At Autodesk University last year, an exercise was done to discover the current state of South Africa with regards to BIM. An interesting piece of information presented itself – the client is missing.

Now considering the entire BIM process is built around a response to an Employers Information Request, this is startling! Clearly, we need a new way of thinking in South Africa, and the adoption of a culture where the clients are much more involved in the process.

To illustrate the need for this change, consider a call I received from a law firm, asking whether they could use Navisworks to visualize where and with whom in the construction of a multi-billion Rand project blame was to be assigned for the escalating costs.

While I could respond in the affirmative, I raised the question of which models they would be using, as the models currently in use have many disclaimers attached to them. The response was unsettling: “We thought we would just model it up for ourselves.”

My advice was not to go that route, instead rather become involved before the contract is awarded – and on the side of the client.

If this functionality were to be specified in the BIM Execution Plan in response to the Employers Information Request, then the files from the various parties could possibly be used in this manner.

It also shows the need for the Employer to have a great BIM consultant on their side, just like they would have a lawyer to look after their legal interests. BIM is a far-reaching concept, and it would pay the Employer to wring as much benefit from the process as possible.

If you are a client, and you need advice, contact Micrographics so we may be of assistance in this regard.