South African BIM Opportunities Abound – The Employer
The most important stakeholder is the Employer. Quite often their responsibility is assumed by the lead designer (Architect/Multidisciplinary Engineering Firm). This is not ideal and one may argue a conflict of interest exists.
Consider the following figure taken from the British Standard: BSI_PAS_1192_2_2013, Specification for Information Management for the Capital/Delivery Phase of Construction Projects using Building Information Modelling
A Client BIM Representative is supposed to be the looking out for the client’s interest. The lead designers and contractors are supposed to respond to the Employer Information Request (EIR). Their response must be monitored and checked by the Client Representative. Now no conflict of interest exists, and there is additional motivation to get the process right. In addition, both a Pre-Contract and Post-Contract BIM execution plan ensures that the entire supply chain hit all the targets at the right times.
Consider the following figure taken from the British Standard: BSI_PAS_1192_2_2013, Specification for Information Management for the Capital/Delivery Phase of Construction Projects using Building Information Modelling
When the EIR states that the asset must be handed over as a digital model incorporating all relevant documentation for facilities management, then the lead designer must contractually fulfill this requirement. This is great news for everybody else involved in the process, as the Lead Contractor will get the proper information to work with.
Also, note that the process has clearly defined points where the Employer executes decisions. Clearly, they also bear responsibility not to complicate the process by making changes too late in the process.
In the next blog, we look at the Employer Representative.
