BIM Building Information Modeling 1 - (Page 17)

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION BIM’S Sixth Dimension: RISK AND RESPONSIBILITY ALLOCATION The strength and value of BIM are its multi-dimensional features. And there may be an added dimension to consider, suggest Michael S. Zetlin and Michael K. De Chiara, founding partners at Zetlin & De Chiara, LLP, one of the country’s leading law firms specializing in construction. On its simplest level, BIM’s obvious three dimensionality provides the construction team with increased spatial views of a project. “The additional ‘fourth and fifth dimensions of cost and schedule’ now integrated into the design drawings contribute to the new pace and process for implementing a construction plan,” explains Zetlin. One More BIM Dimension Is there a sixth dimension to BIM? Zetlin and De Chiara suggest that there is, and this ‘sixth dimension,’ which may be less visible to the construction team at the onset, is likely to have far reaching implications affecting how BIM is used to manage and guide a construction project. “The sixth dimension of BIM is its process for allocating risk and responsibility,” proposes Zetlin. In tandem with the value of a multidimensional view of a design drawing, the added value of BIM’s collaborative process and emphasis on more efficient construction is charting a new course for the way in which the entire construction project will proceed and who will be ultimately responsible for managing changes and interpretations of a spatially-expanded BIM design. According to De Chiara, “The collaborative aspect of BIM in its earliest preconstruction phase will establish guidelines for project and program process that is likely to have far-reaching implications later in the project.” Similar to early ‘partnering’ initiatives of the 1990s where all project participants accepted nonbinding responsibility for a role in the construction process, BIM will now set a more formal codified responsibility that will likely impact on the legal responsibility of each project participant.” There are cautions adds Zetlin. “Without precedent as a guide, contracts and agreements must begin to specify how professionals participating in the BIM process will be responsible for the final design drawings and inevitably the final construction product. While BIM is establishing a new collaborative framework, it must concomitantly develop a new blueprint for the allocation of responsibility and risk throughout the construction process.” Construction has a legal precedent that dictates who’s responsible for what and assigns risk to specific parties. Traditional interpretation has placed responsibility on the architect and the design drawings. “BIM is exploding our traditional contract guidelines,” says Zetlin. “It’s opening doors wide to new interpretations affecting responsibility for design errors, changes and interpretations that will ultimately affect a project’s constructability. ‘ For Information Only’ De Chiara points out that the suggested ‘These drawings are for informational purposes only’ will provide some protection, but it really doesn’t do the job. The new BIM product must begin to guide a new BIM process that will in turn affect how contracts and agreements are drafted to protect the design and construction team as a BIM project proceeds to construction. The questions may appear intangible at this stage says De Chiara, “But they are real.” Michael S. Zetlin Michael K. De Chiara If everyone is feeding information into the process, who is ultimately responsible for the final product? What risks should the owner bear? Who is responsible for managing the tool? How should those individuals be contractually and legally protected in that role, especially if the manager is a non-design professional? How will the design professional navigate a new terrain in which control for the final product is no longer a singular effort but a collaborative one? Zetlin and De Chiara suggest these are just some of the questions that confront the design and construction team as BIM roles out into the marketplace within new Integrated Project Delivery systems. “The ‘sixth dimension’ of risk and responsibility allocation’ is an equally important perspective to apply as design and construction professionals implement BIM tools in today’s faster, leaner, smarter construction industry.” BIM 17

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of BIM Building Information Projects No 1

Cover How Building Information Modeling (BIM) is Dramatically Transforming the Design, Building and Operation of Projects An Interview with a Local AGC Chapter on Its Nationwide BIM Training and Validation Program Launch BIM - more than just a clash detection tool A Contractor Tells How They Made BIM Work for Their Firm BIM’S Sixth Dimension: RISK AND RESPONSIBILITY ALLOCATION Experiencing the Benefits of a New Tool AIA Member Perspectives on BIM Thoughts From a Digital Imaging Firm

BIM Building Information Projects No 1

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