atributes of bim in different countries

AEDMARTICLE

Attributes of Building InformationModelling Innplennentations inVarious CountriesAndy K. D. Wong*, Francis K. W. Wong and Abid Nadeem

Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

AbstractVarious initiatives can be taken to implement building information modelling (BIM) systems in a country. Tbe

purpose of this article is to bigbligbt critical initiatives derived from the review of BIM implementations in

botb tbe public and private sectors in six selected countries. Tbe metbodology adopted for structuring the

study is to classify BIM initiatives for its implementation in policy, process and technology fields. A literature

review of such BIM fields from the USA, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Singapore and Hong Kong is provided.

Moreover, tbe experiences of autbors in BIM researcb projects conducted in tbe past tbrougb questionnaire

surveys and interviews are also utilized to syntbesize tbe findings. The review suggests that, in several

situations, BIM is implemented in conjunction with industry foundation classes for better integration and

interoperability of various components of a BIM system. The types and roles of major stakeholders in

promoting and providing support for tbe implementation, research and development of BIM systems are

presented. The findings suggest that initiatives can be taken for policy formulation, BIM organization,

information exchange capability, researcb areas identification, promotion, presentation and liaison of BIM

programmes for an effective BIM implementation in a country.

• Keywords - Building information modelling; Hong Kong; industry foundation classes; interoperability; Scandinavian countries;

Singapore; stakeholders' roles

INTRODUCTIONBuilding information modelling (BIM) has emergedfrom three-dimensional (3D) architectural designtechnology to a comprehensive 'methodology tomanage the essential building design and projectdata throughout the building's lifecycle' (Penttilä,2006). Using BIM, a computer model of a buildingis developed that simulates the design (alsopre-design), construction and operation of a facility.BIM has the attributes both of an approach and of aprocess/action. It is an approach because it providesan alternative to the traditional, paper-based, twodimensional (2D) or 3D computer-aided design

M 'Corresponding author: E-mail: [email protected]

(CAD)-based approaches to project design andmanagement. It is a process/action in that it createsa product called a building information model, whichcan be manipulated for various business purposesand whose performance can be measured. In normalpractice, the terms 'building information modelling'and 'building information model' are usedinterchangeably. However, there is a differencebetween these two terms, as the former is aprocess and the latter is a product.

The knowledge domain of BIM is expanding withits implementation in many countries in theconceptualization, design, construction and

ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN MANAGEMENT H 2010 B VOLUME 6 S 288-302doi:l0.3763/aedm.2010.IDDS6 ©2010 Earthscan ISSN; 1745-2007 (print). 1752-7589 (online) www.earthscan.co.uk/journals/aedm

Building Information Modelling Implementations 289

Operation of the buildings. In this article, a review ofBIM initiatives for Its implementation in a number ofcountries is presented. Such initiatives can becategorized with respect to the type of mainstakeholders taking initiatives, such as the publicand private sectors, as well as by the class ofinitiatives. BIM initiatives have been classified intothe policy, process and technology fields (Succar,2009). Further explanation of this classification isprovided in the Methodology section. Findings fromthis study are based on the review of literature ofBIM initiatives from the USA, Finland, Norway,Denmark, Singapore and Hong Kong. The chosencountries are from three continents and the review isexpected to cover a wide range of BIMimplementations. The USA is a large country andproduces a great deal of BIM technology. Finland,Norway and Denmark represent the Scandinavianregion in Europe. This region is regarded as one ofthe earliest adopters of BIM technology, outside ofNorth America. Asia is represented by Hong Kong,which is a Special Administrative Region of thePeople's Republic of China, and Singapore.Singapore is one of the earliest BIM adopters in Asiain the public sector: BIM is being graduallyimplemented in Hong Kong in both the public andthe private sector.

In order to implement BIM, certain policies,processes and technologies are needed that interactand/or overlap with each other to produce thedesired outcomes in the form of a buildinginformation model. The purpose of this article is tohighlight such policies, processes and technologiesfrom the selected countries and integrate thefindings to illustrate the common behaviour of suchinitiatives or Implementations.

METHODOLOGYThis article is based on the review of literature ofBIM initiatives In various countries. Moreover, theexperiences of authors in BIM implementationresearch from information obtained in the pastthrough questionnaire surveys and interviews forother BIM research studies are also used to integratethe findings. In order to structure the informationpresented in this article, BIM initiatives are dividedinto three fields: the technology, process and policy

fields. For each field, the players and deliverables canbe identified. Admittedly, the information presented inthis article about the deliverables and players is notexhaustive. However, it is expected that thepresented information is a good indicator of theoverall pattern of BIM implementations. Afteridentifying players and deliverables in these fields,analysis is made of any overlap in the fields orinteraction of fields to arrive at the research findings.The chosen fields are explained as follows.

Policies are 'written principles or rules to guidedecision-making' (Clemson, 2010). It includes playerssuch as insurance companies, research centres,educational institutions and regulatory bodies. Theirjobs are normally to train practitioners, deliverresearch, distribute benefits and minimize conflictsbetween industry participants. These players do notgenerate any construction products but arespecialized organizations.

Process is defined as 'a specific ordering of workactivities across time and place, with a beginning, anend, and clearly identified inputs and outputs: astructure for action' (Davenport, 1992). It includespeople who procure, design, construct, manufacture,use, manage and maintain building facilities orstructures. Facility owners, architects, engineers,contractors, facility managers, etc. can be included inthis group.

Technology is 'the application of scientificknowledge for practical purposes' (Oxford, 2010). Itincludes the players who develop the software,hardware, equipment and networking systemsnecessary for BIM implementations.

BIM PLAYERS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIESTHE USA® General Services Administration (GSA) is the main

public client implementing BIM in the public sector.GSA's National 3D-4D BIM programme waslaunched in 2003 (GSA, 2007).

® National Institute for Standards and Technology(NiST) conducts research on BIM andinteroperability among other areas (NIBS, 2007).

