All Hail the BIM/VDC Coordinator!!!

"There are perhaps none as overworked, overlooked, or as underrated as the BIM/VDC Coordinator...which is ironic since the person in this role has the potential to save or lose a project millions of dollars"

The beginnings of a BIM Model - 3D laser scans by ToPa 3D

The ego is a clever thing. For those who have worked in the construction or survey industry for any length of time, you can attest to the ongoing need to be right, to look good at all costs, to wear the right sort of clothes, drive the right sort of truck, wear the right sort of beard, say the right sort of joke, etc. Unfortunately with that comes a small problem: that tech junkie sitting behind the computer who may or may not wish to fit in with the crowd just may have the key answer to solving problems with the project that those with boots on the ground may not be able to see - sort of forest for the trees analogy... This person has eyes on the entirety of the project. They see just about everything from a 10,000 foot perspective, understand how all the parts of the project fit together. They understand the costs of those materials and know how to make the schedule of contractors fit together seamlessly. They are the Overseer, the All Knowing, the Sacred Cow, the... well, you get the picture. But who are these folks? Sometimes introverted, yet full of secret knowledge that can make or break a project. What they know is of such value to the developers and owners of major construction projects, entire software packages have been written for them. Books have been written about how to integrate with them and understand them. And, I can say with some degree of certainty, they will, if they are giving their fair due, be the persons in the conference room that will one day be heard above everyone else.

They are the Building Information Modeling/Virtual Design Construction (BIM/VDC) Coordinators...

The Lost Art of Architecture? A mild argument for Digital Design

Now, as you dear reader take a deep breath and marvel at this powerful, magically technical and enigmatic position, I should probably point out that the position of BIM/VDC Coordinator, (BIM Modeler, Revit Guy/Gal, or whatever he/she may be called), is still a position recognized as necessary, but not necessarily as someone who is listened to. There is still a culture that believes this position is really just a glorified draftsman that works in 3D. That perhaps, at best, this person just has a unique skill-set carrying a little job security and handles that pesky "Mandatory LOD ### Requirement" that the old-timers in the design industry don't really even understand that well, and who, by the romantic nature of their craft, secretly wish we were still using nibs and ink on a moveable drafting table and holding onto the notion that CAD has displaced a lost art...

It is true that the BIM modeler has a unique skill-set. It is true there is something very different about the experience of designing on paper vs. on a screen (This author understands, being a portraiture artist and fine arts painter).

"Jenny"-12x8 -Graphite/Digital, by Paul Tice

To address this concern - art is art and digital art and rendering is just as much about problem-solving as working with oils can be. To each generation a new craft and a new technology for expression I suppose.

Having a Voice - Another argument for cultural shifting...

One of the cultural shifts in the BIM world that has been proselytized over and over is the concept of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) or said another way, "Everyone getting on the same page at the front end of the project." It's a concept that all parties involved communicate and most importantly, AGREE on what will be done with the project, how it will flow, who will be responsible for what and - above all - communicate, communicate, communicate.

Back to our silent hero, the BIM/VDC Coordinator sitting somewhere in the conference room with perhaps a laptop, vigorously taking notes, wondering when the 70-80 hour work weeks will end, how they will explain to their superiors why everything is taking so long, wondering when they will see their families again or get a decent night's sleep, feeling the weight of a mistake costing the company more money than they may ever see in their lifetime, should they make a mistake, and doing their very best to incorporate all their project managers' decisions and preferences into the BIM model. And in this little story, perhaps they sit listening to subcontractors via a conference call on speaker phone saying how it would be quite a headache to have to move something here or there and asserting their seniority so they won't have to and, all the while, this BIM/VDC person probably ponders how they will make this BIM model actually work for everyone, including that sub on the phone.

"It WAS perfect" they think to themselves, "until everyone stopped following the original plan. Now I have to clean up this mess and try to make it work on my low-budget, slow computer that barely even loads the BIM model (or worse, the point clouds)."

Yes, sadly the BIM/VDC Coordinator goes through a lot yet, has the knowledge and know-how to make a project shine if it would only be widely accepted that they play one of the most crucial roles of anyone on the design team.

A Call to Assertion and Relevance - From argument to necessity

BIM modeling and the coordination, clash-detection, and decisions that must be made when incorporating multiple CAD files and 3D models from a variety of subcontractors on major construction projects into a BIM environment, is a very complex and important process indeed. The person that tends to gravitate to this position has a very specific, detail-oriented intelligence that often doesn't come with the authority to support their knowledge-base on the IPD team. Too often I have seen people in this role overlooked by others on the team. I have witnessed how easily it is taken for granted just how much time it takes to make what some assume to be "simple changes." And too often, those changes perpetuate to other changes which can lead to many, many people being affected on the project. Everyone may suffer at this dynamic.

So to this we say at ToPa, Hail the BIM/VDC Coordinator!!! They have a critical position and everyone, whether they acknowledge it or not, will be depending on those as-builts to be correct. It is simply not fair to blame this person for some coordination mistakes until they are given the authority to take charge of the coordination process or at the very least, have their input carry some serious weight in each coordination meeting. The tech-minded person may have a tendency to just roll with what comes down to them and may just try to make it work. As a leader or project manager, this cannot be allowed to happen if one wants a truly successful project.

Times are a-changin' (we believe here at ToPa) for the better. A recent, large remodel project we have been working on is a testament to a visible culture shift. With a combination of our 3D scans and a proper building layout survey to ground control, it was revealed that the BIM model was not quite accurate in critical areas - crucial information for laying new foundations around the building. Thankfully, a BIM coordinator assigned to the project caught it and exercised assertiveness to alert the project team - who took action and re-engineered the project before concrete was poured. Dodged that bullet... Thank you BIM/VDC guy for showing whatcha got! You are a Rock Star in our book -

ToPa 3D~