Lifecycle BIM for Infrastructure: A Business Case for Project Delivery and Asset Management (2023) / Chapter Skim
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Chapter 4 - Making the Business Case
Chapter 4 - Making the Business Case
Pages 58-80
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From page 58... ...
While the definition of BIM can be broad and ambiguous, this study defined BIM as the adoption of an intelligent, object-based 3D modeling process. From the case studies and litera ture review, the research team learned that most transportation agencies have not fully integrated BIM processes for project delivery and asset management, but many have achieved certain aspects of BIM adoption.
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From page 59... ...
For example, purchasing 3D survey modeling software (such as ContextCapture or ReCap Pro) allows an agency to "capture existing conditions" (a core project delivery use case)
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From page 60... ...
By moving to a digital approach, agencies could save money on production and distribution of plan sheets and printing and shipping of bid tabs. Note that agencies that already implement e-construction or only issue electronically signed PDFs for plans would not experience this cost savings when adopting BIM.
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From page 61... ...
From the studies identified in the literature review, the research team found that many BIM studies measure ROI as net benefits divided by total costs. This metric is commonly used for pure financial analyses and intended to calculate a tangible cash return, but it is not consistent with a BCA approach.
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From page 62... ...
For the purposes of this study, the Base Case was defined as "business as usual" with no additional software or hardware investments, other than regularly scheduled upgrades. The Investment Case was defined as "investing in a new BIM technology, training and technical support, and other resources needed to enable BIM methods for project delivery and asset maintenance." These definitions were also consistent with BIM ROI studies identified in the literature review (see Chapter 2)
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From page 63... ...
, as well as all the benefits associated with the expanded modeling software capabilities. The Base Case would be the state of the world with the original BIM capabilities (or lack thereof)
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From page 64... ...
However, OMB also suggests using a 3.0 percent discount rate to provide a sensitivity analysis, where the lower rate represents the scenario in which project funds would otherwise be invested in alternative public uses. The BIM ROI Tool developed during this study has a default discount rate of 4.0, which is a middle value, but tool users should pick the value most appropriate for their analyses.
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From page 65... ...
A shorter payback period indicates a larger BCR and a more beneficial investment. As discussed at the beginning of this section, many of the BIM ROI studies identified through the literature review measured ROI as net benefits divided by costs, which is not consistent with BCA metrics.
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From page 66... ...
Therefore, agencies that acquire more use cases can realize more benefits. Agencies that purchase BIM-related software with use cases for asset management will be able to unlock the additional benefits that come from using BIM during the entire project lifecycle.
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From page 67... ...
• User benefits: all benefits realized by asset users, plus a small portion of benefits to the general public. As indicated in the definitions, both agency cost savings and project cost savings are avoided financial costs.
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From page 68... ...
The BIM ROI Tool includes calculations to monetize 20 benefits; however, several of these benefits require agency data in order to be included in the analysis. Table 4-2 through Table 4-5 list the benefits identified by four categories: in-house agency cost savings, project cost savings, staff time savings, and user benefits.
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From page 69... ...
Table 4-3. Project cost savings from adopting BIM. Code Benefit Name Benefit Definition BP 1 Cost savings from avoided This benefit is the cost savings from avoided change change orders orders due to improved collaboration between disciplines to identify conflicts and constructability issues.
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From page 70... ...
Table 4-5. User benefits from adopting BIM. Code Benefit Name Benefit Definition BU 1 Travel time savings for roadway Reduced road closures translate to fewer days of detours users due to reduced construction for vehicles.
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From page 71... ...
CO 3 Semi-regular hardware replacement costs (e.g., GPS rovers, drones, robotic stations) CO 4 Cost of external refresher staff trainings CO 5 Opportunity cost of staff time for external refresher trainings CO 6 Opportunity cost of staff time for internal refresher trainings CO 7 Opportunity cost of creating new training materials CO 8 Average cost increase of professional services contracts due to requiring BIM for design CO 9 Cost of hiring additional staff needed for BIM program CO 10 Cost of acquiring digital as-built once project is completed CO 11 Cost to maintain database of digital as-builts benefits.
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From page 72... ...
One example of a project cost-savings benefit fitting this calculation structure is reduced spending on construction materials or design options due to BIM design. This benefit is calculated by estimating average spending on construction materials as a percentage of total contract value, then multiplying by the average contract value for the agency's typical project to get average spending on construction materials per project.
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From page 73... ...
These cost savings are discounted over the model period of analysis to get total discounted project cost savings from improved schedule management. Staff Time Savings Staff time-savings benefits (as shown in Table 4-4)
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From page 74... ...
To monetize this benefit, the average time spent on manual methods is multiplied by a percent reduction in staff time on this activity due to automation. Hours saved are then monetized using average hourly staff rates for the relevant staff involved in the task.
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From page 75... ...
These hours saved are monetized using staff hourly wages. These annual savings are accrued over the model period of analysis and discounted back to present value terms using the social discount rate.
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From page 76... ...
For instance, roadway users are expected to receive travel time savings from reduced construction road closures for projects that use BIM techniques to improve schedule management. In other words, by reducing the days of construction, the agency is also able to reduce the days of road closures and therefore reduce congestion for vehicles.
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From page 77... ...
Out of the 20 quantifiable benefits identified, 9 are staff time savings. This indicates that while there may be more benefits associated with staff efficiencies, the highest value comes from project cost savings and agency cost savings.
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From page 78... ...
Given these data limitations and the requirements for inputs on the agency context, the BIM ROI Tool provides two options to the user. First, the agency can perform a default analysis, which allows the user to perform a quick ROI analysis based on the data collected for the 6 benefits and 7 costs.
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From page 79... ...
Are the Benefits of BIM Substantial Enough to Justify the Investment Required by Implementation? Based on the 6 benefits and 7 costs monetized in the BIM ROI Tool, and given several assumptions about agency context, the benefits of BIM do justify the investment.
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From page 80... ...
This means that investing in software and technologies that allow more opportunities for applying BIM methods provides more avenues for realizing benefits. In particular, agencies that apply BIM techniques throughout the project lifecycle (from delivery through asset management)
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