® CAD/BIM Technology Center is a research centrefor the US Army Corps of Engineers, providingtechnical and professional services for BIMdeployment across the professional services in a

ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN MANAGEMENT

290 A. K. D. WONG, F. K. W. WONG AND A. NADEEM

consistent manner that ensures acceptable returnon investments and promotes interoperabilitybetween BIM and other geospatial technologies.

• Construction Engineering Research Laboratory of theCorps of Engineers with the support of its otherlaboratories is transforming the use of BIM and is aprimary player in the industry transformation withproducts such as COBIE (Construction OperationsBuilding Information Exchange).

• Other players from the USA are listed in Appendix 1along with their brief description of BIMinvolvement.

FINLAND• Senate Properties is the public owner running pilot

projects using BIM and Industry FoundationClasses (IFC). It has assessed the product modeltechnology that supports BIM technology andfound it sufficiently ready to use in projects.

• In the private sector, Skanska Oy is the generalcontractor that has implemented BIM In itsoperations and has also performed research anddevelopment (R&D) in BIM.

• fetes has promoted BIM in Finland and theAssociation of Finnish Contractors has alsopromoted BIM, in association with state clientsenate properties.

• Helsinki University of Technology and TampereUniversity of Technology are the educationalinstitutions performing R6D in BIM.

• VTT\s the major research organization in Finland forBIM and other research in the construction andbuilt environment.

NORWAY• Statsbygg is the state client promoting the use of

BIM.• Norwegian Homebuilders Association encourages

the industry to adopt BIM and IFC.• In the private sector, Selvaag-Bluethink is

developing IFC-based BIM.• SINTEF is the leading organization conducting

research in BIM.• In the Norwegian University of Science and

Technology (NTNU), several student projects onBIM are being conducted.

• The Norwegian international Alliance forInteroperability (¡At) Forum is active in defining theinformation exchange requirements for BIM.

DENMARK• There are at least three public owners who have

initiated work on BIM. They are The Palaces andProperties Agency, The Danish University andProperty Agency and Defence ConstructionService. Although the government projects donot represent a large part of the total propertyarea, they do have significant impact on themarket created by IFC requirements.

• Other government agencies, such as GentofteMunicipality ana KLP Ejendomme. have alsoadopted the requirements from the DigitalConstruction project in Denmark.

• In Denmark, guidelines for working with 3D CADapplications have been prepared. This wasaccomplished under the Digital ConstructionProgram initiated by the Danish Enterprise andConstruction Authority.

• In the private sector. Bips is developing BIMguidelines and Rambeit is working to makeRambyg - its web-based system for operation andmaintenance of buildings - compliant with IFCrequirements.

• In the education institutions, Aalborg Universityfocuses on IFC model servers and 3D models.Aarhus School of Architecture is focusing onproduct configuration, design intent and IFCmodel servers, whereas the Technical Universityof Denmark's work is on interoperability.

SINGAPORE• In Singapore, Construction and Real Estate Network

(CORENET) is the main organization involved in thedevelopment and implementation of BIM forgovernment projects. It is a major informationtechnology (IT) initiative that was launched in1995 by Singapore's Ministry of NationalDevelopment.

• In the private sector, consulting engineers such asArup and WSP have embarked on theimplementation of BIM in their projects.



HONGKONG

• In Hong Kong, the Works Branch of the

Development Bureau (DevB) aims to plan, manage

and implement public sector infrastructure

development and works programmes (DevB,

2008), Under DevB's initiatives, BIM is being

gradually introduced into the existing CAD

standard for Works Projects (DevB, 2007).

• The Housing Authority of the Government of the

HKSAR has included BIM in its programme of

activities for development (construction and

building control in the fiscal years 2008/09 and

2009/10) and is now actively promoting its use in its

new projects (Hong Kong Housing Authority, 2009).

• The Hong Kong Institute of Building Information

Modelling (HKIBIM) was established in April 2009

by a group of Hong Kong corporations,

stakeholders and experts in BIM applications.

HKIBIM is the first professional institute in the

world for promoting and facilitating applications

of BIM in the building environment.

SUMMARY

A summary of BIM policy players in the selected

countries along with their sector and BIM role is

given in Table 1.

BIM INITIATIVES IN THE USAOVERALL USAGEThere has been a rapid adoption of BIM in the past few

years (McGraw-Hill, 2009) that is expected to continue

in the coming years. Half of the industry was using

BIM or BIM-related tools in 2009. This represents a

75% increase In usage from the level in 2007.

Forty-two per cent of BIM users were at an expert or

advanced level, which was three times the amount

reported in 2007,

POLICY INITIATIVES

GSA has a policy to incrementally adopt 3D, 4D and

BIM for all major projects by leading 3D-4D-BIM

pilot applications and incentives for current and

future capital projects. GSA provides expert support

and assessment for ongoing capital projects to

incorporate 3D, 4D and BIM technologies and

assess industry readiness and technology maturity.

GSA also partners with BIM vendors, professional

associations, open standard organizations and

academic/research institutions. In order to fulfil the

objectives of its BIM programme, GSA has taken the

following policy initiatives:

• In July 2003, GSA launched nine pilot projects

to study the implementation of BIM

(Fallón, 2005).

• In 2006, GSA started another three pilot projects

using laser scanning of buildings and using data to

create as-built BIM models of buildings for

planning further improvement and operation of

buildings (Jenkins, 2006; Jacob, 2007),

• GSA mandated the use of IFC-based BIM and

emphasized that BIM adoption should not be

driven by cost savings alone, but for its other

benefits such as the ability to explore different

engineering systems, perform energy analysis,

derive specifications automatically and eventually

eliminate the use of paper and paper-based

processes (Khemlani, 2006a).

• GSA also mandated that new buildings designed

through the Public Buildings Services (PBS) use

BIM in the design stage (Hardy, 2006).

• GSA announced its requirements in advance

of the release of the US National Building

Information Modelling Standard, 2006, which

were later incorporated in the standard (Wilson,

2006).

• GSA collaborated with BIM software developers to

produce a new GSA BIM Guide. The guide helps

designers to develop final concept designs for

GSA's PBS and to meet GSA's spatial programme.

