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BIM outsourcing for effective design development has become a new trend in the construction industry. This report uses a BIM survey conducted by CRESIRE and an annual BIM report published by NBS to assess the growing interest in BIM adoption and BIM outsourcing in various construction sectors.
The first half of this blog presents the adoption of BIM by professionals from diverse construction sectors. The second half of this blog assesses the factors influencing and promoting BIM Outsourcing Services to companies based in overseas countries, such as India.
Before we dive into studying the reasons influencing BIM outsourcing, let’s see the growth and demand for BIM adoption and BIM outsourcing in the construction industry.
Growing Rate Of BIM Adoption
The Process of BIM allows the design team to collaborate in a 3D work environment. Also to scrutinize minute design details before construction.
BIM requires advanced software skills that allow experts to convert complex two-dimensional designs to three-dimensional (2D to 3D) models, which promotes better design development and decision-making. CRESIRE surveyed construction and BIM professionals in the UK and Europe to assess how often the companies adopt BIM on projects.
The survey was taken by professionals working in medium and large-sized construction companies. Chart 1 shows that 100% of the Respondents adopted BIM and 90% of them had In-house BIM production capabilities.
NBS 2011 Report On BIM Adoption
As per the NBS BIM Report 2010, the rate of BIM adoption was assessed using a survey of construction professionals.
Chart 2 presents NBS’s 2011 report, demonstrating that 43% of their total respondents were not aware of BIM, and 45% were only aware of BIM but were not using BIM on projects. Leaving only 12% of the respondents who were using BIM on projects (NBS, 2020). Many companies partnered with BIM outsourcing companies to meet their requirements.
Although the NBS study indicated that fewer companies were adopting BIM in 2011, it can be inferred that there was a growing awareness of BIM among construction professionals all around the world.
Many construction professionals saw BIM as a potential innovation for effective project management. From 2011 to 2014, a constant rise in BIM adoption was observed. Some companies developed in-house BIM capabilities and many looked for BIM outsourcing partners.
According to the data presented by the NBS, BIM adoption has gained growing attention from construction professionals in the past 10 years (chart 3).
It is imperative to study the characteristics of the people and organizations that are yet to adopt BIM to get a deeper insight into the rate of BIM adoption in the construction industry (NBS, 2020).
Understanding industries in which BIM is used is also dependent on the sectors that are widely adopting BIM. (NBS, 2020) surveyed for construction professionals to assess the differences in BIM adoption around the world in the public and private sectors.
The findings below in Chart 4, demonstrate that more respondents used BIM on private projects than on public projects.
It was also recorded that the adoption of BIM on the new build projects was slightly higher than on refurbishment projects.
However, the advanced methods of laser scanning and point cloud modeling have made the process of BIM on renovation projects simpler for BIM outsourcing. Public and private sectors have increasingly shown a growing interest in the adoption of BIM.
Many medium and small construction companies have started using Building Information Modelling to ensure better design development and coordination. (Goedert, 2021) presented in a study that assessed the drivers responsible for the adoption of BIM across private and public sectors in the emerging markets of developing countries.
The common drivers for BIM adoption are shown below in Table 1.
| Public Sector | Private Sector |
|---|---|
|
Government Compulsion |
Competition in the Market |
|
Cost-saving Capabilities |
Effective Communication |
|
Social and Cultural Aspects |
Customer Satisfaction |
Sector Analysis For BIM Adoption
Factors Influencing BIM Outsourcing
While the previous part of the report analyzed the growing demand and drivers responsible for BIM adoption around the world in different industries and sectors, this part of the study focuses on the reasons why many construction companies seek BIM outsourcing companies to meet their growing demand for building information modeling on projects.
The BIM survey conducted by CRESIRE recorded critical reasons responsible for BIM outsourcing by medium and large-sized construction companies based in the UK and Europe.
Even though 90% of the respondents who took the BIM survey were from large-sized construction companies (500+ employees), 40% of them outsourced BIM services to external BIM outsourcing companies to meet their project requirements.
The major reasons identified for BIM outsourcing were; resource pressure, competitive pricing, lack of BIM expertise within the organization, and shorter turnaround time offered by BIM outsourcing companies in India.
Let’s assess each of the reasons in detail to get a better insight and the benefits these construction companies experience through BIM outsourcing.
Resource Pressure
To satisfy clients’ needs and avoid pressure on the in-house teams, organizations find a need to partner with BIM outsourcing companies based in different geographical locations.
Benefits Of BIM Outsourcing Services For Reducing Resource Pressure On Projects In Small, Medium, And Large Construction Companies
- Augmenting in-house BIM team to get extra support for meeting project deadlines
- The design team can focus on main competencies to ensure high-quality output
- Provides an opportunity to access the skills of BIM specialists based all around the world
- Improves productivity and efficiency of the resources to meet project deadlines
Competitive Pricing In BIM Outsourcing
Competitive pricing is one of the major reasons why many AEC companies choose to outsource their BIM requirements.
Our survey demonstrated that 30% of the companies outsource BIM requirements to leverage competitive pricing offered by BIM outsourcing companies in India.
BIM outsourcing companies in India can help construction companies based in the UK, Europe, and the USA to save significant production and administrative costs.
BIM Outsourcing Helps Organizations Control Costs In Several Ways
- Saves investment in building a team if BIM is not widely used on projects by an organization
- Provides access to competitive rates offered by BIM outsourcing companies in India
- Eliminates costs of purchasing and renewing expensive software licenses
- Reduces costs and time required for hiring and training full-time BIM resources
Lack Of BIM Expertise
While the majority of professionals from different construction sectors are aware of BIM still many of them lack BIM knowledge and expertise.
