As National Director of MEP Services, I meet with design firms everyday. I am always surprised at the high number of them that do not have a readily available BIM Execution Plan. Having a BIM Execution Plan is key to the success of your BIM deliverables. Below, I have listed some things to keep in mind when you start developing your own internal BIM Execution Plan.

• Primary project contacts in each office
• Identify team members who can make critical decisions
• BIM/Revit Manager from each office
• Team member assigned to the project team that will be directly managing the day-to-day modeling on the BIM/Revit files

• Review all team members BIM/Revit experience
  • Is this any team member’s first BIM/Revit project?
  • Have all team members been involved in delivering a BIM/Revit project?
  • How many BIM/Revit projects have been successfully completed?
• What additional industry software will each team member be using on this project
  • Structural Analysis
  • Energy Analysis
  • Mechanical Duct Cutting
  • Cost Analysis
  • Specifications
  • ETC
• Other Design or BIM Tools
  • Facilities Software

• Review how each team member develops their BIM/Revit files throughout the project time line
  • Has each team member reviewed the process their office uses to produce a project in BIM/Revit? Focused on, but not limited to, how field changes are tracked for incorporation into the final as-built BIM/Revit file
• Review expectations of how developed each team members BIM/Revit file will be at each phase of the coordination effort. Level of Development (LOD)
• Identify deliverable documents expected at each phase of the project
  • BIM/Revit File
  • 2D Documentations
  • LOD
• How will the model be shared among team members
  • FTP Site
  • Model Server
  • E-Mail
  • BIM 360
• How often will the BIM/Revit file be updated and shared
  • Daily
  • Weekly
• What communication tools will be used to relay project information
  • The BIM/Revit File
  • DWF/PDF Drawings and Sketches
  • Online Meetings
  • BIM/Revit Specific Coordination Meetings
  • General Coordination Meetings
• Identify and review any BIM/Revit issues or concerns that each team member has.

• What version of BIM software/Revit are all team members using
• Review specific that each team member may have with their particular BIM/Revit software
  • It is important to understand the limitations currently being experienced by each disciplines specific version of the software
• Review any “work-a-rounds” being implemented by each team member
  • Knowing what “work-a-round” procedures are being implemented by each team member to manage specific software problems will help every team members modeling process
• How does each team member expect to use other team member BIM/Revit file
  • Linking in the file
  • Copy-Monitoring
  • Responsibility of Model Elements
    • Structural
    • Architectural
    • MEP
  • BIM/Revit Standards to be used by each team member
    • Project Browser Organization
    • File Naming
    • View Naming
    • Worksets
    • Families
  • Proprietary Systems or Families being used by each consultant
  • How many BIM/Revit files does each team member expect to have in this specific project

The original origin point in the Architectural model will be used as the origin point throughout the project. All subcontractors need to verify this. (be sure you are importing background models origin to origin.)

How to show the Base Point

• Visibility & Graphics
  • Site
    • Project Base Point & Survey Point

• Project Import
  • Positioning
    • Auto – Origin to Origin
  • A common construction project/column grid file should be provided to each subcontractor.

• The scale that should be used is 1 model unit = 1 inch

• Navisworks can export .nwc files directly from Revit only when both Navisworks Manage and Revit are installed on the same machine. If both programs are not installed on the same computer, then a .dxf file format must be exported from Revit in order to be utilized with Navisworks.

• Company Name_Project Name_ Discipline_Revit Year.rvt
  • Example = CTC_USPS_M_09-24-2015.rvt

• Model files must be dimensionally accurate
  • Subcontractor is entitled to rely on the accuracy of the information in the base model to the same extent it is entitled to rely on other information contained in the contract documents
• 2D contract documents always take precedence over 3D Base Models.
  • Each Subcontractor is responsible for promptly notifying the coordination lead if the 3D Base Model deviates from information in the construction documents.

• Model files must be dimensionally accurate
• Models given to the coordination lead should be free of all attached files. Each Subcontractors Model will be compiled into the complete coordination model.
• Models must include all operation and maintenance access areas needed for all equipment, included as model elements on their own workset.
• All penetrations thru building systems such as the roof, cast-in-place concrete and CMU walls must be identified in the subcontractors model, included as model elements with all necessary tolerances.

This blog is written by ATG National Director of MEP Services Don Rasmusson. If you have any questions or need help with your BIM execution plans, please email us at marketing@atgusa.com.

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