The requirements include the submission of a BIM

IFC model defined by the buildingSMART

organization of the National Institute of Building

Sciences (NIBS) (Bentley, 2007).

• GSA also collaborated with international real

estate organizations to support open standards for

BIM software and systems. These organizations

included Finland's Senate Properties, the Danish

Enterprise and Construction Authority, and

Norway's Directorate of Public Construction

and Property. The aim was to promote

interoperability and the seamless and accurate



TABLE 1 BIM

COUNTRY

USA

Finland

Norway

Denmark

Singapore

Hong Kong

policy players

SECTOR

Public

Public

Private

Public

Private

Public

Private

Public

Private

Public

Private

and BIM roles

ORGANIZATION NAME

General Services Administration (GSA)

National Institute for Standards and

Technology (NIST)

CAD/BIM Tecfinology Center

Construction Engineering Research

Laboratory (CERL)

Senate Properties

Skanska Oy

TekesAssociation of Finnish Contractors

Helsinki University of Technology

Tampere University of Technology

vn

Statsbygg

Norwegian Homebuilders Association

Selvaag-Bluethink

SINTEF

Norwegian University of Science

and Technology (NTNU)

Norwegian IAI Forum

The Palaces and Properties Agency

The Oanish University and Property Agency

Defence Construction Service

Gentofte Municipality

KLP Ejendomme

Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority

Bips

RamballAalborg University

Aarhus School of Architecture

Technical University of Denmark

Construction and Real Estate Network

(CORENET)

Arup

WSP

Works Branch - Development Bureau

Housing Authority

The Hong Kong Institute of Building Information

Modelling (HKIBIM)

BIM ROLE

Regulator and guidelines developer

Guidelines and building standards development

Research and consultancy

Research

Regulator and guidelines developer

Application and research

Application and promotion


Education and research

Education and research

Research and application



Application development

Research and development

Research and education

Application development

Regulator

Regulator

Regulator

Regulator

Regulator

Guidelines development

Guidelines development





Regulator and system developer

Application implementer

Application implementer

Regulator

Regulator and application implementer

Professional body and standards development



exchange of digital data between differentdevelopers (GSA, 2008).

Several more BIM initiatives (policy, process andtechnology) from the USA are listed in Appendix1. The following are a few BIM initiatives related toprocess and technology fields.

PROCESS INITIATIVESGSA demonstrated the energy-efficient design in theSan Francisco Federal Building Project by halving theamount of energy needed by the typical officebuilding. To this end, the building was designed withthe optimum width for natural lighting and ventilation.The use of BIM on this project provided the platformfor early integration of architectural, structural andmechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) designs,and tools. In another project - the Salt Lake CityFederal Courthouse - GSA also applied BIM in theenergy-efficient design (Khemlani, 2006b).

GSA has also used BIM for space reporting, spatialmanagement and tenant management, and inevaluating how well a proposed design meets theprogramme requirements (Khemlani, 2006a).

TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVESFor disaster response situations, GSA explored the'avatar' technology from the gaming industry thatcreates a simulation of human behaviour by virtualpeople. This would allow, for instance, a BIM modelto be populated with electronic people programmedwith behaviours such as walking, running, turning,detecting the nearest exit and so on, which wouldallow the egress pattern and time in a proposedbuilding to be studied in the event of an emergency(Khemlani, 2006a).

BIM INITIATIVES IN FINLANDOVERALL USAGEIn a survey conducted in 2007, the usage of BIM andIFC-compliant BIM applications in Finland wasestimated to be 33% (Kiviniemi, 2007). It is to benoted that IFC is a standard for sharing andexchanging building information among variousnon-interoperable applications. In the same survey itwas observed that in Finland, 93% of thearchitectural firms were using BIM for some parts of

their projects whereas engineers' usage (such asstructural engineers) was nearly 60%.

POLICY INITIATIVESSenate Properties has mandated the use of modelsmeeting the IFC standard in its projects since1 October 2007 (Senate Properties, 2009), whichmeans that all design software packages are checkedagainst the current version (at the time of checking)of IFC. It has also set up detailed modellingguidelines to convey the modelling data requirementsto the project participants at each stage of the design.

The BIM guidelines have been drafted as a resultof an R&D project called ProlT conducted withindustry-wide support. It developed a number ofguidelines on product modelling. The guidelines arein the Finnish language and cover general principlesof product modelling in construction projects,product modelling in architectural design, productmodelling in structural design and product modellingin building services design (Senate Properties, 2009).

Another organization, Tekes, promotes BIM, andthis has helped high utilization of BIM in Finland. TheAssociation of Finnish Contractors is also active inpromoting BIM in the industry in association with thestate client (Senate Properties) whose path is similar,with the addition of the need for open standards.

In Finland's private sector, several research anddevelopment (R&D) projects in BIM are beingconducted. For example, Skanska Oy's project is onthe integration of project-specific building informationmodels into the industrialized building process, and theadoption of 3D modelling in practice (Kiviniemi, 2009).

Research organizations and universities in Finlandare running several programmes involving theimplementation of BIM. For example, HelsinkiUniversity of Technology and VTT's Engineering andConstruction Project Information Platform (ECPIP)integrates BIM into actual construction and buildingmanagement (Leicht et al., 2007). VTT and TampereUniversity of Technology's Virtual BuildingEnvironments (VBE) and another project by TampereUniversity of Technology investigate industrialprocesses incorporating IFC-based BIM (VTT, 2007).

VTT has been researching building product models,or building information models, since the late 1980s.Finland, and especially VTT, actively took part in the



international development and standardization ofintegrated BIM when the lAI was formed in 1996. VTThas focused on technical issues related todownstream applications, including tools that utilizethe information in the models. These are differentanalysis, simulation and process managementapplication tools. Among these tools, energy andenvironmental analysis tools are given more attentionbecause of their high reliability in evaluating theenvironmental impacts or lifecycle costs of buildingsby robust analyses and simulations. More applicationsof BIM by VTT are summarized in Appendix 2.

