Project Delivery Health Checks: Keeping your BIM projects in tip top condition
Daryn Fitz
This blog comes with a health warning: There are too many projects across the industry failing to deliver their information requirements. Too many facility management teams are waiting for the issue of Operation and Maintenance Manuals months after the end of projects. Too many project managers seeming surprised after issuing an Exchange/Employers Information Requirements (EIR’s) document at the start of a project and are then discovering that the expected asset data/COBie outputs are far from what was expected.
I know I am generalising here and of course, you may have different experiences and views, I fully understand and respect those, but the above observations are based on direct customer requests I receive for assistance halfway through or near the end of projects because of perceived non-delivery or concerns that required information and data will not be delivered.
I have of course seen projects that are delivering as expected and at a high standard. Without exception, the reason for success was the existence of an individual(s) who were directly responsible for the management of information during project delivery. In the past I have seen BIM being successfully delivered by Main Contractors when a BIM Manager or Co-ordinator was directly assigned to the project, I have also seen how quickly BIM delivery fades away and sometimes stops when those individuals are not available. The decline is often within weeks not months. The health of those projects goes downhill quickly when there is no management or support in place. It is accepted and commonplace to see Package Managers employed by Contractors on-site to ensure packages of work are tracked and controlled. It should be no different for digital packages of work and information delivery.
Today the term Information Management is commonplace across the industry but in many cases projects start off with the best endeavour’s, requirements are defined, BIM Execution Plans are authored, BIM Workshops and kick-off meetings are held but over time the momentum can be lost. It’s just like signing up to that gym membership, you buy the new outfit, select the coolest trainers, plan your exercise program and enjoy the first few months. But the novelty and motivation quickly fades and even though you know it is good for you, supports a healthy lifestyle and will give you more energy, the gym soon becomes just a distant memory. To drive digital working, it requires continuous motivation, clear ownership, and appropriate authority at a project level to make things happen, achieve the results required, avoid additional expense, and reduce project risk.
How can Symetri help?
This leads me nicely into introducing an Symetri BIM Consulting service you may not be aware of but is increasingly requested by customers, especially over the last 12 months. This service is known as the Project Delivery Health Check.
We already provide Information Management resources to projects to support lead designers, contractors and Employer organisations, and a key part of those engagements are regular project audits and compliance checks. However, we are increasingly being asked for BIM Consulting to support projects by providing independent third-party reviews to instil confidence that the project is delivering as expected, compliant to the information requirements and identify concerns before they become problems. Digital delivery is increasingly seen as an important element of project delivery and it requires regular auditing and monitoring to ensure there are no unwelcome surprises just around the corner.
For Employer organisations, our first recommendation is to apply the guidance in ISO19650 and ensure that the responsibility for Information Management is agreed and established throughout the project delivery team. This includes ensuring there is an assigned Information Manager representing the Employer. Our second recommendation is to ensure regular project Health Checks are implemented, based on compliance audits focusing on the EIR’s, agreed standards and information exchanges.
Features and benefits of the Project Delivery Health Check
- A service designed to support and benefit all project stakeholders
- The supply of a findings reports to support rectification activities
- Model and data quality can be reviewed, including COBie outputs
- Suitable for any organisation wishing to Health Check their project
- Early identification of project information delivery non-compliance
- Provides confidence that the project’s information at hand-over will be as expected
- Ensures compliance to the EIR is regularly reviewed
- Provide confidence to suppliers that their delivery is compliant with project requirements
Project Delivery Health Checks are implemented on a regular basis, at agreed project stages and are intended to support the health of the project and the whole project team to help everyone be successful.
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