2 The Purpose and Objectives of BIM
The BIM Use Classification System categorizes the BIM Uses primarily by the purpose and objective of the BIM Use. A BIM Use Purpose is the specific objective to be achieved when applying Building Information Modeling during a facility’s life. The purposes and objectives for implementing a BIM Use, as shown in Table 2-1, are divided into five major categories and 18 subcategories.
Table 2-1: BIM Uses Purposes and Objectives
These Purposes were developed through an extensive review of available resources. The Purposes were then grouped and the most comprehensive and applicable Purposes were selected. Those terms were then validated through a detailed process of industry review.
Each purpose is defined using the purpose term, an objective, synonyms, and a description (see Table 2-2).
Table 2-2: BIM Use Defining Attributes
2.1 Gather
Objective: to collect or cull facility information.
Synonyms: administer, collect, manage, and acquire.
Description: BIM is often used to gather information about a facility at various phases during a facility’s life. Whether that is to count the specific amount of an element or determine the current status of a facility element in order to properly manage that asset, the use of BIM can greatly assist in this effort. This sub-purposes of BIM Uses include: Qualifying, Monitoring, Capturing, and Quantify. In this primary purpose of BIM Uses, the author is collecting, gathering and organizing information about the facility. This purpose of BIM Uses does not determine the meaning or make inferences about the meaning of the information gathered, rather it is solely focused on the collection and organization of the information. This is often the first step of a comprehensive series of BIM processes.
2.1.1 Capture
Objective: to represent, or preserve the current status of the facility and facility elements.
Synonyms: collect.
Description: BIM is often used to capture geometric and attribute data about a facility. This can be done using a number of methods and at a number of points during the life of a facility: the elements of the site prior to the development of a new facility or the conditions of an existing facility prior to renovation. Data could be captured using a laser scanner or recorded manually by inputting model and serial numbers into a spreadsheet. The common factor within this purposes of BIM Uses is that data is captured where no data existed prior. However, it is not newly generated information, rather creating a record of the facility elements that exists.
2.1.2 Quantify
Objective: to express or measure the amount of a facility element.
Synonyms: takeoff, count.
Description: In this purpose of BIM Uses, BIM is used for counting or collecting the number of specific facility elements. This purpose is often used as part of the estimating and cost forecasting process. During the design phase of a facility, quantities may be defined broadly, represented by a range and subject to c