International. Building owners are increasingly aware of the benefits that information modeling construction brings to their construction projects, and to a lesser extent, its value in the management and operation of their buildings.
That's one of the conclusions supported by a recent Dodge study on data and analysis on building proprietary BIM perspectives published in "The Business Value of BIM for Owners" SmartMarket Report.
The SmartMarket Report, sponsored by Autodesk and Skanska, features data collected from building owners in the US and UK. The results reveal a stark contrast between these countries, largely due to the UK government announcing in 2011 that it would mandate BIM on centrally funded projects starting in 2016.
This has generated enormous interest and adoption of BIM. To support this effort, the UK BIM Task Force has developed extensive standards and guidelines and provided training on the application of BIM. This effort extends to all actors, including owners, not only for design and construction, but also throughout the entire life cycle of the building.
This investment and commitment are reflected in the results of the study: UK owners are much more involved in the use of BIM in their projects. They more widely recognize its benefits and are much more likely to require its use, even in projects where it does not have the mandate.
However, even the results from the U.S. only demonstrate that the potential of BIM for the benefit of a building's construction phase will help drive its use. Building owners who say they have at least one level of leveraging BIM in Facility Management have greater recognition of their average capacity benefits, and are more likely to require BIM in their projects.
Contractors who wish to remain competitive, especially in sectors involving complex buildings, must adapt to BIM to improve their relationship with their customers.
