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In previous articles in this series we have considered the different project areas and stages that Building Information Modelling can bring benefits to and what some of these benefits can be. In this article I assume that you have chosen to go down the BIM path - or maybe it has been suggested or even forced upon you by a project or client requirement. So what is needed is a brief overview of how to plan for the implementation of BIM in an organisation and in a project.

The first thing that must be recognised is that the task ahead should not be underestimated. There is a well-trodden path of organisations which have taken a less well informed approach to what is needed. Some have thought it is just a question of retraining some CAD operators to use different software, others have simply delegated responsibility down and named someone "BIM Manager" - and I am sure there are many other examples we could quote. Such approaches will certainly fail to deliver the best outcomes from BIM and, as some have found to their cost, such an approach can introduce huge risks into a project with potentially disastrous results.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PLAN
BIM is not software; it is not about deliverables; it is not about changing how you do things now; it may not even be about what you do now - at least at a detail level. It includes all these things and much more. Building Information Modelling is a process - a business process which is likely to impact across your project team and beyond.

It may well change what you actually do, how you do it, and who does it. As such it needs to be developed within the context of the broader implications for the organisation and its strategy and plans. These can be an even broader topic which is beyond the scope of this article.

Like any business process change affecting a number of people it needs a plan; a plan which all agree to and are committed to, including senior managers. This plan will usually start with a BIM Strategy document, which will then feed a BIM Implementation Plan for the organisation. Then, when a project is identified, a BIM Execution Plan will be produced firstly pre-contract and then post-contract. We will focus on the BIM Implementation Plan and BIM Execution Plans.

The BIM Implementation Plan should set out how BIM is to be introduced to an organisation (or maybe just a department) while the BIM Execution Plan will detail how BIM is to be used within a single project; this recognises that how BIM is used will vary from project to project.

Like all plans these should be seen as live documents reviewed and modified over time in the light of experience or developments. In this way there is a future plan to work to, and you can identify when something is being changed and why. These plan, or parts of them, will be shared with project partners and should tie up with their own plans.

For both of these key documents there are samples to be found in the public domain as well as other documents which can help guide you in writing your plan. However, don't be misled into thinking you can simply download a plan and work from it. They may be useful frameworks but every organisation and every project is different, so it needs a different plan.

There are many other documents you should read in assembling your plans, which come from a whole range of bodies including BSi, RIBA, CIC etc. All of these will help you identify what needs to be planned for - if not necessarily exactly how to plan for it!

THE BIM IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
The BIM Implementation Plan is all about how BIM is introduced (or developed) within an organisation. This might set out a programme for implementation across a whole organisation, or simply a single team or for a single project. The timescales and investments planned would need to be appropriate to the objective. Key information it should set out would include the following:

1. An executive overview
2. Strategy and objectives
3. Key responsibilities which should include a senior executive charged with ensuring its success as well as an Implementation Project Manager
4. Processes to be introduced/modified
5. Skills development
6. Systems (hardware, networks, etc.) implementation
7. Applications (software installation and configuration) implementation
8. Support
9. Data management (including standards and collaboration)
10. External relationships e.g. other organisations affected
11. Contractual changes
12. Budget
13. Timelines and milestones
14. Risks and mitigation
15. Review

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