Thursday 17 April 2014

BIM Coordination Meetings

Do you have BIM Coordination Meetings at the start of a new project?

I just facilitated such a meeting for a large project we are working on here in Vancouver. I had to coordinate all the consulting parties involved including the construction company and have them commit to send their BIM lead or BIM captains to a two day meeting here in Vancouver. This meant most of the people had to fly in and stay a couple nights for this meeting which is an expense and time away from the office.

in this case having this face to face BIM lead meeting is soooo worth it... I cant emphasis enough the value of this type of meeting. I've facilitated a number of these types of meetings on a number of different projects all with the same results.

During these BIM Coordination Meetings we are able to achieve the following.

We go over the BIM Execution Plan so everyone clearly understands what is expected from them, we then go over what we expect to be modelled and usually there is a lengthy discussion on what should be modelled and what shouldn't. We talk about LOD and frequently make requests of the consultants on specific items we would like modelled depending upon the complexity of the project.

We discuss coordination strategies, establish a method for sharing each others models, clash detection schedule etc.... it's a very worthwhile meeting sorting out the ground rules for modelling and getting to know each of the consultants face to face. 

These meetings also serve the purpose of forming a team bond, if you personally know the consultant you're working with and understand some of the challenges they face on the project you'll be more inclined to be willing to work together when things get tough, and things will always get tough at some point. It's how you are able to deal with the issues and work as a team for the benefit of the project that counts.

Having a face to face meeting with your consultants to discuss these issues can set a prescience for communication which in turn will form a team approach on the project. A "win win" for everyone involved. 
We also had a "site" visit the next day so everyone can see the scope and conditions of the site giving everyone a much better understanding of the project and some of the challenges involved.  

So for your next project if you have not already scheduled a face to face coordination meeting think about scheduling one, the benefits are priceless.

For this current project I'm very fortunate that were working with a great team of consultants who are not only accommodating to our needs but are very competent modellers who are a pleasure to work with and who are willing and able to offer their skills to this project to make it a success.

Working on large projects with great consultants! What can be better?

Sc

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