The evidence is in 20+ stats that prove that BIM Technology delivers ROI

Building Information Modeling helps in generating an intelligent multi-dimensional digital representation of the functional and physical characteristics of a facility. It gives engineers, architects, and construction professionals/builders key insights for planning, designing, and building infrastructural facilities efficiently by facilitating seamless team collaboration. The successful implementation of BIM results in increased productivity, reduced wastage, cost control, and an improved ROI on the overall construction investment. But is that just what we say?

Well no. BIM application in construction has been transforming the construction industry ever since the mid-‘80s. Thirty years later, today, the world has taken to BIM technology to streamline and ease the infrastructural designing and execution. Countries around the world have benefited from BIM integration into their Construction Services Management.

As per a McGraw Hill report, two-thirds of the users of Architectural BIM Modeling have reported a positive ROI on their investments.

• 83% of the expert BIM users experienced a positive ROI
• 93% of the users strongly believed in the potential of gaining more value in the future

The report offers some great examples of construction projects across the globe that have benefitted from the use and implementation of BIM services. There are, of course, other such great examples too. Here are 15 stats that prove that BIM delivers value:

1. University of Colorado, Denver Health Sciences Centre

An 11-story bio-medical facility spread over 540,000 sq ft area with an expected budget of USD 201 million. BIM delivered:

• 74% reduction in construction Request for Information (RFI) during the foundation phase
• 47% reduction in construction RFI during the steel erection phase
• An overall decrease of 37% in the coordination of RFI
• The project progressed two months ahead of the scheduled completion timeline and six months ahead of another comparable project
• The project team estimated a reduction of 50% in both labour and in crashing of the work schedule

2. Sutter Health Medical Centre, Castro Valley

This is a notable project that implemented BIM. A USD 320 million project that reported a savings of over USD 1.2 million!

3. Department of Energy, US

A USD 100 million project spread over 45,000 sq ft area saved a whopping USD 10 million on the estimated project cost through the clash detection features of BIM. The team found about 500 serious problems that were rectified during the design stage driving the massive cost saving on the project.

4. Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn, Atlanta

An expansive project was constructed at an estimated budget of USD 46 million. The facility is spread over an area of 484,000 sq ft. It consisted of 14 stories, 242 hotel rooms, parking space for 700 vehicles, and a 25,00 sq ft retail space at the ground level. By using BIM at the design phase:

• 55 clashes were identified at early design development stage, helping in reducing the cost by USD 124,500
• Over the period of the entire design phase, more than 590 more clashes were detected
• The overall estimated cost savings on the project were USD 800,000

5. Nagpur Metro Rail Project, India

It is one of the major infrastructure development projects in India today. In this project, an elevated metro corridor, spanning over 38.2 km across the city with 36 stations and 2 depots is being constructed. The construction team has reported that with BIM:

• 12% of cost savings have been reported so far in terms of logistics and staff days. This is expected to rise to 15% by the end of the project
• The anticipated reduction in overhead costs by the end of the project is 5%
• An 8% cost saving is expected over the DPR projected costs
• An overall cost saving of 10% has been recorded so far which amounts to be INR 800 crore approximately

6.    Tata Consultancy (TCS) Mumbai, India

The Indian IT giant was duplicating an already built building at one of its campuses spread over an area of 74,000 sq ft. The biggest challenge the team faced was the unavailability of as-built data. The construction drawings that were available only available were substantially different from the actual building and no accurate as-built data was available. The team used BIM to build a model focussing on Clash Detection and Resolution (CDR).

• Estimated time-frame using conventional method for coordination was three months
• With BIM, the team completed this in one month which resulted in time-saving of around 66%

Of course, these savings in time, cost, effort, and improvement in construction quality is the norm rather than the exception when using BIM. And Mechanical Electrical Plumbing (MEP) and Building Services Engineering folks agree.

An elaborate survey to assess the many characteristics of BIM usage and implementation by Becerik-Gerber and Rice highlighted the following:

• 41% of the respondents realized an overall increase in project profitability
• 55% of respondents said that BIM helped in cutting project costs
• Out of that 55 %, 50% claimed a staggering 50% cut in the project costs
• 58% of respondents found a 50% reduction in the overall project duration

There is no longer any room for doubt. These stats prove the importance of BIM in delivering higher ROI from the investments made in construction. BIM achieves this through controlling costs, better planning, saved time and accurate estimations for raw material and time. It’s time for you to consider your own BIM Implementation Plan and BIM Execution strategy.