INNOVATIVE

RELIABLE
PASSIONATE

The value of BIM in design, construction,

and building lifecycle management
As BIM adoption continues to accelerate, the early adopters within the design and construction
industry can claim more than a decade of experience. At the moment, BIM processes are becoming
the norm throughout the building lifecycle and many stakeholders realise the value of BIM.

Benefits of BIM

When we talk to customers we often hear the following benefits of BIM:

• Improved design quality

• Reduction in errors
• Reduction in waste and risk
• Increased understanding and communication within the team
• Improved project delivery through efficient use of resources, improved safety and accurate
timelines

However, we have also noticed another aspect of the value of BIM and that is the stakeholder
dimension – depending on role in a project, people assess the value of BIM differently.
Please, read more on the next pages.

For more information, please contact:

Jyrki Petsalo Timo Väyrynen

Telephone: +35 84 08 65 64 44 Telephone: +358 40 540 8606
E-mail: jyrki.petsalo@symetri.com E-mail: timo.vayrynen@symetri.com

How stakeholder roles impact the assessment of BIM
The chart (below) consolidates individual responses from an Autodesk ROI research project. Interview
respondents revealed that they assess BIM differently depending on their role in a project. Whether
one employs BIM as a tool in design, construction, or operations affects perspective. Please, see table
below.
Design
BIM Adoption Widespread
Key Benefits Improved collaboration
with project contributors
Less rework, fewer
change orders
Associated Costs Requires more time to
fully populate the model
Designers can eat up
more time exploring
design alternatives
Interest in ROI Not particularly helpful if
tied to a decision to use
BIM or not
Interested in
understanding hidden
costs as well as possible
revenue opportunities
Outlook on BIM Here to stay. Makes work
more complex, but
represents the “right
thing to do.”
Source: Autodesk eBook “Measuring the value of BIM”.
INNOVATIVE
RELIABLE
PASSIONATE
Construction Owners
Emerging, and Many specify BIM, but
increasingly appreciated few actively use or
completely understand it
Minimizes/eliminates a Can shorten time to
significant number of completion of project
changes overall
Improves construction Enables more effective
management management, operations
and upgrades
Great for quantitates and
materials estimating
Requires a change in Uncertain at present,
business process and other than investment in
accompanying the software
technology investment to
fully realize
Not directly relevant as Interested and in need of
the BIM decision is education on getting the
typically not theirs to most benefit out of BIM-
make designed assets
Welcome improvement Significant potential and
that should be applied to increasingly a standard
all projects requirement imposed
upon project contributors
In 2016 Symetri launched a BIM test to learn more about the value of BIM in the Nordic countries. The
table below shows the results we achieved up until November 2016.

What of the following improvements could

companies in your field achieve using BIM?
100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

Architect Engineer Contractor Owner Other

Source: Symetri BIM test, 2016

As you can see in the table above, the different stakeholders assess the advantages of BIM
differently. In general, contractors see the highest potential in BIM and owners provide the lowest
score when it comes to BIM and ROI. The question that received the highest scoring was “improved
project process outcomes”. On second place is “lower project cost”. The question that got the lowest
scoring was “positive impact on staff recruitment and retention”. The biggest difference between the
stakeholders we can see in the question “improved personnel productivity”.
What is BIM

BIM (Building Information Modelling/Model) is about efficient cooperation and informed decisions. BIM
is a work process in which intelligent 3D models and the related data help teams to cooperate and
understand their projects in unprecedented ways. With BIM, all project stakeholders (architects,
engineers, project leaders, contractors, craftsmen, service personnel, building operators and others)
can access and work with the same data and always keep the model information updated.

With BIM you can:

• Design, visualise and simulate in one common

model or across several models
• Enrich the information in the model during the
development of the model and its lifecycle
• Increase efficiency and shorten lead times
• Perform analyses in early phases, which leads to
better-informed decisions
• Save your model information to keep it for future
use
• Communicate your data and model information
• Keep track of all your assets
• Manage logistics more efficiently

Symetri and BIM

Symetri has a long and proven experience working with BIM software and processes. Our idea is to
offer the best solutions and services covering the whole building lifecycle. With specialist know-how
and commitment we have built strong customer-relationships which has made us to the successful
company we are today. For more information, please, contact us.

For more information, please contact:

Jyrki Petsalo Timo Väyrynen

Telephone: +35 84 08 65 64 44 Telephone: +358 40 540 8606
E-mail: jyrki.petsalo@symetri.com E-mail: timo.vayrynen@symetri.com