National Academies Press: OpenBook

BIM Beyond Design Guidebook (2020)

Chapter: Section 10 - BIM Controls Governance

« Previous: Section 9 - BIM Implementation Standards, Execution Plans, Required Data Elements
Page 108
Suggested Citation:"Section 10 - BIM Controls Governance." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. BIM Beyond Design Guidebook. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25840.
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Page 109
Suggested Citation:"Section 10 - BIM Controls Governance." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. BIM Beyond Design Guidebook. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25840.
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Page 109
Page 110
Suggested Citation:"Section 10 - BIM Controls Governance." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. BIM Beyond Design Guidebook. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25840.
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Page 110
Page 111
Suggested Citation:"Section 10 - BIM Controls Governance." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. BIM Beyond Design Guidebook. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25840.
×
Page 111
Page 112
Suggested Citation:"Section 10 - BIM Controls Governance." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. BIM Beyond Design Guidebook. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25840.
×
Page 112
Page 113
Suggested Citation:"Section 10 - BIM Controls Governance." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. BIM Beyond Design Guidebook. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25840.
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Page 113

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108 Once an airport has developed the business case for implementing BIM, it must determine who will manage the BIM program and what policies, procedures, and infrastructure are required to deliver BIM across the organization effectively. This section will focus on options for where the accountability for BIM should reside, the roles and responsibilities that need to be established, and the policies and processes required to maintain BIM as a shared facility information resource. 10.1 Organizational Structure There is no established best practice for where the primary accountability for BIM management should lie within an airport organization. As a tool that is designed to enhance collabo ration, an argument could be made that all airport stakeholder groups should share in BIM management to maximize its benefits. However, this is rarely practical. An engineering department; asset management department; information and communications technology (ICT) department; or a new department that is focused solely on developing, maintaining, and distributing facility information such as BIM are good candidates for managing an airport’s BIM program. 10.1.1 Engineering Department An engineering department providing planning, design, and construction management services for the airport may be selected as the primary owner of the airport BIM, since it has the most experience with BIM as a design and construction technology solution. As a result, this department will also have the staff most skilled in the use of BIM­authoring tools and in the ability to manage changes to the BIM. Relying on an engineering department to own and manage the use of BIM will also require that it be closely engaged throughout the life cycle of an asset and, particularly, that the department work closely with the airport staff responsible for the operation and maintenance of the asset. This increased engagement will help in identifying and capturing the data needed to keep the BIM current and in analyzing those data for trends and areas needing attention. 10.1.2 Asset Management Department For BIM uses beyond the project design phase, an asset management department (or the equivalent) will be in the best position to identify where BIM can provide benefits to an orga­ nization from the planning, design, construction, operations, maintenance, and renewal stages S E C T I O N 1 0 BIM Controls—Governance

BIM Controls—Governance 109 of its assets. The asset management department may stand alone in an organization or be part of the engineering department. In either case, the departments must work closely together to take full advantage of the expertise that resides in each one if they are to maximize the benefits of BIM for the airport. If BIM is being used as part of an airport’s overall migration toward a TCO or ISO 55000 strategic facility asset management approach, then the asset management department would be in the best position to define how BIM will be used throughout the airport. 10.1.3 ICT Department ICT is typically focused on technology infrastructure, but with a collaborative information model such as BIM, ICT may be in the best position to maintain BIM accessibility. ICT is typically not responsible for maintaining the accuracy and completeness of data, so broad­ ening ICT’s role to include complete management of a BIM would require changing the typical ICT responsibilities significantly. 10.1.4 A New Department Another option is to develop a new organizational unit focused solely on developing, main­ taining, and distributing facility information such as BIM. Massport has taken this approach with its Design Technology Integration Group. The manufacturing industry is approaching a fourth industrial revolution (4IR) that features emerging technologies such as robotics, AI, IoT, and 3D printing, all of which require the management of increasingly detailed facility information. Thus, there is a good reason for larger airports to establish a separate airport group focused on the collection, validation, maintenance, and distribution of airport facility information. This information may provide benefits to the airport that go beyond those of asset management, including detailed leasing information, cost recovery data, etc., as the new department works with all the airport’s stakeholders and identifies their facility data information interests and needs. An independent BIM/facility information department also helps to enable the enforcement of the BIM program across the airport, since it will not be a sub­function of an existing department. 10.2 Roles and Responsibilities Implementing BIM as a collaborative tool across an airport organization requires not only the training of existing staff but also adding new roles and functions. It is possible that outside consultants or contractors can perform these roles for some period. However, the airport will generally achieve greater benefits if these roles are filled by permanent staff who are better aligned with the vision of the airport. 10.2.1 BIM Manager The BIM manager is responsible for the overall development, validation, and maintenance of the BIM program across the airport organization. The BIM manager • Ensures that the BIM processes and standards are well defined in contracts. • Confirms that proper BIM controls are in place to ensure that all BIM delivered through new capital development and facility renovation projects, whether by the airport or its tenants, conforms to the airport’s BIM standards.

