The Little

Book of BIM

A Summary of BIM

Bill Holden
Sections

The meaning
The standards
The parties
The roles
The why
The conclusion
The meaning

BIM is an acronym that is

used in the built
environment industry.
The meaning

BIM stands for Building

Information Modelling or
Building Information
Management.

Let’s look at some

definitions.
The meaning

Building
Can mean anything in the
built environment that is
managed or maintained.
The meaning

Information
Anything you can know about
a building, like what it is
called, how much carbon it
emits/uses, annual operating
costs or how safe it is.
The meaning

Modelling
Organising the information,
maybe by using a three-
dimensional representation,
cost schedules or a database.
The meaning

Management
Using the information, maybe
by checking information
quality, analysing the
information for trends or
making informed decisions.
The meaning

BIM is a set of processes that

can be used for any kind of
built environment project,
like a new school, wetlands
expansion, coastal wall repair,
power network upgrade, new
airport terminal or a hotel
refurbishment.
The standards

BIM processes follow

international standards called
ISO 19650.
The standards

The ISO 19650 standards

come in 6 parts

1 2 3

4 5 6
The standards

ISO 19650-1 explains how

BIM is made up of many
smaller processes that are all
part of larger processes, like a
piece in a jigsaw puzzle.

Company processes
Asset & Project processes

BIM processes
The standards

ISO 19650-2 helps guide BIM

processes for projects when
there is something new, like a
new train station, an office
refurbishment, or a
warehouse extension.
The standards

ISO 19650-3 helps guide BIM

processes for projects when
you are working on a building
you already have, like
condition surveys, selling a
building or monthly safety
inspections.
The standards

ISO 19650-4 explains how

information creators
exchange their information
with others.
The standards

ISO 19650-5 explains how to

keep projects and
information safe from cyber-
crime and follow data
protection rules.
The standards

1
ISO 19650-6 helps guide the
BIM processes for all types of
projects when Health &
Safety information is created.
The parties

BIM processes are

carried out by
different groups.
We call them parties.
The parties

A client, or employer is a
person or company that buys
the services of other people
or companies to help them
with their project.

They are called an

appointing party.

Appointing
Party
The parties

A service provider that the

appointing party has a
contract with is called a lead
appointed party.

Lead
Appointing
Appointed
Party
Party
The parties

An appointing party may have

many contracts with different
lead appointed parties for
different specialist skills.
Lead Lead
Appointed Appointed
Party Party

Appointing
Party

Lead Lead
Appointed Appointed
Party Party
The parties

A service provider that a

lead appointed party has
a contract with is an
appointed party.

Lead
Appointed
Appointed
Party
Party
The parties

A lead appointed party may

have many contracts with
different appointed parties
for different specialist skills.
Appointed Appointed
Party Party

Lead
Appointed
Party

Appointed Appointed
Party Party
The parties

All of the parties together are

called a Project Team.

ointed Party
App
Ap
y
rt

po
ppointed P
Pa

int
d A ar
ed

a t

ed
e
int

Part
Appo

y
Appointing
Party
y
Appo

P art

ea t
int

r
y
L

ed

dA Pa
p p ointe d
ed

in t

rt
po
Pa

y Ap
App
oin te d P arty
The parties

The lead appointed party

with their appointed parties
are called a Delivery Team.

y
rt
Pa
ed
int
Appo

y
Appo

P art

ea t
int

r
y
L

ed

dA Pa
p p ointe d
ed

in t

rt
po
Pa

y Ap
App
oin te d P arty
The roles

Each party has different BIM

things to do.
These are called functions that
are often collected into roles.
The roles

Some common roles are

Client Information Manager,
Project BIM Manager,
BIM Coordinator and
Asset Manager.
The roles

Each role will do very

specific things depending
on the party they belong to.
The roles

They will all work together to

help make the BIM processes
the best they can be.

Specify Create

Assure Use
The why

The motivation to use BIM

processes in the UK comes
from the UK government.
The why

2
Through research it was
recognised that by
using BIM processes
all parties can save time,
money and carbon.
The why

All projects that are from

the UK government
must use BIM processes
using the
3, 4
UK BIM Framework.

UK BIM
Framework
The why

The UK BIM Framework

can grow or shrink to
suit the type of project.

UK BIM
Framework

UK BIM
Framework
UK BIM
Framework
The why

The earlier BIM processes

are put in place the more
a project can save
but it is never too late.
The conclusion

Now you know

all about BIM.
The conclusion

BIM processes came from the

built environment industry,
but they can be applied
anywhere, because really it is
just organised problem
solving!

Would you consider using BIM

on your next project?
The conclusion

Resources
1: At the time of writing ISO 19650-6 is in draft for public consultation
2: KPMG & Atkins report on The value of Information Management in
construction. See - https://kpmg.com/uk/en/home/insights/2021/06/the-
value-of-information-management-in-the-construction-and-infr.html
3: Transforming Infrastructure Performance: Roadmap to 2030 - GOV.UK
(www.gov.uk)
4: www.ukbimframework.org

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