If you look at PAS 1192:2, they reference the principles of Lean in the introduction. And this directly applies to BIM. Paraphrased in a language that I understand:

• ensure that every "effort" contributes to the result
• do not generate data or information, unless for a particular purpose

This means, to me, that you would use BIM to remove the effort of double-triple-quadruple data entry, for the efficient exchange of project information.

The BIM methodology fits into the process as it helps to structure and organise your project information, as required for project delivery. Moreover, as they focus on complete building lifecycle, the fact that you can utilise information throughout the design phases is a testimony of good lean practices.

Dear Sahiti Chipati,

I'd love to contribute but your sentence "but there are a few constraints to both BIM and lean project delivery in certain scenarios depending on various factors that influence the construction of a project" looks a bit obscure to me, could you explain a bit more ?

Best,

Building Information Modeling ("BIM") as a comprehensive and holistic approach to conceptualizing, planning and designing buildings and similar facilities has at ist core more than the three dimensions of space, in other words, "BIM" only becomes BIM if it moves beyond 3D CAD spatial modeling:

BIM Dimension TIME:

A Building Information Model contains the time Dimension i.e.

- Duration

- Start / Earliest possible Start

- End / Latest possible End

- Sequence - what comes before, what Comes after what:

BIM Dimension COST:

A Building Information Model ALWAYS MUST CONTAIN COSTS:

- Cost of creating / procuring / delivering a building element

- Cost of placing a building element in a certain technical and/or spatial relation to other building elements AND/OR cost of joining a building element in a certain physical and spatial relation to other building elements

- Cost variators regarding volume of building elements added to a building

- Cost of risk created by a building element either in itself or in physical, technical and spatial relationship to other elements

- Cost of dismantling

- Cost of Recycling and depsoing.

So, in short, ANY BIM effort worthy of using that Level must contain a full treatment of costs.

Please let me know how helpful this is for you.

-Peter-

BIM Models should not contain every data that is imaginable. I would rather suggest to keep models small and lean and link/refer to information residing elsewhere.

E.g. for costing, I would not place unit costs in the model. This belongs in a cost DB, but the model should be structured so it can refer to all required costing rules. This can be done by adding appropriate classifications to the objects.

E.g. for timing: you need to link objects with activities and then in an external planning system you define start/end time of activities and their interdependencies.

Don't put all these attributes in the model.

Both of these dimensions, which among others Prof. Dr. Georg Franck-Oberaspach, professor for architecture and spatial planning at the Technical University of Vienna, who has published on "BIM" even befofre that label was invented, calls "dimensions" in his earlier publications. After the three spatial dimensions, the fourth is time, which, as I wrote above, is not so much duration as sequence. And the fifth is cost - see above (please do not reduce it to simplistic "unit cost"!).

If one does not want to have these two information classes (each with a lot of subclasses) in a building Information model, then we are back at what the software industry and all those CAD service providers would love to have: A three-dimensional CAD Software program with a new fancy label pasted onto it, but without all the heavy lifting.

BIM is a tremendous amount of grinding work, and it is not for the architects only - or rather, it IS for those architects who accept the total challenge of their tremendous profession.

A technical comment to add: A BIM model is always a unified coherent model. If data is kept in different logical or physical data Containers is not relevant.

One of the principal ideas behind Lean Construction is Pull Planning/Scheduling. A BIM model can be used to simulated construction schedule using software such as Bentley Navigator or Autodesk Navisworks. However it not until you link software like Navigator to ConstructSim where construction work packages can be managed that you can truly enter the real of Pull Scheduling. At that point a BIM model becomes another tool in the tool box to assist in planning.

Here is a simple explanation (answer) to your question: if you consider lean philosophy as elminination of 'wastes' (read the work of Lauri Koskela on this), you will find that the essence of lean is to reduce/eliminate idleness, reworking, waiting, disproportionate value (i.e. doing more than necessary even when minimum value is required) and systemic inefficiencies. There are many approaches to achieving this, chief amongst which is the commitment to looking ahead and effective planning. BIM, through process simulation, helps to achieve this. Through Navisworks for instances, you can model your constuction processes, visualise where non-lean observables might be and plan against them. BIM also gives you the opportunity to try out multiple alternative decisions - having multiple options while making decisions helps planners to maximise value. In summary, you will find that you can simulate every component of a project's lean lifecycle and determine how best to run things and achieve the best value.

Hope this helps.

Your question is not very specific, but I think that what Oluwole said is correct in principle. It might help you reading the Uni of Salford research about Lean in Construction with BIM.

Regards

Thank you all for your valuable answers

So what will you do with These answers? Which parts are significant, which less so? What is your specific Feedback? I believe all of us who have worked to supply you with Information have deserved a thoughtful answer from you. Thank you!

Peter Prischl, when i first started my research i was looking at the collaboration of BIM and IPD, now i have been digging deeper into the various risk factors that are involved in IPD which also includes technological risk ( implementation of BIM ), but the answers you have provided to me are very valuable.

Looking at TIME and COST factors like you have mentioned must be an integral part of the implementation to have an overall control of the project through the life cycle rather than BIM being merely a 3D design tool.  BIM is adopted for cost effectiveness and efficiency, without these two factors, there is no point in implementing BIM to complex projects. "Cost of risk created by a building element either in itself or in physical, technical and spatial relationship to other elements" is more interesting to me as i am now looking into risks associated in implementing IPD. I would love to know more along these lines.

Stefan Boeykens, i totally agree with the benefits of BIM in lean project delivery, where the effort is directed into the source that generates information which provides results through all stages of the project.

Patrice Poyet, I meant constraints more like the objectives such as the size, scope, deliverable s of the project, and the need for implementation of BIM to meet those objectives. 

Thank you George Macknight for the insight.

Oluwole Alfred Olatunji,Angelos Kontopoulos thank you for the reference to the journals, it really helped.

Sahiti, what a solid closure - you are to be commended for this!

All the best to you,

Peter

Nice to read that our comments have been useful. This should happen more, as it really gives an incentive of doing the effort of interacting on these platforms.