110 BIM Beyond Design Guidebook • Manages the maintenance of the airport’s BIM. • Manages the integration of existing facilities into BIM. • Works with ICT to ensure BIM accessibility and security. • Provides BIM educational resources and training plans for the rest of the organization. • Works with individual airport departments on integration requirements to support their internal systems and to identify and capture their BIM informational needs. 10.2.2 BIM Designer/Technician The BIM designer is skilled with the use of BIM­authoring tools (such as Autodesk Revit and Navisworks, Bentley software, and Graphisoft ArchiCAD). The BIM designer provides internal support for the maintenance of BIM due to small capital projects without BIM requirements and for internally performed asset modifications or facility renovations. 10.2.3 BIM Information Analyst The BIM information analyst is a skilled programmer who can support custom or off­ the­shelf commercial integration solutions to airport stakeholder groups that want to utilize BIM data within their internal systems. 10.2.4 BIM Project Manager The BIM project manager provides BIM management on the capital project development of new and renovated facilities. This person participates in the full life cycle of the facility’s development, from planning through project delivery and operation, to ensure that airport BIM processes and standards are understood and followed. Also, the BIM project manager facilitates the involvement of other airport stakeholder groups (such as airport mainte­ nance and operations) during design and construction to ensure that information they may need following the turnover of the asset is identified and captured during the design and construction of the asset. The BIM project manager role is separate from that of a capital project manager, whose responsibilities will typically end once the construction of an asset is completed. 10.2.5 BIM Trainer The BIM trainer develops and provides training resources on the use of BIM to airport stakeholder groups and acts as a helpdesk resource. For a large airport, this may be a full­ time role, or it may be a shared duty among other BIM staff. Without staff across the airport who are sufficiently trained in the use of BIM for their needs, the use of BIM within an airport may stall, and the potential benefits may be greatly diminished. 10.2.6 Other BIM Roles While not full­time roles, there are other critical roles that must be filled to make the adop­ tion of BIM go smoothly. Executive-Level BIM Champion BIM requires strong executive support to be successful. An executive­level BIM champion encourages and supports the airport’s BIM program and provides continued support as implementation challenges and issues arise. This BIM champion needs to be the guiding

BIM Controls—Governance 111 hand that manages the airport’s BIM vision through the inevitable rough patches any such program will experience. Department-Level BIM Champion For a large organization, each major stakeholder group may need to have its own BIM champion who is seen as a trusted member of that group. The process and cultural changes that a multi­faceted BIM program introduces require day­to­day reinforcement that an executive­ level BIM champion will not be able to provide. Additionally, staff­level issues and questions are more effectively managed at the departmental level. BIM Executive Steering Committee As noted earlier, many public airports are managed as part of a larger organization with multiple areas of responsibility. The use of BIM is often part of a larger organizational policy driven by various factors including the recognition of BIM’s benefits, the desire to stay current with technological advancements, etc. A BIM executive steering committee, chaired by the executive­level BIM champion and including all the department­level BIM champions, can provide a forum for the open discussion and resolution of BIM implementation concerns, how new developments at other organizations or in the underlying BIM technologies will be handled, etc. BIM Outreach Education One challenge in establishing BIM processes and standards will be finding local contractors and subcontractors who have the requisite skill levels to perform projects with BIM require­ ments. A need for BIM skills development may exist for small and disadvantaged business consultants and contractors. Providing training opportunities and resources to these entities can be a long­term investment in building the skilled labor force the airport needs to sustain future growth. It can also be a means for airports to provide local economic development to the communities they serve. 10.3 BIM Policies The development of BIM policies through the establishment of BIM standards and contract language will provide governance of BIM facility data delivered as part of new capital construction and major renovation projects. Also, there must be a corresponding set of policies and processes to manage BIM data for internally designed, small­scale projects and operationally driven facility changes that require changes to the BIM. Policies and processes are also needed for determining how use of BIM on tenant projects (which may include facilities as large as new passenger terminals) will be managed. A few policy issues must be addressed outside of the design and construction life cycle. 10.3.1 Operational BIM Changes How and when should the BIM be updated when small operational changes are made to the airport’s facilities? For example, when a pump fails and is replaced with a different type that requires retooling of electrical and plumbing facilities, this work is often performed with in­house resources. If these changes are not captured in the BIM, the accumulation of many such small asset changes may degrade the trusted value of the BIM. Airport staff will then resort to relying on the project plans as the most accurate resource. Also, contractors may bid on inaccurate plans, resulting in change orders.

