Building information modeling definition
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It's a database of building information wrapped in a 3D interface, enabling better coordination, cost control, and project outcomes.
BIM catches clashes before construction (saving weeks and hundreds of thousands), enables 4D construction planning to optimize build sequences, provides 5D real-time cost tracking, ensures regulatory compliance with automated checking (Singapore's IFC+SG, CORENET X), and creates digital twin assets for facility management.
This information includes scheduling data that helps outline how much time each phase of the project will take or sequencing of various components. It’s the most practical, scalable, and dependable way to extend BIM beyond construction, ensuring every facility operates at peak performance throughout its lifecycle.
And the industry agrees.
This model isn’t just a 3D drawing; it contains real data about every part of the building, such as walls, lighting, HVAC systems, and equipment.
BIM helps teams see how a building will look and perform even before it’s built, so they can fix issues early, save time, and avoid costly mistakes. Turn maintenance from reactive to predictive
When BIM connects with your CMMS or digital twin, maintenance planning becomes proactive.
Integration with CMMS and CAFM: BIM becomes even more powerful when connected to operational systems like a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) or CAFM software.
- The 3D model links directly to real-world asset records.
- Clicking on an asset reveals maintenance history or allows a new work order to be created instantly.
- Facility teams can visualize and manage maintenance in a 3D environment for faster, data-backed decisions.
5.
Facility and operations directors
- Visualize all assets in 3D and access live performance data.
- Trigger maintenance actions directly from the model.
- Improve uptime and streamline response times across teams.
Why it matters: Move from reactive maintenance to predictive operations with full asset context.
3.
Early detection reduces costly on-site changes and ensures that operational systems are installed correctly from day one.
8. Sustainability and energy management teams- Analyze and optimize building performance against sustainability goals.
- Track carbon footprint and energy use at both model and operational levels.
- Connect design data with real-time ESG reporting.
Why it matters: Bridge the gap between design efficiency and ongoing sustainability performance.
Turn your BIM intelligence into connected building performance with Facilio
Building Information Modeling (BIM) has already transformed how buildings are designed and constructed.
When multiple disciplines—structural, architectural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing—work on the same project, conflicts are inevitable. Design changes instantly update costs—enabling proactive management instead of reactive overruns.
Documentation: Coordinated models generate Combined Services Drawings, concrete plans, and setting-out drawings that match the digital coordination.
FM Handover: The as-built model becomes a digital twin operational asset with equipment data in COBie format, delivering value long after construction.
Subcontractors receive the main contractor's construction model and develop their trade-specific scope:
Clash Avoidance: MEP subcontractors model their systems (HVAC ducts, electrical conduits, plumbing pipes, fire protection) and coordinate to ensure no clashes within their scope or with other trades.
CDE Submission: Upload models to the project's Common Data Environment—typically Autodesk Construction Cloud, ProjectWise, or OpenBIM platforms like BIMCollab—for coordination review.
Shop Drawings: Generate fabrication and installation drawings from their coordinated BIM model, showing exact routing, connections, and equipment layouts.
One of BIM's most immediate benefits is the ability to identify clashes before construction begins.
Why does connecting BIM with FM platforms matter today?
Because it closes the loop between design, construction, and operations.
When BIM is layered with the principles of Connected Construction, the dream of BIM becomes an achievable reality.
Trimble is joining forces with industry leaders in architecture, engineering, and construction to put Connected Construction to the test in The Great Library docuseries. Designers get immediate feedback on code compliance, reducing the approval cycle from months to weeks.
BIM proves especially valuable in specialized sectors:
- Data Centers: Managing dense MEP coordination, cable routing, and equipment layouts
- Hospitals: Coordinating complex medical gas systems, HVAC for infection control, and critical equipment
- Civil Infrastructure: Using IFC4x3 (the latest OpenBIM standard) for bridges, tunnels, roads, and rail projects
Despite its benefits, BIM adoption faces several obstacles:
Not all project participants are equally capable with BIM.
Large consultancies and contractors may have dedicated BIM departments, while smaller firms struggle with the investment and learning curve. They're discipline-specific:
- Architecture: Revit, ArchiCAD, Vectorworks
- Structural: Revit Structure, Tekla Structures
- MEP: Revit MEP, AutoCAD MEP
- Civil/Infrastructure: Civil 3D, OpenRoads, 12D
Owning authoring software gives firms control over their models and design data—critical intellectual property.
Use space and resources more efficiently
BIM’s built-in spatial intelligence helps facility teams understand how spaces are actually used. This data allows governments, municipalities, and property managers to make informed decisions based on information derived from the model— even after the building is constructed.
From blueprints to CAD to BIM
In the past, blueprints and drawings were used to express information about a particular building plan.
BIM is only the beginning of what's possible with modern construction tools and technology. It catches clashes before construction, facilitates real-time collaboration, and ensures regulatory compliance with digital submission requirements.
What is BIM (Building Information Modeling)
BIM model of Randselva Bridge, the world's longest bridge built with BIM models only - no drawings.
What Is BIM?
BIM is an acronym for Building Information Modeling or Building Information Management.
It significantly shortens review cycles and improves coordination among design and construction teams.
2. Integrating Building Information Modeling (BIM) with a Connected CAFM platform like Facilio turns design intelligence into ongoing operational value.While BIM captures how a building is designed and constructed, Facilio extends that intelligence into real-time operations, bridging the gap between project completion and continuous performance.
Here’s how the two work together:
- Real-time asset visibility: Facilio connects BIM data with live asset performance, helping teams visualize and act on equipment conditions instantly.
- Automated maintenance: Model insights trigger work orders and predictive maintenance, ensuring issues are addressed before failures occur.
- Sustainability optimization: Facilio uses BIM’s building data to enhance energy efficiency and track sustainability KPIs.
- Smooth handover: Design, asset, and maintenance data flow seamlessly from construction teams to operations.
Together, BIM and Facilio move facility management from static models to living, adaptive ecosystems, where data continuously informs smarter, more sustainable decisions.
Who benefits most from BIM and Connected CAFM integration?
Building Information Modeling (BIM) delivers real value when extended into operations through a Connected FM platform like Facilio.
Can BIM be integrated with FM systems like CMMS and CAFM?
Yes. Contractors need LOD 350-400 with exact routing, supports, and connections to build. These complex, high-stakes projects demand coordination across dozens of disciplines, stakeholders, and regulatory frameworks. All of the information gathered— from conception to completion— isn’t just stored, it’s actionable.
The data can be used to improve accuracy, express design intent from the office to the field, improve knowledge transfer from stakeholder to stakeholder, reduce change orders and field coordination problems, and provide insight into existing buildings for renovation projects later on.
How is BIM information shared?
This information in a BIM model is shared through a mutually accessible online space known as a common data environment (CDE), and the data collected is referred to as an 'information model'.
Yes. Contractors need LOD 350-400 with exact routing, supports, and connections to build. These complex, high-stakes projects demand coordination across dozens of disciplines, stakeholders, and regulatory frameworks. All of the information gathered— from conception to completion— isn’t just stored, it’s actionable.
The data can be used to improve accuracy, express design intent from the office to the field, improve knowledge transfer from stakeholder to stakeholder, reduce change orders and field coordination problems, and provide insight into existing buildings for renovation projects later on.
How is BIM information shared?
This information in a BIM model is shared through a mutually accessible online space known as a common data environment (CDE), and the data collected is referred to as an 'information model'.