"BIM" redirects here. For other uses, see Bim (disambiguation).
Building information model of a mechanical room developed from lidar data
Building information modeling (BIM) is a process involving the generation and
management of digital representations of the physical and functional
characteristics of places. BIM is supported by various tools, technologies and
contracts. Building information models (BIMs) are computer files (often but not
always in proprietary formats and containing proprietary data) which can be
extracted, exchanged or networked to support decision-making regarding a built
asset. BIM software is used by individuals, businesses and government agencies who
plan, design, construct, operate and maintain buildings and diverse physical
infrastructures, such as water, refuse, electricity, gas, communication utilities,
roads, railways, bridges, ports and tunnels.
The concept of BIM has been in development since the 1970s, but it only became an
agreed term in the early 2000s. The development of standards and the adoption of
BIM has progressed at different speeds in different countries. Standards developed
in the United Kingdom from 2007 onwards have formed the basis of the international
standard ISO 19650, launched in January 2019.
Industry Foundation Classes(IFCs) is the data exchange schema developed and
maintained by buildingSMART as a neutral and open specification for Building
Information Models (BIM). Romania celebrates The Building Information Modeling
(BIM) Day on 18 March.
History
The concept of BIM has existed since the 1970s. The first software tools developed
for modeling buildings emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and included
workstation products such as Chuck Eastman's Building Description System[1] and
GLIDE, RUCAPS, Sonata, Reflex and Gable 4D Series.[2][3] The early applications,
and the hardware needed to run them, were expensive, which limited widespread
adoption.[4]
The pioneering role of applications such as RUCAPS, Sonata and Reflex has been
recognized by Laiserin[5][unreliable source?] as well as the UK's Royal Academy of
Engineering;[6] former GMW employee Jonathan Ingram worked on all three products.
[4] What became known as BIM products differed from architectural drafting tools
such as AutoCAD by allowing the addition of further information (time, cost,
manufacturers' details, sustainability, and maintenance information, etc.) to the
building model.[citation needed]
As Graphisoft had been developing such solutions for longer than its competitors,
Laiserin regarded its ArchiCAD application as then "one of the most mature BIM
solutions on the market."[7][unreliable source?] Following its launch in 1987,
ArchiCAD became regarded by some as the first implementation of BIM,[8][9] as it
was the first CAD product on a personal computer able to create both 2D and 3D
geometry, as well as the first commercial BIM product for personal computers.[8]
[10][11] However, Graphisoft founder Gábor Bojár has acknowledged to Jonathan
Ingram in an open letter, that Sonata "was more advanced in 1986 than ArchiCAD at
that time", adding that it "surpassed already the matured definition of 'BIM'
specified only about one and a half decade later".[12]
The term 'building model' (in the sense of BIM as used today) was first used in
papers in the mid-1980s: in a 1985 paper by Simon Ruffle eventually published in
1986,[13] and later in a 1986 paper by Robert Aish[14] – then at GMW Computers Ltd,
developer of RUCAPS software – referring to the software's use at London's Heathrow
Airport.[15] The term 'Building Information Model' first appeared in a 1992 paper
by G.A. van Nederveen and F. P. Tolman.[16]
However, the terms 'Building Information Model' and 'Building Information Modeling'
(including the acronym "BIM") did not become popularly used until some 10 years
later. Facilitating exchange and interoperability of information in digital format
was variously with differing terminology: by Graphisoft as "Virtual Building" or
"Single Building Model",[17] Bentley Systems as "Integrated Project Models", and by
Autodesk or Vectorworks as "Building Information Modeling".[17] In 2002, Autodesk
released a white paper entitled "Building Information Modeling,"[18] and other
software vendors also started to assert their involvement in the field.[19]
[unreliable source?] By hosting contributions from Autodesk, Bentley Systems and
Graphisoft, plus other industry observers, in 2003,[20][unreliable source?] Jerry
Laiserin helped popularize and standardize the term as a common name for the
digital representation of the building process.[21]
Interoperability and BIM standards
As some BIM software developers have created proprietary data structures in their
software, data and files created by one vendor's applications may not work in other
vendor solutions. To achieve interoperability between applications, neutral, non-
proprietary or open standards for sharing BIM data among different software
applications have been developed.
Poor software interoperability has long been regarded as an obstacle to industry
efficiency in general and to BIM adoption in particular. In August 2004 a US
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report conservatively
estimated that $15.8 billion was lost annually by the U.S. capital facilities
industry due to inadequate interoperability arising from "the highly fragmented
nature of the industry, the industry’s continued paper-based business practices, a
lack of standardization, and inconsistent technology adoption among stakeholders".
[22]
An early BIM standard was the CIMSteel Integration Standard, CIS/2, a product model
and data exchange file format for structural steel project information (CIMsteel:
Computer Integrated Manufacturing of Constructional Steelwork). CIS/2 enables
seamless and integrated information exchange during the de
