BIM Adoption Planning – Value of a Model to the Project Owner
BIM
adoption planning is one of the most important and financially rewarding things
you can do for the future of your construction projects and their post-construction
operation. Creating a clear and detailed adoption plan will give you the
knowledge you need to improve staff and stakeholder efficiency so you can
increase your profit margins. However, BIM adoption is a robust undertaking
that requires investment. As with any investment, understanding and calculating
ROI is extremely complex.
ROI
Modeling
What
is Return on investment (ROI)? ROI is a simple mathematical equation:
ROI
= (Net Profit / Cost of Investment) X 100
Unfortunately,
calculating ROI becomes much more difficult when dollar values for the equation
are unknown. In this case, an ROI Model is needed to determine the Cost of
Investment, and ultimately Net Profit. “An ROI model is simply a list of all
the inputs (benefits and costs) and the math needed to turn those benefits and
costs into dollars.”
BIM ROI Models require many complex inputs (some of which aren’t readily
apparent) and can become time-consuming. Fortunately, the process of BIM
Standards development, BEP development and BIM adoption planning make it much
easier to establish and track necessary data points. While there are some prepackaged
BIM ROI Model templates, these templates tend to be proprietary due to the
value of (and expense of analyzing) the industry-wide
data used for model calculations. Using these ROI model templates allows you to
harness data outside of your company to refine and enhance your own calculations.
Or, you can implement an ROI model based solely on your internal data. There is
no wrong answer here. As it pertains to BIM efforts, ROI model choice is often
driven by decisions on cost and scalability. Suppose you need help finding the
best fit for your organization. In that case, Proactive has an extensive database
of various project types and sizes and can help determine which ROI model is
most appropriate to support your BIM adoption plan. To facilitate this decision, it is helpful to
understand the type and quantity of data points that go into BIM ROI Model
development.
BIM
ROI Model Development
An
ROI Model is simply a tool to designate how the ROI will be tracked and
calculated (i.e., What data do I need to gather for my calculation?). The
process starts with planned BIM Goals and Uses, which will be used for the “benefits”
side of the equation. Then you break down your BIM investments to the smallest
trackable data point. Now we have lists of goals on one side and a list of investments
on the other, we need to create data indicators that will connect the two. Having
extremely refined processes is necessary to develop these connections (and often
why many users turn to predeveloped templates). Each of these connections aims
to transform a Model Use or Goal into a cumulative dollar value. What we are
really doing is establishing a system to determine the financial value of each
of your BIM Models. Every model has intrinsic value and varying net worth based
on the cost of development and net savings attributable to that model. Once
this value is determined, we can compare it to our cost of investment. How
valuable is asset data in the model? How valuable are the architecture, mechanical
or plumbing models? How do your models’ value compare with other company's
models? Are you over/under spending on model content?
ROI
is a simple equation. But without knowing the value of your models, it is impossible
to calculate the ROI associated with your BIM efforts. The BIM industry has yet
to establish a standard for calculating that value. The good news is that BIM models
are inherently valuable for many reasons in addition to simple ROI. However,
smart BIM implementation begins with understanding the financial value of your
model and the ROI it generates across the entire building life cycle, including
building operation.
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