112 BIM Beyond Design Guidebook There must be a policy in place that captures asset and facility modifications that require a change to the BIM. If the airport has internal BIM designers, these changes can roll into a task list for these individuals to address in the BIM. For contractors, an up­to­date log of any differences between existing conditions and the BIM will ensure that they have accurate and accessible data even if small changes to the BIM are not maintained in real time. 10.3.2 Security The collaborative benefits of BIM can easily come into direct conflict with airport infor­ mation security policies. BIM will contain critical infrastructure information necessary for airport staff to efficiently perform their work functions, but which could be misused in the wrong hands. The exposure of this information increases as the BIM is made more accessible. Limiting access decreases the benefits of BIM. Mobile access to BIM data maximizes those benefits. Information security technology evolves rapidly. It is outside the scope of this Guidebook to detail the various BIM data security options. However, it is vital that the airport ICT staff, or qualified consultants, be involved in establishing and updating BIM security policies to ensure the proper use of and access to BIM. 10.3.3 Project Selection While it is easy to make the business case for the use of BIM on large capital projects, the use of BIM on smaller projects may be viewed as adding cost and providing little value. Some organizations establish BIM use criteria based on the size of the expected construction cost (exceeding $1 million or $5 million, for example). Others may use a criterion based on how much of the construction budget is composed of MEP­related activities (complex MEP benefits more from BIM coordination). If an airport is moving toward a life cycle BIM approach, it is important for BIM to be incorporated into all its capital projects and throughout its existing facilities in a prioritized fashion. This is true of airport tenants’ capital projects and existing facilities as well; many of these become airport property at the conclusion of the lease term. Having part of the airport’s facility plans available in BIM and part of them available as 2D plans can easily encourage the airport staff to rely on 2D plans only, rather than having to learn two different systems to access facility data. Another approach would be to allow small projects to be delivered without BIM and use internal resources to modify the existing BIM from the 2D plans delivered. The airport will need to evaluate whether this is more efficient than simply requiring the use of BIM on all projects. If there is a project selection criterion established that does not require BIM to be used on all projects, there will need to be a corresponding internal process to update the overall facility BIM from the as­built data delivered on project handover. 10.3.4 Legal Policies There are a few contracts and legal policies that must be considered regarding the status of BIM as a contract requirement. These policies are covered in more detail in Section 12. If BIM is going to be used as a tool for facility management, it is critical that design and construction contracts require that the level of accuracy in the BIM deliverable matches the level of accuracy required in the record models. Often BIM will be used to coordinate

BIM Controls—Governance 113 activities, and the details that are not required for coordination are left out. For a smooth transition at the end of construction, the data within the project’s record plans must also be reflected in the BIM. 10.4 Summary The use of BIM for ALCM requires a different governance approach than the use of BIM only for design and construction. While design and construction BIM allow the governance of BIM to be primarily focused on the contractual requirements, life cycle BIM requires a more comprehensive governance structure that includes organiza­ tional changes, the definition of new roles and responsibilities, and the development of new policies that provide the controls necessary to maintain, distribute, and secure BIM data. Section 10 Checklist 1. Determine where the primary account- ability for BIM management should lie within an airport’s organizational structure. 2. Determine the staffing, roles, and responsibilities required to maintain the BIM. 3. Identify and provide the training required for those maintaining and using the BIM. 4. Develop BIM policies and processes for BIM facility data delivered as part of capital projects, for the management of BIM data for internally designed projects and operationally driven facility changes, and for the use of BIM on tenant projects.

Next: Section 11 - BIM Controls Progress Metrics »
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The complexity of airport management has grown dramatically in recent years, with increased security requirements, a focus on sustainability, increased competition, new technologies, and traffic growth.

The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Research Report 214: BIM Beyond Design Guidebook gives airport owners the basic knowledge required to manage this complexity through building information modeling (BIM), a practice that has transformed the design and construction industry over the last decade and is now emerging as a key component to enhancing an asset life cycle management approach for many organizations.

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