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Achieving savings after a facility has been completed, therefore, has a disproportionate affect on its lifetime cost (a 5% saving in operation equating to a 20% saving on the cost of construction).

To be able to drill into operational costs requires the delivery of consistent and structured digital asset information, available to the owner-operator for post-occupancy decision-making. It needs to be clearly defined by the client in requests for proposals (RFP's) and appointment contracts.

Clients with a long-term interest in their facilities understand this, with the UK government taking a leading role in ensuring the provision of consistent asset information on publicly procured projects, specifying the information set to the supply chain using an established international model - COBie. COBie was, of course, created to provide a means of communicating information about facilities, enabling clients to take full and responsible ownership immediately on building handover.

Whilst government procured projects are mandated to adopt the new strategy, astute players within private client groups realise that as the wider industry adopts these new technologies, they too will benefit from reduced cost and risk, and those who retain responsibility for their assets (those investing in PFI/PPP type projects for example) are actively redefining their deliverables to include asset information. Such information sets can only be produced efficiently by generating most of the data from a Building Information Model.

Of course, not all construction clients have long-term interests in their assets; developer clients commission many projects with the sole object of selling or letting their new developments. Why do they need BIM deliverables? Just as potential tenants have recently understood that better sustainability ratings have a beneficial effect upon running costs and factor this into their decisions, it seems likely that good quality structured data for the management of assets will do likewise. Clients who can deliver such structured data will, therefore, have a sales advantage over those who cannot.

Other advantages are also available to the client using the BIM process and its consistent project data. Models can be analysed from the feasibility stage and tested more accurately than under a 2D process to approve the outline business case. BIM can also provide increased programme (4D) and cost (5D) certainty at an earlier stage than under a traditional process providing a degree of comfort to the developer, not previously available.

Importantly, consistent digital data across portfolios enables clients to compare data from project to project in a more detailed and accurate way, with BIM, in the longer term, enabling a wider variety of project procurement models to be considered facilitating "open book" information, and providing greater trust and certainty to Construction Management contracts.

HOW TO IMPLEMENT BIM?
How does a client become a "good" BIM client, once it is decided that BIM may be of benefit, and what needs to be done to ensure that the design and construction team deliver good quality usable data?

ANALYSE NEEDS
Examine current business workflows, establish key problem areas and identify the key potential benefits of BIM to your business. Map BIM solutions to the problem areas and to the "quick wins" (in order to maximise return on investment). Audit existing skill levels within your business and produce a subsequent gap analysis.

DEFINE BIM DELIVERABLES
BIM for BIM's sake is pointless and may even add to project overheads. The temptation to add a vague "catch all" clause to appointments, such as "The consultant will supply a BIM", should be avoided. A consultant, for example, might argue that a bit of modelling and visualisation work can constitute BIM. A client, however, cannot reasonably expect the issue of usable BIM information without first clearly defining what is required. In all likelihood, different contractors and consultants will be employed on different projects for the same client.

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