What is A TIME-BASED BIM Execution Plan (BEP)?
A Time-based BIM Execution Plan (BEP) is developed to successfully implement Building Information Modelling (BIM) on a project throughout its lifecycle. It is a reference document whereby the BIM Team members can:
- Clearly understand the goals for implementing BIM in the project
- Understand their roles and responsibilities for model creation, maintenance and collaboration at different stages of the project
- Design a suitable process to participate in the implementation
- Define the content, level of detail and by when the model is to be delivered to meet objectives
- Provide a baseline plan to measure progress throughout the project
- Define contract language to ensure all project members fulfil their obligations
- Define the quality control measures to ensure all project members meet the project standards
What is a Time-based BIM Execution Plan (BEP) Guide?
A Time-based BIM Execution Plan Guide is a baseline document to be used when preparing a BIM Execution Plan (BEP) for any BIM project. This document is one of the essential guides provided by the Singapore Authority known as the Building Construction Authority (BCA). This document can be found on the BCA’s website.
What is the process of creating a time-based BIM Execution Plan (BEP)?
Before creating a Time-based BIM Execution Plan (BEP), it is important for the Time-based BIM Manager to understand the project specifications in order to be able to fully customise the BEP to meet the project’s BIM deliverables. After identifying the project BIM needs, the BIM Manager can start to prepare the BEP for the project by adopting the BEP Guide as a guideline. The BIM Manager can also add in additional information that is not indicated in the BEP Guide but is crucial to achieving the project BIM deliverables. Over the course of the project duration, the BIM Manager shall update the document as and when changes arise. Typically, an Assistant BIM Manager or a BIM coordinator shall assist the BIM Manager in preparing this document. Once this document is complete and approved by the client, it is very important for the BIM Manager to ensure that all BIM team members are adhering to the project BIM standards and information laid out in the BEP.
What are the possible challenges in creating a time-based BIM Execution Plan (BEP)?
Based on our company’s experience in creating BEP for our clients, we have realised that often most BEPs were created merely due to a paper exercise. For example, a client requires a BEP to be created for tender submission. After the client has won the tender, the BEP was not used as a basis for the actual project BIM execution. In addition, the contents of the BEP created were also insufficient in covering all the project standards needed to ensure that BIM deliverables are met fully. Often, the BEP was also not updated throughout the course of the project duration as it was not used for the project itself and regarded as a paper exercise, hence chucked aside.
What to avoid when creating a time-based BIM Execution Plan (BEP)?
It is important to note that the Time-based BIM Execution Plan (BEP) is required to be updated constantly over the entire course of the project duration to ensure that all project team members are using the BEP as a base or standards document when preparing their BIM deliverables. Based on our experience, this, in turn, can help in ensuring consistencies throughout all BIM models created by varying modellers. This is important because all modellers have varying experience and habits when creating their models. By having a complete and constantly updated BEP, this ensures that project BIM standards are consistent and can then be followed by the project BIM team members.
However, it is not that easy to ensure that all project BIM team members adhere to the project BIM standards outlined in the BEP. Hence it is very important to state in the BEP on the needs of quality checking and how the quality check can be carried out. The quality checks can then be done accordingly. If any project members were found not modelling based on the standards, this can then be rectified early during the checking stage before the BIM models are used to generate drawings for Authority submissions. In situations where the BIM models are actually used for construction purposes, this quality checking helps in ensuring that the model is created accurately so that it does not affect the actual construction later on.