BIM INITIATIVES IN NORWAYOVERALL USAGEOverall, about 22% of architecture, engineering,construction and facilities management (AEC/FM)companies in Norway have used or implementedBIM or IFC-enabled BIM. The state client Statsbygghas promoted the use of BIM in the past few years.Another organization, the Norwegian HomebuildersAssociation, has encouraged the industry to adoptBIM and IFC. Also, a number of Norwegiancontractors have invested in and implemented BIMsystems to be integrated into Information andCommunication Technologies (ICT) for their businessof constructing apartments and houses.

POLICY INITIATIVESNorway's BIM guidelines are called the BIM Manual.These guidelines are based on experiences fromStatsbygg's pilot construction project at Hogskolen iBod0 (HIBO) using BIM. Statsbygg produced the firstversion at the end of 2007, and the latest version(1.1) of the guidelines was released in February 2009(Statsbygg, 2010). The BIM Manual is insynchronization with the Norwegian standardNS8353 CAD Manual and the NBIMS standard fromthe USA. This manual was actually developed forStatsbygg's use: however, it is now also being usedby other parties in Norway (Le ef al., 2006).Moreover, Statsbygg has decided to use BIM for thewhole life cycle of its buildings. In 2007, five projectshad used BIM. By 2010, all the projects will berequired to use IFC/IFD-based BIM. It is to be notedthat IFD is an abbreviation for InternationalFramework for Dictionaries and it defines what

information should be shared or exchanged indifferent building product models.

Norway is among the first few countries todevelop the IFD standard in the building constructionregime as an implementation of the InternationalOrganization for Standardization 12006-3 standardand has potential for global application. UnderNTNU, several student projects and thesis proposalsare focused on buildingSMART technology and arebeing conducted in collaboration with industry andresearch organizations to develop student courses.

The Norwegian lAI Forum is defining therequirements for information exchange under theInformation Delivery Manual (IDM) (lAI ForumNorway, 2007). The aim of the IDM is to support theinformation exchange requirements for businessprocesses within the building construction industr/.Through IDM, the parts of the IFC model that arenecessary for information exchange betweenidentified processes can be specified.

PROCESS INITIATIVESINTEF is working on several internal andcross-department projects under the buildingSMARTinitiative, besides developing BIM guidelines. SINTEFis converting over 800 design sheets to the formatrecommended under buildingSMART guidelines.buildingSMART is a national coordinating effort tofocus and collaborate on all building developmentand implementation projects.

BIM INITIATIVES IN DENMARKOVERALL USAGEThe overall usage of BIM in Denmark is promising.According to a survey that was carried out in 2006(cited in Kiviniemi ef al., 2008), the most commonlyused BIM application among architects wasArchitectural Desktop with approximately 35% offirms using It. It was followed by Archicad, Revit andBentley Architecture. The survey also showed thatabout 50% of architects, 29% of clients and 40% ofengineers in Denmark were using BIM for someparts of their projects in 2006.

POLICY INITIATIVESDenmark public sector clients have specific modellingstandards/guidelines to adopt in their projects. These



requirements are set out by the government and someof them are part of the building regulatory laws. InDenmark, Bips, which is a user-driven organization,has a strong influence on the use of IT in the Danishconstruction industry. The mandatory demands onBIM from the Danish state clients in 2007 havemoved the use of BIM to a higher level in Denmark.

Denmark has actively put forth its requirements forusing BIM in government projects. Such requirementsfrom the government are known as Byggherrekravene(Det Digitale Byggeri, 2007). The architects, designersand contractors participating in public sectorconstruction projects are utilizing a number of newdigital routines, methods and tools starting fromJanuary 2007. The initiative is called 'Det DigitaleByggeri' in Danish, which means 'the DigitalConstruction'. At the beginning, when the initiativewas under experimentation, the public sector clientsexercised flexibility in its use. For example, theadoption of a new common classification systemwas recommended in the initiative, but it wasnormally up to the architects/engineers to decidewhether the system should be used or not.

The use of 3D models in the projects has beenrelated to the price of the project. For projects above5.5 million euros, 3D models in the design have tofulfil a number of requirements regarding contentand information levels for the various phases, andthese are to be defined by the client for theindividual project. The models are recommended tobe exchanged using the IFC format. Also, there are afew municipalities and private clients in Denmarkwho demand object-based modelling.

A package of guidelines regarding 3D wasdeveloped. The guidelines concerned both thesetting up and fulfilling of requirements in file anddatabase-based CAD/BIM applications. The adoptionof the Digital Construction Program has beenpublished in the form of a number of reports andguidelines (Bips, 2008). These guidelines are alsoavailable in English, which include 3D CAD t\Aanual2006, 3D Working t^ethod. 3D Working Methodsand Layer and Object Structures 2006.

Bips has adopted the results from the DigitalConstruction Program and is promoting the newworking methods to all companies in the Danishconstruction industry. Ramboll and the Danish

Enterprise and Construction Authority are supportingthe R&D work in BIM in Denmark.

BIM INITIATIVES IN SINGAPOREPOLICY INITIATIVESCORENET provides information services, whichinclude e-information systems such as eNPOS ande-Catalog to its clients. It also offers an integratedsubmission system in the form of e-Submission andIntegrated Plan Checking System. IT standards arebeing adopted in the construction industry ofSingapore, adapted from lAI. Singapore, has, since1997, been promoting and later on also requiring theuse of BIM for various kinds of approvals, such asbuilding plan approvals and fire safety certifications(Khemlani, 2005). The CORENET's e-PlanCheckdefines Singapore's Automated Code CheckingSystem, and several authorities in Singapore areparticipating in the e-submission system, whichrequires the use of BIM and IFC. The BIM guidelinecalled 'integrated plan checking' has now beencompleted.

PROCESS INITIATIVESArup Singapore has adopted the process of BIM onall its projects for the past few years with success(Pynn, 2009). WSP also adopts BIM at the projectdesign stage because of its effective use in thepreparation and evaluation of structure designs andloading analyses. BIM was recently applied todesign production on the Civic, Cultural and RetailComplex, One North Singapore project, which isan integrated complex and is scheduled to becompleted in 2011.

