5D BIM Transitioning Construction Designs

Syidah Arnold CQS MAIQS MRICS, Associate-Digital Lead, Rider Levett Bucknall

The future of 5D building information  modelling (BIM) has been a long time  coming. Way back in 1962, engineer  and internet pioneer, Doug Engelbart,  painted a clear picture. The architect  of the future, Engelbart wrote: 

would begin each project by entering a series of  specifications and data – a six-inch slab floor,  twelve-inch concrete walls eight feet high within  the excavation, and so on. As the architect works,  the revised scene appears on the screen, and the  structure is taking shape. He examines it, adjusts  it and these lists grow into an ever more-detailed,  interlinked structure, representing the maturing  thought behind the actual design. 

Engelbart’s work sparked the invention of the mouse, the  development of hypertext and networked computers. But his  vision for a computer program that could spit out a fullycosted  design remained elusive in his lifetime. 

The evolution of BIM has been more fits and starts than  leaps and bounds. Designs moved from drawing boards to  two-dimensional CAD in the late 1950s. 3D BIM arrived  in the 1990s, and by the year 2000 the revolutionary Revit  added the time dimension in 2000 to give us access to 4D and  5D – with financial costs – became the next natural step. 

Slow to Evolve 

But construction remains among the least disrupted sectors.  Despite the talk of digital twins, the next evolution of BIM,  based on one recent report tracking technology uptake, is  37 percent of Australian construction companies already  adopting BIM. 

When I started my career as a quantity  surveyor, I came to the profession with an  unusual perspective. I’d spent four years  studying architecture and a few years  drafting, and I could see the gaping chasm  between the two disciplines. 

The way people design is very  different to the way people measure.  Because of that gap, quantity surveyors  rarely trusted the information extracted  from designs. 

A successful construction project  is achieved on the margins and project  budgets rarely have spare capacity to  undertake data-matching exercises. So, quantity surveyors  have continued to rely on the tried-and-true methods of  measurement and clients continue to pour over PDF reports. 

Breaking The Barriers 

Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) is determined to continue  building capability as an expert in 5D BIM, so recently  teamed up with Investa and Willow to refine the data  deliverables that everyone could trust.

 Willow, a technology company that constructs digital  twins for the built world, could offer insights into policies,  framework and systems. RLB brought technical costs.  Investa, one of Australia’s largest commercial office  landlords, provided the pilot site at Sydney’s 151 Clarence  Street and offered valuable feedback from a client’s  perspective. 

“5D BIM process relegates static reporting and reactive cost management to the past. Proactive  nalysis, with reporting weekly or even daily, allows us to capture cost movements and discrepancies”

As part of the pilot project, RLB’s team, which included  the supremely talented Kai Rala McKinnnon-Barbosa, Jennifer Wallace, and Matthew Han, rolled up their  sleeves to prepare various reports. These ranged from  dearness allowance (DA) cost plans to pre-tender  estimates and interim cost updates, and embodied  carbon pricing. Willow, as engineering project manager,  validated the process.  Here are the top five benefits 5D BIM delivers. 

Real and right time monitoring. The 5D  BIM process relegates static reporting and reactive  cost management to the past. 

Proactive analysis, with  reporting weekly or even daily, allows us to capture cost  movements and discrepancies as they happen, and to make  adjustments long before budget black holes open and value  engineering becomes our only option. 

Costing in many currencies. Cost is just one  metric of value. The data produced in a 5D model  transcends standard costing and allows us to expand our  measurements into other metrics, like embodied carbon or  wellness. 

Infinite options.Where once we may labour over  two or three design options, now we can scrutinise 10 in  a matter of minutes. Clients can see the design in context  with an overall picture of the project budget in a few  clicks. This is not about slapping up buildings faster and  cheaper , but about building smarter and better. 

Devil is in the details.We asked Investa’s team what  they needed at each point of time in a project from the  earliest stage of design right through to operations. Is this  enough data? Not enough? Or too much? Insights from  Investa proved invaluable. Investa’s board didn’t need the  granular costs of, say, each doorknob like the quantity  surveyors did. But a big picture understanding of the per  square metre costs of façade options, for example, can  support more informed decision making. 

Augmented intelligence. 5D BIM frees quantity  surveyors for the thinking that only a human brain can  do. We can investigate new construction materials or  methods, undertake detective work to uncover new areas  of value, or spend more time connecting and collaborating  with our teams. When we spend less time on manual  measurement, we have more time to create value for our  clients. 

RLB’s next step is to enhance how the 5D BIM  workflow process is visualised on dashboards and to  expand the scope beyond the construction phase. 

What does the future look like? Englebert’s vision may  be a few years off. But we think PDF documents – much  like set squares and spreadsheets – are already a thing of  the past and the future will be captured in five  dimensions.