Your BIM Holy Book: The BIM Execution Plan

Tarek Ghazzaoui discusses what BIM Execution Plans (BEP) are, why they are important, the do's and don'ts, the top 5 pitfalls and Q&A's.
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Overview

Design technology, BIM and VDC in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) are evolving at a quick pace. There are always new developments: new software, new software versions, new plugins, new scripts, and new integrations, among other things. However, related fields evolve at a quick pace too, among which we find project management and BIM management. These fields are the essence of future business competitivity at a strategic level, with a technical competence as a prerequisite.

Photo credit: Image by www_slon_pics from Pixabay

There’s an interesting French expression which reflects this concept; it is called:

Le nerf de la guerre

That translates literally as “the nerve of the war”, or metaphorically as “the sinews of war”. What it really means is the “key to winning the war”, and in BIM, I strongly believe it is BIM management. Although I will not dive into what is BIM management or how it demonstrates itself on a project, I will focus on one embodiment of it, which is called the BIM Execution Plan.

In the present blog article, I will attempt to provide a comprehensive guide to what a BIM Execution Plan (BEP) is, why have one in the first place, the do’s and don’ts of a BEP, my top 5 BEP pitfalls and some questions and answers about them. The focus of this article is for BEPs in the design phase primarily, but a lot of the concepts apply to construction or operations as well.

Before we get started, it is important to note that the present blog article does not discuss the sections or content of a BEP, but the symptoms of a good BEP and its uses. I will write another blog article in the future where I dig into an actual BEP and outline sections and their content. This article promotes the use of a BEP, and good practices surrounding it, for the purpose of sound BIM management and project management.

So let’s get started!

Table of contents

Note: Click to go to a specific section.

What is a BIM Execution Plan (BEP)

A BIM Execution Plan is the BIM equivalent of a Project Plan, which is defined by the Project Management Institute (PMI), as follows:

“The project plan is a formal, approved document used to guide both project execution and project control. The primary uses of the project plan are to document planning assumptions and decisions, facilitate communication among project stakeholders, and document approved scope, cost, and schedule baselines. A project plan may be summarized or detailed.” (Source: Project Plan)

Likewise, the BIM Execution Plan, in essence, is an operational and live document that provides a common framework for all project stakeholders regarding project BIM standards, procedures and decisions, as well as their evolution through time.

Here are two external definitions of a BIM Execution Plan by the U.S. General Services Administration and Penn State University.

According to U.S. General Services Administration (GSA):

“The intent of the BIM Execution Plan (BEP) is to define a foundational framework to ensure successful deployment of advanced design technologies on your BIM enabled project. The BEP is about optimizing work and model flow across the project, as contrasted with optimizing siloed interests. The key is good planning of the design-to-engineering-to-construction process to minimize downstream surprises, rework, redundancies or gaps in the flow of (model-based) information.” (Source: BIM Execution Plan)

According to Penn State University:

“[…] A BIM Project Execution Plan (hereinafter referred to as the ‘BIM Plan’) outlines the overall vision along with implementation details for the team to follow throughout the project. […] The plan should define the scope of BIM implementation on the project, identify the process flow for BIM tasks, define the information exchanges between parties, and describe the required project and company infrastructure needed to support the implementation.” (Source: Overview of the BIM Execution Planning Procedure for Building Information Modeling)

For your information, the BIM Execution Plan is also referred to as the BIM Plan, BEP, BIM PxP, BxP and BIM Project Plan, based on what I have encountered on the field.

Why is the BEP important

In short, the BIM Execution Plan is important to ensure the successful management and execution of BIM projects. In my opinion, the two crucial factors on projects are risks and costs, which I will discuss below in the context of BIM.

Although BIM is more prevalently intertwined with design and construction, it is important to note that is not the deliverable itself, but the means and the communication tool for the deliverable; it is the means to an end. In that sense, BIM is the “language” that architects, engineers, and contractors employ to translate their design intent and constructability in a more comprehensive way. Inasmuch as accounting is the means for finance, and math is the means for physics, BIM is the means for design, construction, and operation.

Inasmuch as accounting is the means for finance, and math is the means for physics, BIM is the means for design, construction, and operation.

Considering this perspective on BIM, the BIM Execution Plan is very important because it saves costs by establishing the basis for addressing the following potential issues:

So, in other words, leverage the BEP to do the following on projects:

Get a common understanding

Make sure that all stakeholders agree on the content, decision and points to be harnessed in the BEP.

Get it in writing

Make sure that you get everything in writing in the BEP, and all negotiations and communications are documented.

Single source of truth

Make sure that the BEP becomes the single source of truth in case of divergence of opinions or disagreement.

Without having the BEP as a basis for addressing these potential issues, there are higher “chances” that stakeholders are not on the same page or their individual work is not compatible within others’ or within the project. Such “chances” are what we call “risks”.

Risks, in my humble opinion, are the main project management driver on projects; more specifically, it is risk management as a function of time (change management due to risks evolution in time). The control of project risks directly drives project costs, schedules, and quality. Therefore, it is important to control, mitigate and eliminate project risks using project management tools and techniques; the BIM Execution Plan is one of such tools.

The BEP can help mitigate the risks below (on the left) by defining the following strategies (on the right):

Risks

Mitigation

The BEP can translate the mitigated risks pragmatically into:

All those mitigated risks translate into reduced overall project costs in terms of:

Photo credit: iStockphoto

Less material costs

Less materials are wasted on projects due to optimization of design and construction.

Less equipment costs

Better use of equipment on site and better choice of owning vs leasing vs renting are made due to quick calculations.

Less labor costs

Better management of human resources for design, construction and operation  due to clear and live scheduling and budgeting tools.