BIM INITIATIVES IN HONG KONGPOLICY INITIATIVESThe Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) is applyingBIM technology in the public sector of Hong Kongfor design, sustainability studies and constructioncoordination of its public housing projects. The BIMinitiative follows the regulatory policy of the WorksBranch of the Development Bureau of Hong Kongtowards BIM. A BIM centre was set up in 2009 atthe headquarters of the HKHA to promote the use ofBIM and facilitate experience sharing. HKHA hasbeen piloting the use of BIM in new public housing


296 A. K, D. WONG, F, K. W. WONG AND A, NADEEM

projects since 2006. Its experience with BIM suggeststhat BIM can improve productivity and efficiency interms of enhancing collaboration, designoptimization, construction planning and conflictdetection. HKHA anticipates it will save time andcost, with less wastage in the long run.

HKHA will continue to use BIM in more projects,with an aim to cover all projects from 2014/15onwards. To develop BIM as a more user-friendlytool in Hong Kong however, HKHA plans to exploremore application areas, for example, automaticextraction of bill of quantities from BIM models,checking of building codes to comply with buildingregulations, integration with specification,préfabrication and assembly RFID, etc, HKHAconsiders that the requirement for BIM in the AECjob market would soon change from being a 'desiredskill' to a 'required skill'.

In the private sector, HKIBIM as a professional BIMbody is promoting BIM on a number of fronts asfollows:

• promoting and advancing the general education,understanding, appreciation and interest of and inBIM for the benefit of the member and the generalpublic;

• establishing and maintaining standards of BIMpractice in Hong Kong;

• establishing links with relevant institutes of tertiaryeducation, government bureaus/departments,statutory bodies and other organizations;

• providing guidance on careers in the BIMprofession;

• establishing and maintaining a code of conduct forpractitioners of BIM in Hong Kong.

PROCESS PLAYERS AND INITIATIVESA few developers in Hong Kong such as HendersonLand Development Company Limited, New WorldDevelopment Company Limited and Mass TransitRailway Corporation (MTRC) Hong Kong Limited havealready adopted BIM in their projects (Autodesk,2007). Main BIM applications include clash detection,design visualization and design evaluation.

In Hong Kong, Aedas Limited and L.W.K. &Partners (HK) Limited are among the architects whoactively practise BIM on their projects. As

architectural firms, they mainly use BIM for projectdesign and drawing production such as presentingcomplex geometry on a 3D platform, using a 3Dmodel to export 2D construction drawings, etc.

Structural engineering firms such as WSP HongKong Limited adopt BIM at the project design stage.They point out that it is effective to use BIM for thepreparation and evaluation of structure designs andloading analyses. Efficient and accurate drawingproduction is one of the benefits derived from BIMusage experienced by structural engineering firms. Inaddition, for civil engineering projects, a 3Dtopographic model can be efficiently produced usingBIM,

BIM consultants provide a convenient service forfirms that want to adopt BIM on their projects.Intelibuild, Forida and Tecton are independentconsultants providing BIM sen/ices in Hong Kong.They have clients in both public and private sectors(Autodesk, 2007). The role of BIM consultants is tobe mainly responsible for the technical aspects inthe building up of BIM models at project level. Theirbusiness models focus on the exploration andexploitation of applying BIM technologies,investigating the potential use of BIM for diversifyingtheir services so as to enlarge their market share andto attract more clients. Their BIM services includedesign visualization, photomontage, designcoordination, computer simulation of sunlight andwind effects, production of construction drawings,construction process simulation, maintenance,material taking off, etc.

INTEGRATIVE ANALYSIS OF BIMINITIATIVESThe review of implementation initiatives in terms ofpolicy, process and technology for BIM by variouspublic and private sector players in the USA, Finland,Norway, Denmark, Singapore and Hong Kong isintegrated into the research findings. The findingslead towards describing collectively, in qualitativemeasures, various aspects of BIM implementations.This is described in terms of the strategic stepstaken to implement BIM, Therefore, from the studiesperformed, the following attributes of BIMimplementations in various countries can beidentified.



ROLE OF MAJOR PLAYERSThe review, as presented before, highlights the criticalrole of the public sector in the implementation of BIMin any country. In the countries discussed, the publicsector was one of the major drivers for theimplementation of BIM. However, the role of theprivate sector is also significant. In Hong Kong, whichhas an open economic system, the role of the privatesector in contributing to the economy is quitesignificant and this includes Hong Kong's AECindustry as well. It can be expected that new trendsor the introduction of new technology would mostlikely arise from the private sector The same is thecase with BIM, which has been largely implementedby the private sector in Hong Kong. There is a highprobability that BIM usage will greatly increase in theyears to come. The government of Hong Kong, as thepublic sector, has also realized this need. Therefore,HKHA is actively implementing BIM in its projects.

BIM POLICY AND/OR PROGRAMMEFor the effective implementation of BIM in a country,the government needs to establish the specificpolicy of adopting BIM on all projects. In each of thecountries discussed, specific governmentdepartments were responsible for setting the BIMpolicy, which includes in varying degrees theregulatory guidelines, contractual arrangements,setting up of best practices and standards, providingresearch and educational funding, etc. The initiativesof GSA in the USA, Statsbygg in Norway and DevBin Hong Kong, among others, are examples. BIMpolicy, in fact, also covers many of the followingattributes of BIM implementation.

DEVELOPMENT OF BIM STANDARDS/GUIDELINESBIM standards/guidelines are usually a component oran expected outcome of the BIM policy in a country.Whereas the policy is normally attributed to thepublic sector, the development of BIM standards orguidelines can also be initiated by the private sector.In the USA, the public client GSA has its BIMguidelines, which are parallel to the national BIMguidelines drafted by the NIST. The guidelines mayserve a specific purpose for an organization;therefore, in one country there can be more than

one set of BIM guidelines. The development of openBIM standards is recommended, which means thestandards should be usable on a variety ofcomputing platforms/systems. GSA in the USA andthe Association of Finnish Contractors in Finlandcollaborate with other partners to establish openBIM standards. In other countries, there are manycompeting BIM developers/vendors. Their effortsneed to be streamlined. The public sector in acountry is in a better position to instil synergy intovarious competing BIM developers in the market. InHong Kong, HKIBIM is taking a proactive role byproviding an exchange platform for gathering thecontributions from BIM professionals andstakeholders.

