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Big firms have it. Owners want it. Smaller firms are trying to catch up. Building Information Modeling is having a significant impact on architecture, engineering and construction.

But what are the advantages of BIM? What challenges does it present? Perhaps most importantly: How can it help make a better project?

The BIM model is unique because it reveals a building in three dimensions from several perspectives. Project owners can see their building virtually, and make changes early in development. However, use of the “disruptive technology” can cause costly conflicts.

BIM eventually will affect the entire industry, and not just the bigger firms, said Cherise Schacter, standards coordinator at Interface Engineering and president-elect of the Construction Specifications Institute‘s Portland chapter. This shift will make an earlier one from paper-based drawings to AutoCAD 2-D drawings seem like small potatoes, Schacter said.

“My personal opinion is that BIM is going to change this industry more than anything that has happened in my career,” she said. “I remember the change to AutoCAD. It was different, but it was still drawing. Now you have multiple people sticking pipes in walls while architects are designing where the walls are going to be.”

Now, architects who traditionally would draw sketches on a drafting table are instead using technologically advanced tools.

“I see building information modeling as the next evolution for designing and producing drawings,” said Alene Davis, an associate principal at SERA Architects. “In the very early stages of the project, we still do some sketching, but once it comes time to get the layout down, we make the transition to BIM at that point.”

A higher level of understanding of design is required for BIM than for typical drafting, Schacter said. For instance, BIM can handle specifications. Traditionally, specs such as material brands and sizes and spatial requirements – including the number of toilets – have been prepared separately.

“Now one of the big movements of BIM is to put those specs directly into the model, so that you can see everything about that in one place,” she said.

That can be helpful from a coordination and quality control standpoint. BIM can help teams determine material quantities so that cost estimating is more accurate.

“You can open the architectural, plumbing, electrical and mechanical models, and as you make changes to the architectural models, see the effect on everyone else’s work,” Davis said. “If the plumbing guy is in there, he’s going to be looking at those and see if there’s a problem: ‘Could you move your duct over a little bit?’ ”

One challenge, Schacter noted, is that legal questions arise when it comes down to who is responsible for the model and when the model passes hands.

“An architect makes changes to drawings – say he changes the flooring from carpet to tile, and doesn’t tell the guy who’s making the specifications; they could have a conflict,” she said. “That could mean a change order later. Conflicts are a bad thing.”

But BIM has helped Andersen Construction streamline its operations, said Jeff Slinger, a mechanical, electrical and plumbing manager for the firm.

“We’ve gone from building buildings to assembling them,” he said.

A shift to more Lean Construction practices, increased automation and greater efficiency has resulted, Slinger said. Clashes are detected before construction begins. Fewer workers are needed to assemble buildings. Fewer mistakes are made in the field.

“Whatever we can do off-site in a controlled environment, we should do,” he said. “We don’t want to figure things out when it’s pouring down rain. We want to do it in 70-degree, factory-controlled conditions where we are protected from the weather.”

Another advantage of BIM, according to Tary Carlson, a senior project manager with the Inici Group, is how it contributes to building health. Because more information is integrated into the model, people will be able to better maintain buildings decades into the future, he said.

“More and more owners are going this route,” he said. “Instead of getting a bunch of three-ring binders, we’re getting a hard drive or a flash drive. On the back end is where you see the real benefit.”

BIM is expensive and has a steep learning curve. That can put smaller firms in a tough spot. Nevertheless, Schacter noted that owners ultimately can demand that the modeling be used for their projects.

“We’ve gone from hand drafting to CAD,” Davis said. “Eventually everyone saw the benefits of it and the efficiencies. In my mind, BIM is the next evolution along the path.”