BIM Execution Plan (BEP) – What is It?

The BEP is a plan that defines the goals of implementing BIM methodology as a project. it is prepared in response to the client’s requirements about the information to be contained in the project’s digital model. These requirements are written down in a document called Employer Information Requirements (EIR).

In a BIM project, the project team needs to agree on how they plan on collaborating, communicating and exchanging information when this will happen and what will be developed and shared.

The BIM Execution Plan outlines these details. In addition, it defines the goals of implementing BIM in the project.

Further, it contains the information on the entire project infrastructure required for a successful BIM implementation. This includes the technologies to be applied, the team members responsible for the implementation and the contracts to be fulfilled.

Let’s look at some of the contents of the BEP below:

Contents of a BIM Execution Plan (BEP)

To effectively guide the implementation of BIM in a project, the BEP should contain the following information:

• Essential project information and description,
• Contractual information as described in the Employer Information Requirements (EIR) document,
• Content aimed at confirming compliance with the specifications,
• Previous skills and experiences of the project team members,
• Technical and performance characteristics of the infrastructure to be built,
• Levels of information development (LOD) to be achieved at each project stage,
• Software to be used by the various members of the project team. This should include the file types each project member is comfortable working with.
• How data is shared,
• Data storage methods and delivery strategies – BIM should include a Common Data Environment (CDE) for data storage and sharing.
• Collaboration procedures, BIM exchange protocol and submittal format and methods to handle the shared data models, and
• Each project member’s roles, staffing and competencies.

The Procedure for Developing a BIM Execution Plan

A proper BIM Execution Plan is developed following a pre-determined procedure. This procedure guides the project team members on the key steps to be followed and details to be incorporated to make the plan as comprehensive and effective as possible.

The main steps include:

1. Define the value of BIM adoption on the project
2. Identify the modelling uses to achieve the desired goals
3. Design a process for integrating the model uses with identified information exchanges
4. Define the context for each information exchange
5. Identify the project infrastructure need to support the BIM process (delivery structure and contract language, defining communication procedures, technology infrastructure and identifying quality control procedures to implement high-quality information models.)

The Advantages of a BEP

By developing a BIM Execution Plan, the project and team members can achieve the following value:

1. All parties will clearly understand and communicate the strategic goals for implementing BIM on the project
2. Organizations will understand their roles and responsibilities in the implementation
3. The team will be able to design an execution process which is well suited for each member’s business practices and typical organisation workflows
4. The plan will outline additional resources, training and other competencies necessary to successfully implement BIM for the intended users
5. The plan will provide a benchmark for describing the process to future participants who join the project
6. The purchasing divisions will be able to define contract language to ensure that all project participants fulfil their obligations
7. The baseline plan will provide a goal for measuring progress throughout the project.

This has been adapted from Pennsylvania State University’s BIM Project Execution Planning Guide, Version 3.0

In Conclusion

The objective of developing a BIM Execution Plan (BEP) is to facilitate the proper management of construction information in a BIM project.

The process starts by analysing the contents of the employer’s information requirements document. Then, translate those requirements to define the scope of the project, the project team members and their technical competencies, the software and hardware requirements and how project data will be created, stored, shared and exchanged amongst the project team members.

This document is very important in a BIM project as it helps reduce the level of uncertainties in the BIM implementation process. This in turn reduces the overall project risk and improves the success rate of the project.

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