INFORMATION EXCHANGE CAPABILITYAn important capability of the BIM implementationsystem is exchanging information among differentBIM and non-BIM systems without loss of data,making the design information explicit and making itavailable to stakeholders so that the design,construction or operation intent can be easilyunderstood and evaluated. The requirements of BIMto pass IFC, IFD or IDM certifications, as presentedbefore, are intended to fulfil information exchangecapability requirements.

ORGANIZATION FOR BIM IMPLEMENTATIONIn order to implement the BIM policy of a country,there should be one or more designatedorganizations to take up the major responsibilities forBIM implementation, initially through some pilotprojects. It could be an existing governmentdepartment or organization that can be entrustedwith the task of overseeing BIM initiatives in theterritory. Several such organizations are discussedand summarized in Table 1. There can be otherorganizations in a country whose work can benefitfrom BIM implementations. These organizationsshould be encouraged to adopt BIM, in consultationwith the main departments responsible forcoordinating BIM implementations in the country.

PRESENTATION, PROMOTION AND LIAISONIt is important to disseminate the findings of the BIMprogramme, once established, at various outlets such



TABLE 2 BIM

INITIATIVES

Organization and

projects

BIM Guidelines

research initiatives in the Scandinavian

FINLAND

Helsinki university of Technology

and VTT

ECPIP, Engineering and

Construction Project Information

Platform

VTT and Tampere University of

Technology

VBE, Virtual Building Environments

Tampere University of Technology

IFC-hased BIM Industrial Processes

Supported for Open Virtual Building

Environment

ProlT

Product modelling in construction

countries

DENMARK

Aalborg University

IFC Model Servers

3D Models - B3D

Aarhus School of Architecture

Product configuration

Design intent

IFC model server

Technical University of Denmark

Interoperability

Digital Construction Program

Guidelines for working with 3D CAD

NORWAY

SINTEF

Several projects under buildingSMART

initiative

BIM guidelines development

buildingSMART

A national coordinating effort to focus

and collaborate on all buildingSMART

development and implementation

projects

NTNU

Student projects and thesis proposals

focused on buildingSMART technology

Collaboration with industry and

research organizations to develop

student courses

BIM Manual with experiences from the

HIBO Statsbygg project

projects general principles,

architectural design, structural

design and building sen/ices design

applications

as forums, journals, conferences, professional bodies

for information exchange and recognit ion. For

example, GSA liaises w i th other partners f rom Europe

such as Senate Properties for collaboration. The BIM

best practices are recognized in the fo rm of awards.

In the USA, the American Institute of Archi tects '

Technology in Architectural Practice organizes the

annual BIM awards. In Hong Kong, Autodesk Hong

Kong organizes the annual BIM awards. Several of the

organizations described earlier in this article have

been recognized through these awards.

FOCUS OF BIM RESEARCHResearch programmes are, in fact, part of the policyfield of BIM. A number of areas for comparisonunder this category are summarized in Table 2. Fromthe review of the areas of research anddevelopment, it is observed that R&D in selectedScandinavian countries (Finland, Denmark andNorway) is being conducted in two broad areas:management aspects and technical aspects. Onesuch area is the investigation of the transformational

effect of BIM on the overall business processes of areal estate and construction company, starting fromautomation of the process and passing through theinformational effect. In another managementresearch area, research is being conducted intobusiness drivers for the implementation of BIM,which is divided into various areas concerning eachstakeholder involved in the whole building life cycle.

In technical research, researchers have paid greatattention to interoperability issues. IFC specificationsare also being investigated to make them cater forthe needs of the construction and real estateindustry. The major issue in IFC specifications is thecomplexity of its use, efforts are being made tomake the specifications clearly modularized andcategorized to better suit the needs of constructionindustry users.

CONCLUSIONSA review of BIM initiatives in the USA, Finland,

Norway, Denmark, Singapore and Hong Kong has

been presented in this article. From the integrative



analysis of BIM initiatives in these countries, theoverall attributes of BIM implementatiori in a countrywere extracted. The findings suggest that for aneffective implementation of BIM in a country, both thepublic and private sector should work collaboratively toset up a suitable environment for the implementationof BIM in the AEC/FM industry. Such steps wouldinclude, but not be limited to, defining the roles ofmajor players in BIM implementation, and setting up asuitable policy for BIM implementation. The BIM policywould include steps such as organization for BIMimplementation, developing effective informationexchange capable systems, setting up modellingguidelines, BIM standards and best practices, possiblyin the form of successful pilot projects, and thepromotion, liaison and presentation of BIM initiatives inthe country, with other stakeholders in or outside ofthe country. The study also reviewed salient BIMresearch initiatives in these countries, which, in fact, isa part of the overall BIM policy field, and found thatsustainability, interoperability. Informational andtransformational issues are being and should be givenprofound attention.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThe authors gratefully acknowledge the fundingprovided by the Research Grants Council of theHKSAR Government for this research project (RGCReference No. PolyU 5301/06E).

REFERENCESAutodesk, 2007, 'BIM a new cfiapter of building industry'. Outstanding

Project Awards, Autodesk Far East Limited.

Bentley, 2007, 'GSA and Bentley collaborate on I\IE GSA BIM guide'.

Available at: www.bentley.com/en-US/Corporate/News/News-l-Arctiive/

2007/Quarter-l-3/GSA.htm (accessed 29 June 2009).

Bips, 2008, 'Digital construction, 3D working mettiod', Danish Government.

Clemson, 2010, 'Definition of policy, Clemson University - Office of

Research Compliance, Definitions of Research Compliance Terms'.

Available at: www.clemson.edu/research/orcSite/orclRB DefsP.htm

laccessed 9 August 20101.

