CHAPTER 1

Background

1.1 Objective

The objective of Project TFRS-02, “Lifecycle BIM for Infrastructure: A Business Case for Project Delivery and Asset Management,” was to evaluate the business case for Building Information Modeling (BIM) for infrastructure projects in the United States by analyzing and quantifying how adopting enterprise-wide BIM systems can provide increased agency efficiencies and foster advanced, comprehensive lifecycle management of enterprise assets. The data for this research were gathered using domestic and international examples, with findings targeted for the U.S. market and transportation agency stakeholders.

1.2 Motivation

BIM is one of the most promising developments in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry and has been used for planning, design, construction, and operation of many types of facilities. BIM can help stakeholders visualize what will be built in a simulated environment to identify potential design, construction, or operation issues. BIM offers the potential to decrease project costs, increase productivity and quality, and reduce project delivery time.

BIM has been a beneficial project delivery approach in the building industry, where the practice originated. The technology to support BIM in civil infrastructure is available, and consensus within the industry is that BIM for infrastructure is a good idea; why then do state departments of transportation (DOTs) continue to struggle to implement BIM as a standard practice? The answer lies in the complexity and perceived cost to move an organization forward. In a world of dwindling public funds, it can be difficult to invest in all initiatives while also maintaining a large and deteriorating transportation infrastructure. Thus, gaining executive support to invest in BIM deployment is unlikely without a robust business case that demonstrates its value.

The costs associated with BIM as a new technology are a great concern for owners making decisions. However, until this study, no comprehensive or systematic evaluation of costs and benefits had been performed outside of vertical construction or isolated use cases. There is a strong and timely need for a solid framework for determining a repeatable approach to calculating the return on investment (ROI) for adopting BIM for infrastructure and strategies for a strong business case.

Project TFRS-02 explored the costs and benefits of using BIM through documented literature and anecdotal accounts of pilot projects internationally and in the United States. This information was used to answer the following questions:

• Can the benefits of BIM be quantified?
• Are the benefits of BIM substantial enough to justify the investment required by implementation?

• What is the cost of doing nothing?
• How can stakeholders realize the maximum benefit of BIM?

1.3 Scope of Work

The work for this study was performed in two separate phases that emphasized the work in three major areas:

1. Conducting research and gathering data,
2. Analyzing ROI, and
3. Creating marketing materials for communicating project findings.

The work during Phase I focused on gathering information to help draft the methodology used in Phase II to develop the final products. During Phase I, the research team

• Examined the use of BIM in construction of buildings, highways, and bridges to identify benefits and costs related to implementation of the technology.
• Explored whether the benefits and costs of implementing BIM as documented in the buildings industry could be applied to civil infrastructure.
• Identified lead organizations that could participate in case studies, and selection criteria were developed to narrow down the potential case studies.

In Phase II, the research team conducted case studies, refined the business case methodology, developed a tool to estimate the ROI of BIM adoption, drafted recommendations for BIM implementation to support asset data management, and produced a multi-media package to communicate the benefits of BIM to decision-makers.

This research report describes the goals and motivations for the study, the research approach, findings, and conclusions. The report also provides case study technical briefs on the uses of BIM, its costs and benefits, and challenges and lessons learned for each of the five asset owners interviewed during the study, as well as high-level recommendations for implementing BIM for Infrastructure to support the development of an asset data management plan. Other project deliverables include the following:

• BIM ROI Tool: A workbook (spreadsheet model) and user guide that can be used to evaluate the costs and benefits of implementing BIM for Infrastructure.
• Multi-Media Toolkit: Marketing and educational products that can be used to educate various stakeholders. These products include the following:
  • Interactive infographic describing the relationship between a project information model (PIM) and an asset information model (AIM).
  • Three separate lesson plans and sets of slide deck presentations, including speaker notes that can be used to conduct BIM for Infrastructure educational workshops for three different audiences (i.e., executives, managers, and technical staff).
  • Recorded webinar presentation on the findings of the study.
  • Two video podcast interviews with members of the research team and project panel members.
  • Frequently Asked Questions document listing general questions and facts regarding BIM for Infrastructure.

1.4 Organization of Report

This report is organized into six chapters and several appendices:

• Chapter 1 provides an overview of the problem and motivation for the study, the objectives and scope of the completed research, and a summary of the tasks performed to gather necessary data to inform the business case methodology and creation of final products.

• Chapter 2 is a synthesis of the literature reviewed during Phase I of the study.
• Chapter 3 presents a summary of each case study conducted and the BIM expert validation panel.
• Chapter 4 presents the benefit and cost data captured during the case studies, validation of assumptions from the panel of expert workshops, and the business approach for analyzing benefits and costs of BIM deployment.
• Chapter 5 contains a high-level plan for the steps to implement BIM to support asset management.
• Chapter 6 states the conclusions from the study and recommendations for future work.
• Appendices A through E each describe or contain an additional product from the study:
  • Appendix A: Multi-Media Toolkit,
  • Appendix B: ROI Workbook and User Guide,
  • Appendix C: Glossary,
  • Appendix D: Mapping of Use Cases to Benefits, and
  • Appendix E: BIM Maturity Matrix for Transportation Agencies.