BIM will lead to better buildings built on time

Dubai: The decision by Dubai Municipality to make Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology mandatory will lead to better buildings built on time, an industry expert said.

“BIM is a digital representation of the building rather than a drawing. Apart from that, there is also information inside it. By doing it digitally upfront; you get all the information before building it. It sounds simple but it is massive,” said Amar Hanspal, senior vice-president of information, marketing and platform products group at Autodesk.

Dubai Municipality has decided to mandate/dictate BIM for architectural and MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) works for all buildings 40 storeys or higher; facilities/buildings that are 300,000 square feet or larger; all hospitals, universities and other similarly specialised buildings; and all buildings that are being delivered by/through an international party in an important circular dated on November 18, 2013.

BIM has been around for many years, but many governments across the world are making it mandatory to save time and cut costs.

“BIM mandates are growing globally. We have Korea, UK, Finland and the US which have mandated BIM for sustainability and to drive waste out of construction,” he said.

UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are the big drivers for BIM, he said.

“Communication is the key when it comes to BIM ,” he said.