Davenport, T.H., 1992, Process Innovation: Reengineering Work Through

information Technoiogy, Boston, MA, Harvard Business School Press.

Det Digitate Byggeri, 2007, 'Bygherrekravene'. Available at: http://

detdigitalebyggeri.dk/fundament/bygherrekravene.html.

DevB (Development Bureau, the Government of the Hong Kong Special

Administrative Region), 2007, 'Prototype Standard of Batch No. 2 of

Works Project Infonnation Standard', Working Paper No. 1.2, November,

22-23. Available at: httpy/tinyurl.com/devb2007 laccessed 13 October

2010].

DevB (Government Secretariat Development Bureau Works BranchI, 2008,

'Head 159', the 2008-09 Budget, the Government of the Hong Kong

Special Administrative Region. Available at: vinAfw.budget.gov.hk/2008/

eng/pdf/head 159.pdf laccessed 29 June 2009].

Fallón, K.K., 2005, 'GSA's BIM pilot program makes strides'. Edges,

Newsletter of the Technology in Practice Knowledge Community,

December. Available at: www.aia.org/nwsltr_tap.

cfm?pagename=tap a 20051230_gsabim (accessed 29 June 2009].

GSA (US General Services), 2007, 'GSA's national 3D-4D BIM program'.

Availahle at: vrow.gsa.gov/bim laccessed 29 June 20091.

GSA (US General Services), 2008, 'GSA signs intemational agreement

supporting building information modeling'. Availahle at: www.gsa.gov/

portal/content/102935 [accessed 11 August 20101.

Häkkinen, T. and Kiviniemi, A., 2008, 'Sustainable building and BIM',

In Proceedings ofSB08 Conference Melbourne, 21-25

September 2008.

Hardy, M., 2006, 'GSA mandates building information modeling', FCW Story,

20 November. Available at: www.fcw.coni/print/12_42/news/96852-1.

html [accessed 29 June 20091.

Hong Kong Housing Authority, 2009, 'Memorandum for the Finance

Committee: 2009/10 Programmes of Activities for the Housing Authority's

Businesses', Paper No. FC 60/2008, Appendix A, 7.

Huovila, P., 2008, 'Building Information Models and Innovative Sustainable

Housing', in Proceedings of SB08 Conference, Melbourne, Australia,

21-25 September 2008.

lAI Forum Norway, 2007, Information Deiivery Manual. Available at: www.

iai.no/idm/index.html.

Jacob, G., 2007, '3D scanning: Demand increasing for laser scanning, part

1', Professionai Surveyor's Magazine. June. Available at: wviiw.profsurv.

com/maga2ine/article.aspx?i=1872 [accessed 29 June 2009].

Jenkins, B., 2006, '3D laser scanning in GSA's national 3D-4D-BIM program (Part

1 of 2)', SparView 4(15). Available at: www.sparllc.com/archiveviewer.

php?vol=04&num=15&file=vol04nol5-01 (accessed 29 June 2009].

Khemlani, L., 2005, 'CORENET e-PlanCheck: Singapore's Automated Code

Checking System', AECbytes. Available at: www.aecbytes.com/

buildingthefuture/2005/CORENETePlanCbeck.html.

Khemlani, L., 2006a, 'Use of BIM by facility owners: An 'Expositions'

Meeting', AECbytes 'Building the future', 16 May. Available at: www.

aecbytes.conVbuildingthefuture/2006/Expotitions_meeting.html

laccessed 29 June 2009].

Khemlani, L., 2006b, 'AIA CBSP Symposium on BIM for Building Envelope

Design and Performance'. AECbytes 'Building the future', 15 November.

Available at: www.aecbytes.com/buildingthefuture/2006/

AIA-CBSP_BIM.html [accessed 29 June 2009].



Kiviniemi, A., 2007, Einnish ICT Barometer 2007. Tekes. Available at: http://

cic.vtt.fi/buildingsmart/index.php?option=com_docrran&task=doc_

vievi(&gid=26 (accessed 16 June 2009).

Kiviniemi, M.. 2009, 'Building information model (BIM) promoting safety in

the construction site process'. SafetyBIM - research project 10/2007-

2/2009 (TurvaBIM in Finnish). Available at: www.vtt.fi/files/praiects/

turvabim/turvabim_english.pdf.

Kiviniemi, A., Tarandi, V., Karlshaj, J., Bell, H. and Karud. O.J., 2008. Rei/iew

of the Development and Implementation of lEC Compatible BIM. Available

at: wvvw.deaca.dk/file/9498/Beviev/Ä 20 of%20the%20Development%

20and%20lmplementation%20of%20IFC%20cGmpatible%20BIM.pdf.

Le, M.AT., Mohus. F.. Kvarsvik, O.K. and Lie, M.. 2006, The HITOS project -

a lull scale IFC test, ework and ebusiness in architecture'. Engineering and

Construction: Proceedings of the Bth European Conference on Product and

Process Modelling.13-1 SSeptember.Valencia.Spain.Ja^otbftanásGmup.

Leicht, R., Fox, S., Mäkelainen. T. and Messner, J., 2007, 'Building

information models, display media and team performance: An exploratory

study', VTT Working Paper No. 88. Available at: www.vtt.fi/inf/pdf/

workingpapers/2007/W88.pdf.

Mäkelainen, T., Kiviniemi, A.. Kojima, J. and Rekola, M., 2008, 'Engineering

and construction project information platform', in Scientific Activities in

Building and Construction 2008. VU Annual Report 2008, 74-75.

McGraw-Hill, 2009. 'SmartMarket Report, The business value of building

information modeling: Getting building information modeling to the bottom

line'. Available at: http://tinyurl.com/mcgh2009.

NIBS (National Institute of Building Sciences). 2007, 'New national BIM

standard released'. Available at: www.facilityinformationcouncil.org/bim/

publications.php (accessed 29 June 2009].

