Building Information Modeling, the broad term for the use of digital models in construction, is once again at the forefront of industry news as, next year, the United Kingdom — despite a few bumps — will begin requiring all public works contractors to be “BIM-ready.” Affected U.K. contractors must comply with the technical requirements of Level 2 BIM — a basic, collaborative level, which allows all parties on a project to exchange information via common file formats. U.K. government officials hope this move will allow them to see more efficiencies in all stages of the construction project life cycle.
Is the United States moving in the same direction? BIM is popping up in design offices and job sites across the country, but what exactly does the future hold for BIM in the U.S.?
“There is definitely a requirement from U.S. government agencies to implement BIM throughout the lifecycle of their projects,” said Dareen Salama, BIM Manager and Assistant Project Controls Manager at STV, Inc., a large commercial construction firm, and co-chair of the emerging technologies committee at the Construction Management Association of America. “However, unlike the U.K., we have not seen a unified requirement.”
According to the National Institute of Building Sciences, federal agenciessuch as the General Services Administration, Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Smithsonian Institution have already begun to require BIM at some level.
