operation phase of hospital buildings

Abstract

According to literature, the benefits of BIM can be well found in complex projects such as healthcare. When well implemented, the use of BIM as a tool for communication and collaboration can lead to a higher design quality and quality of the realized building, as well as increased efficiency and costs savings.
BIM can be used for integrated communication and collaboration between different stakeholders, from the same as well as from different project phases. For a good collaboration with BIM, clear objectives should be communicated between stakeholders. With BIM, project team actors can work together in a shared environment, existing of a 3D model and other tools. The project stakeholders can be architects, engineers, (sub)contractors, but also new roles that emerge due to BIM, such as BIM managers and BIM designers. Existing roles of project actors, such as architects, can also change because e.g. different technical BIM related skills are required. BIM can be used for information management between these different roles of the design team and the client and its end-users.
Considering the project lifecycle, the design and operation phase are critical because in the design phase the usability for the use phase is defined, and the use phase is the longest phase of building projects. BIM can be used for communication between the different actors that work in the design and use phase. Also, end-users can be included in the communication about design and operation of buildings, to make a building better fit to the end-use. When communicating about the design and its specifications, the design and corresponding BIM model should be validated and verified.
Although a lot of benefits are given in literature, the findings of empirical research show that these benefits are often not met in practice: interviewed stakeholders stated that the benefits are not always working out as proposed by BIM programme makers, and the connection between design and use with BIM is often not implemented well enough, e.g. due to different information needs of different actors.
The process of communication in the project, as well of the way stakeholders validate and verify the design, are influenced by the project context, including language, culture, background and interests of different stakeholders. Further, incidents during the process can influence the extent that the BIM documents such as protocols and execution plans, as agreed upon in the start of the project, are followed during the project. Critical points towards a successful project are: 1. To use BIM as a means, instead of a goal in itself: the reasons why BIM is used should be well defined upfront, and good agreements should be made about it.; 2. BIM is not only a way to resolve design errors, but also to involve different stakeholders, including the client. The interests and competences of different actors should be defined upfront; 3. If the client does not have extensive knowledge of BIM, or does not know exactly why and how to use BIM, it is also up to the design team to help the client sort this out. 4. BIM and digital communication should not replace real life communication, as it stays important to meet face to face.