Oxford, 2010, 'Technology' - Compact Oxford English Dictionary. Available

at: www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/technology?view=uk (accessed

10 August 2007].

Penttilä. H., 2006, 'Describing the changes in architectural information

technology to understand design complexity and free-form architectural

expression'. Journal of Information Technology in Construction 11,

{Special issue. The Effects of CAD on Building Eorm and Design Quality).

395-408.

Permala, A., Kiviniemi, A., Sirkiä, A.. Hiljanen, H., Granqvist, J. and Lehtinen,

H.. 2008, 'Integrated supply chain information systems', in Scientific

Activities In Building and Construction 2008. VU Annual Report 2008,

66-67.

FVnn, S., 2009. 'BIM in Singapore'. Available at: http://fieldsofactivity.com/

buildings/bim-in-singapore/ [accessed 11 August 2010].

Senate Properties, 2009, BIM Guidelines. Available at: www.senaatti.fi/

document.asp?sitelD=2&doclD=588.

Statsbygg, 2010, BIM Manual version 1.1. Available at: vvww.statsbygg.no/

FilSystem/files/prosjekter/BIM/SB-RIMmanual1-lmVedl.pdf.

Succar, B., 2009, 'Building information modelling framework: A research and

delivery foundation for industry stakeholders'. Automation in Construction

18, 357-375.

VU. 2007, Virtual Building Environments II Einal Project Report.

Available at: http://cic.vtt.fi/projects/vbe-net/data/VBE2_Final_

Report.pdf.

WBDG (Whole Building Design Guide), 2008, 'BIM initiatives' Available at:

vi(vvw.wbdg.org/bim/initiatives_bim.php.

Wilson, T., 2006, 'Federal agencies look for speedy BIM implementation',

fíVft- Engineering News-Record 257, No. 19 (13 November 2006), 19.



APPENDIX 1 ORGANIZATIONS IN THE USA INVOLVED IN BIM APPLICATIONS (NIBS, 2007;WBDG, 2008)

NAME BIM ROLE/INITIATIVES

National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS)

American Institute of Architects (AIA) - Building

Connection

AIA - Integrated Project Delivery

AIA - Technology in Practice

American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)

American Society for Quality (ASQ)

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and

Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

American Society of Professional Estimators

(ASPE)

Association of General Contractors of America

(AGC) - BIM Forum

Continental Automated Buildings Association

(CABA)

Center for Facilities and Environment (CIFE)

Construction Users Round Table (CURT)

Georgia Tech AEC Integration Lab

International Code Council (ICC) -

SMARTcodes™

National BIM Standard (NBIMS) for the USA

Journal of Building Information Modeling

An organization serving as an interface between the government and the private sector

Interoperability standards and activities in the architecture, engineering, construction

and real estate industries

White papers, articles, presentations regarding integrated practice

A resource for the deployment of computer technology in the practice of architecture

Interoperability and BIM through developing the CIS/2 standard and promoting Its use in

the structural steel design, detailing, fabrication and construction process

Inclusion of the knowledge of BIM and interoperability into the knowledge required by

Certified Quality Managers

Develop and identify initiatives and opportunities presented by interoperability, BIM and

related topics affecting the HVAC & R industry and ASHRAE interests

Develop informational and educational programmes on BIM and interoperability for

ASHRAE members

The Architectural Engineering Institute of ASCE is dealing with building information

models

All estimating professionals may want to get in on the BIM discussion affecting their

work. ASPE chapters will be presenting speakers and programmes to facilitate the move

towards BIM

BIM Forum is AGC's task force on building information modelling, BIM Forum's 200+

members collaborate virtually via the online forum, AGC has a BIM guide for general

contractors

To promote advanced technologies for the automation of homes and buildings in North

America, It has prepared a report entitled Technology Roadmap (TfíMj for Intelligent

Building Technologies, which focuses on commercial, institutional and high-rise

residential buildings and provides an in-depth examination of intelligent building

technologies including BIM

CIFE end Stanford have long been pioneers in collaborative design, integrated practice

and BIM in general, CIFE has published a number of reports and working papers on BIM,

3D/4D, and virtual design and construction

To promote excellence in the creation of capital assets and support BIM/Virtual Design

and Construction (VDC) implementation, CURT is in the third year of an arrangement with

CIFE and GSA in conducting a VDC Usage Survey in order to gain business metrics

around VDC implementation

It provides information on the specification, functionality and exchange capabilities of

BIM tools to help facilitate new technology for the AEC industry

It automates compliance checking with building regulations, codes, standards, etc,

which includes significant work on a dictionary that can sen/e as a basis for other

dictionary work in the USA and globally, coordination with model checking software

entities and working with BIM software developers to understand what infomnation is

needed in a BIM to make it checkable for compliance



APPENDIX 2 APPLICATIONS OF BIM BY VTT

APPLICATION AREA BRIEF OESCRIPTION/PURPOSE

Environmental sustainability of built environment

(Häkkinen and Kiviniemi, 2008)

Integration of BIM into web service application

(Permala et ai, 2008)

Integration of BIM and IFC standards into

performance-based building standards and business

processes (Huovila, 2008)

ECPIP project (Mäkelainen ef ai, 2008)

To use design information from BIM for the purpose of building

operations. To investigate the potential of BIM for seeking solutions for

the problems of sustainable building processes

Real-time information sharing for addressing the problem of

information transparency in tbe construction supply chain. BIM and

web service applications were used as information sources to the

construction supply chain. The end product developed was a

prototype, called CS Collaborator. The CS Collaborator programme

was one of the first attempts to build a BIM-based web service for the

construction industry

To enhance innovation and sustainable development. The potential for

value creation during the whole life of buildings by the use of BIM was

identified in a number of areas including customer and end-user

requirements, sustainability within the building process and lifecycle

phases, decision-making, building process re-engineering, etc.

To improve the quality and productivity of the Real Estate and

Construction Cluster (RECC) through customer-driven development

and implementation of new processes utilizing an integrated

information platform. This helped to bring RECC processes and BIM

into an innovative dialogue by using process simulation


Copyright of Architectural Engineering & Design Management is the property of Earthscan and its content may

not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written

permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

atributes of bim in different countries

Documents