30% of the respondents in CRESIRE’s BIM survey voted that lack of BIM expertise was one of the main reasons for them to Outsource BIM Services. The results of our survey also presented that more than 50% of the respondents outsourced their requirements to external BIM outsourcing companies.
It is worth mentioning that the majority of people who took the survey were working in large-sized construction companies. Real estate is remunerative yet a time-consuming and responsibility-driven job.
From land acquisition to property handover, real estate developers have many responsibilities in a multitude of sectors.
Before we examine the use and the benefits of BIM in Real Estate and property management, let’s take a look at the key responsibilities of real estate development companies and professionals:
Some ways through which companies tend to overcome their challenge of lack of BIM expertise through BIM outsourcing:
- Educating professionals by inviting speakers and BIM consultants
- Training their in-house team with the help of external consultants for effective BIM adoption
- Outsourcing BIM management while they are developing in-house team strength
Shorter Turnaround Time In BIM Outsourcing
The BIM outsourcing companies usually have dedicated professionals. Professionals who are well versed in the process of BIM and the BIM outsourcing process.
It’s a day-in and day job for the outsourcing companies to provide building information modeling services. Also, provide collaboration with the client’s team to deliver the expected output.
20% of the professionals in CRESIRE’s BIM survey responded with a shorter turnaround time. It was one of the major reasons that led them to outsource building information modeling services.
BIM Outsourcing For Leveraging Shorter Turnaround Time Helps AEC Companies In Several Ways
- Ensuring timely delivery to clients by using BIM as a tool for project management
- Focusing on critical design priorities by outsourcing BIM management to a consultant
- Promising a shorter turnaround for design development to end clients
- Showcasing time-driven BIM methods in their marketing strategy
Catalysts For BIM Outsourcing
A sudden increase in the adoption of a new trend is usually supported by platforms. As well as services that act as catalysts for its successful implementation.
3 Prime Factors that acted as Catalysts for BIM Outsourcing
1. Software – Effective Tool
The use of the software is perhaps the most important catalyst for BIM outsourcing. BIM professionals based in various countries are generally using similar software for BIM.
Some of that software includes; Revit, Navisworks, etc. for creating information models, clash detection, and cost calculation. The software helps professionals to create digital models of built-assets in architectural, structural, and MEP disciplines.
It can be created from the conceptual design stage to the detailed design stage. These digital models are further used by project managers to ensure effective collaboration. As well as ensuring coordination on-site and by facilities, managers monitor the lifecycle of a built asset.
This software uses similar skills irrespective of the location of the projects. BIM outsourcing has therefore gained attention in the USA and European construction markets. BIM outsourcing companies in India work at competitive rates as compared with the rates of professionals based in the USA and Europe.
The information added to a digital model is manipulated depending on the standard and code followed by companies based in different geographical locations.
2. Language – The Bridge
Language plays a significant role in developing overseas business relationships. With the emerging development of virtual technologies, it has become possible to meet anyone digitally while located in any part of the world.
The executives and the managers of the overseas consulting companies are expected to be fluent in the language of the country; in which the company is providing the services.
Many times, spoken/written English language is an important skill is for many India-based company’s job descriptions.
English is the linguistic bridge between English-speaking countries and India. For that reason, AEC companies in the Western construction market find it easy to collaborate with BIM outsourcing companies in India to aid the BIM outsourcing process.
3. Information Technology – The Backbone
Outsourcing of services was first started in the 1970s and gained popularity in the mid-1980s. The reason why most companies wanted to outsource was to focus on their core business. As well as reduce internal cost expenditure on skills in which they were not self-sufficient.
Work for engineers and information technology (IT) started getting outsourced by companies locally and internationally. Some companies saw it as a way to hire cost-efficient talent available across the world.
However, outsourcing wasn’t part of their business strategy until 1989 (Mulin, 1996). With advancements made in information technology (IT), outsourcing of accounting, call centers, HR, data processing, email support, and virtual securities became part of the business strategies of big-sized companies.
These companies saw outsourcing as an opportunity to cut down costs by employing professionals from developing countries. That made their production easier, faster, and cost-efficient (Roy, 2020).
Leveraging from the developments made in the information technology (IT) sector in the past decade, Building Information Modeling (BIM) requirements are widely outsourced by construction professionals to BIM outsourcing companies in India.
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Conclusion
The BIM survey conducted by CRESIRE and the study by NBS offers enough evidence to record a rise in BIM outsourcing in the upcoming years.
Since 2011 there has been a significant increase in BIM adoption (over 60%) in private and public sectors in 2020. This is due to the competition in the market, higher customer satisfaction demand, cost savings, and compulsions made by the government.
Resource pressure was identified as one of the important reasons for medium and large-size construction companies for BIM outsourcing.
The catalyst of BIM outsourcing such as information technology, language bridge, and software process has been escalating the outsourcing process to overseas countries. E.g. India, that have emerging BIM markets.
Bibliography
Goedert, J. W. A. R. S., 2021. Comparison of BIM Adoption Models between public and private sectors through empirical investigation. Advances in Civil Engineering, Volume 2021.
NBS, 2020. 10th Annual BIM report, Newcastle upon Tyne: The Old Post Office St Nicholas Street.
Roy, S. S., 2020. Origin and development of outsourcing. [Online]
Available at: https://www.bydoutsourcing.com/post/origin-and-development-of-outsourcing
[Accessed 15 December 2021].
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Devashish Sharma
Devashish is Founder/Director at Cresire where he leads BIM services. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Sheffield and an MSc in Construction Project Management from The University of the West of England. His vision behind CRESIRE is to provide BIM services, adhering to best practices and procedures, to global customers, helping customers to save extensive production costs and overruns.
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