As a takeaway, always plan ahead through your BEP to ensure that you have a baseline to fall back on. Here’s an interesting quote by none other than one of the Founding Fathers of the USA:

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

The DOs and DON’Ts of a BEP

Photo credit: Photo by Operation Camp from StockSnap

The BIM Execution Plan SHOULD:

Photo credit: Photo by Matt Bango from StockSnap

The BIM Execution Plan SHOULD NOT:

Does your BIM Execution Plan follow the list of “SHOULD” and “SHOULD NOT” items?

These lists of “should” and “should not” must be always respected to ensure that teams can rely on the BEP at any point in time during the project. I cannot stress how much of utmost importance it is to ensure the BEP is a usable, pragmatic and up to date document in order for it to be adopted by project teams and relied upon during project execution.

I cannot stress how much of utmost importance it is to ensure the BEP is a usable, pragmatic and up to date document in order for it to be adopted by project teams and relied upon during project execution.

Tarek’s top 5 BEP pitfalls

Pitfall #1: BEP is not comprehensive

Photo credit: iStockphoto

“The BEP is missing sections!! I consulted it twice regarding sheet standards and I couldn’t find it anywhere. I won’t bother next time…”

Pitfall #2: BEP is not pragmatic or usable

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“It looks like a novel and has too much text. It takes me 5 minutes every time to get this one piece of information I need. I don’t have time for this.”

Pitfall #3: BEP is not updated frequently

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“Are you kidding me? We did all this work based on the BEP, and now we have to redo it all because it wasn’t updated recently? What a bummer.”

Pitfall #4: BEP is not being enforced

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“Yeah, so I tend to just make stuff up and go with the flow. If no one is asking me to comply, why should I? It’s not my problem.”

Pitfall #5: BEP is not developed by qualified people

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“Ahm, there are 3 sections that contradict each other in this document regarding backups, and the whole phases section makes no sense.”

BEP Q&A on special topics

What’s the ideal document length of a BEP?

There is no real limit to the length of a BEP document, but based on my experience, what works best is a document that is 20-40 pages long, including a title page, a table of contents and an annex list.

What’s the ideal document length of a BEP?

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For the design phase, it’s usually the owner’s BIM consultant or the Architectural consultant’s BIM manager/lead.

For the construction phase, it’s usually the owner’s BIM consultant or the general contractor’s BIM manager/lead.

For the operations phase, it’s usually the owner’s BIM consultant or the facility manager’s BIM manager/lead.

In all cases, all stakeholders must be consulted for updates to ensure everyone’s input and feedback on the changes.

Should the BEP include IT topics?

Yes, the BEP should include IT topics, but only those that are relevant to BIM only. That includes hardware inventory, software inventory, archiving processes, backup processes, IT security policies and user access management, among others.

Should the BEP be referenced in contracts?

That’s a great question. There are a lot of different opinions on this matter, and it’s important to bear in mind that I’m not a lawyer and there are legal differences in different jurisdictions.

Photo credit: Pixabay

Based on my Canadian experience, here are the possibilities:

Have you ever heard of a BIM Management Plan?

I worked on a project in the past where there was BIM Management Plan (BMP) as well as a BIM Execution Plans (BEPs). There is only one BMP, but every main consultant has his/her own BEP.

In this case, a BIM Management Plan (BMP):

In this case, a BIM Execution Plan (BEP):

Credit: Tarek Ghazzaoui

Final thoughts

The BEP, in my opinion, is one of the most underrated tools in BIM. It is mind boggling how so many BIM professionals, including BIM coordinators and BIM managers, are so obsessed with technical tools, but not in management tools and techniques. Being very technically competent in BIM is not enough to manage teams, manage projects, grow a firm, and retain talent. The key to success in BIM starts with a stellar BIM Execution Plan and a sound execution of that plan. And like any other field in the world, practice makes perfect. Always.

On a last note, I hope you learnt a great deal about BEPs, and although I didn’t share any actual plans or discuss their content, there will be a dedicated blog article about such a topic in the future. There is so much to say about this topic that I can go on and on, but I hope you will read, re-read and analyze the points discussed in this blog article, and share your thoughts and opinions on social media.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog article and I’ll see you again soon.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog article and I’ll see you again soon.

Tarek Ghazzaoui, Eng.

Senior BIM Manager

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Resources

None.

Works cited

“Project Plan.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Feb. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_plan

“BIM Execution Plan.” GSA, 13 Aug. 2017, www.gsa.gov/real-estate/design-construction/3d4d-building-information-modeling/guidelines-for-bim-software/document-guides/bim-execution-plan.

Messner, John, et al. “Overview of the BIM Execution Planning Procedure for Building Information Modeling.” BIM Project Execution Planning Guide Version 22, Computer Integrated Construction Research Program, Penn State, 1 July 2019, psu.pb.unizin.org/bimprojectexecutionplanningv2x2/chapter/chapter-1/.

About the author

Picture of Tarek Ghazzaoui, Eng. (senior BIM manager)

Tarek Ghazzaoui, Eng. (senior BIM manager)

Tarek is a building engineer with experience in Design Technology since 2010. He is passionate about helping AEC firms manage change and leverage the use of technology and computational design to improve organizational cultures, tackle complex workflows and overcome challenging designs. Tarek worked with and managed interdisciplinary BIM teams up to 70+ members on major construction projects in Canada, ranging from $200M to $2.2B, including airports, hospitals, sports complexes, factories as well as residential, commercial and mixed-use projects. He is a professional member of OIQ, ASHRAE and PMI, and speaks several languages (fluent in English, French and Arabic, intermediate in Russian and beginner in Mandarin Chinese).

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