BIM Terminologies

BIM Collaboration Format (BCF)

BIM Collaboration Format (BCF) can be defined as an open format that allows for the addition of textual comments, screenshots and more on top of the IFC (Issued For Construction) model layer for better communication between coordinating parties.

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BIM Maturity Level

BIM maturity levels can be defined as a well-defined set of milestones representing the extent of BIM maturity. The different levels of BIM maturities are Level 0 BIM, Level 1 BIM, Level 2 BIM, Level 3 BIM.

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Green BIM

Using Building Information Modeling (BIM) along with sustainable design and construction techniques is referred to as Green BIM.

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Integrated Project Delivery (IPD)

A delivery approach integrating all aspects of a project collaboratively throughout all phases of design, fabrication, and construction by shared risks and benefits among all project participants – architects, technical consultants, builders, general contractors and specialty contractors.

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Model Rendering

Rendering is a process of generating a realistic or non-photorealistic model from a 2D or 3D CAD model using softwares.

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Request For Quotation (RFQ)

Request For Quotation (RFQ), is a process where customer seeks the information regarding the project from the vendors, before the execution of his project.

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Spider Glazing

Spider glazing is a high-grade stainless steel fixing used for mounting frameless glass, and absorbing the static and dynamic loads, including the dead weight of glass, and distributing it equally into all parts. This is a flexible and contemporary design medium used to design frameless glass facades which are mounted onto point supports.

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Construction Documentation

Construction documentation is a stage of creating documents related to the project, which includes the drawing of plans, elevations, and sections, schedule and estimates.

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Request For Information (RFI)

A request for information (RFI) is a business process sent by one party to another to collect, confirm or clarify a specific information such as the latter’s technical capabilities, the interpretation of a certain item in the bid document or drawings or clarification of design intent, using a standard format.

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Modular Construction

Modular construction is a type of construction process, where certain factory-produced pre-engineered building units are produced and transported to the work site for assembling those modules into a single large volumetric structure.

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Revit Family

Families are certain groups of components created to do a modeling project. Components included doors, windows, walls, stairs, etc. Different families are created for different sizes of the components. When a change is made to a single component, it reflects in rest other components, which is the major specialty of Revit families.

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Lonely BIM

The practice wherein the models produced by one party are not exchanged with the other, be it an organization or an individual. This is the opposite of social BIM wherein project participants collaborate on model exchange.

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AEC

AEC is a collective abbreviation for all industries that fall under the architecture, engineering and construction umbrella. All professionals and stakeholders may have a common goal which is the completion of a project in an efficient and cost-effective way with the best possible outcome.

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BIM Execution Plan (BEP)

A pre-contract BEP is a plan prepared by the suppliers and service providers bidding in a project to address the Employer’s Information Requirements (EIR) describing their capability, competence and experience, along with their assigned roles and their responsibilities as well as other related documentation such as standards to be applied and procedures to be followed. Once the contract is awarded a number of other documents are also submitted such as Master Information Delivery Plan (MIDP) and Project Implementation Plan (PIP).

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Parametric Modeling

Generation of a model using a set of attributes called parameters that are interlinked automatically such that by modifying the value of one, the others get adjusted automatically thereby changing the shape of the model.

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Prefabrication

The practice of offsite assembling of the components of a structure in a workshop or other manufacturing sites prior to its installation on the site. The prefabricated components (sub-assemblies) are then transported to the erection site for complete installation.

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BIM Maturity Index (BIMMI)

The term ‘BIM Maturity’ refers to the level of quality, repeatability and competence demonstrated in BIM services. BIM Maturity is the criteria for assessing the ability of an organization/industry/country to deliver a BIM service/ project. BIMMI has five distinct Maturity Levels: (a) Initial/Ad-hoc, (b) Defined, (c) Managed, (d) Integrated and (e) Optimized.

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BIM Level

BIM Level refers to the criteria required to be deemed BIM-compliant. The various progressive milestones in the process of BIM adoption are defined within a range from 0 to 3- Level 0 BIM, Level 1 BIM, Level 2 BIM & Level 3 BIM.

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Lean Construction

A construction management method that aims to minimize waste in materials, time, effort and maximize value across both design and construction phases of a project.

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5D

Linking ‘Cost’ within the 4D (3D + time) Model gives the Fifth Modeling Dimension. The objective is to generate cost estimates and to practice Target Value Design.

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BIM Adoption

BIM Adoption refers to either BIM Implementation, BIM Diffusion, or a mixture of the two terms.

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4D Modeling

4D Building Information Modeling refers to the linking of time/schedule-related information as the 4th dimension to the existing 3D CAD models/components.

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Quantity Take-Offs (QTO)

Quantity Take-Offs (QTO) can be defined as the detailed measurements of materials and labor needed for the completion of a construction project. They are created during the preconstruction phase.

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BIMForum

BIMForum is a not-to-profit organization whose mission is to explore the latest technologies & innovations in BIM Modelling which can be introduced to AEC Industry. This improves the design and development quality of an AEC related project.

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2D Drawing

2D drawings are 2 Dimensional representations of buildings, structures or objects created by a 2D software such as AutoCAD, using lines, arcs and curves.

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Integrated Model

A BIM model that integrates all multi-disciplines into one merging all trades into a single file. This model is collectively managed and shared by all stakeholders at various stages of the project lifecycle from design through construction to facility management.

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General contracting

General contracting is a supervisory work which includes managing or building a project designed by someone else. The person who does this job is called as a General Contractor.

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Builders Work Drawing

Builders work drawing generally mentions about the wall & slab openings which include openings for exhaust pipe opening, waste vent pipe, soil vent pipe, etc.

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Open BIM

Open BIM is the term used for the approach or process of collaborating on the design, realization, and operation of buildings using non-proprietary BIM models, open standards and related data. This is an initiative of buildingSMART and as well as a few other leading software providers. It allows all project stakeholders to participate regardless of which software they use.

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Spool Drawing

Spool is an assembly of pipe and associated systems which can be prefabricated in a workshop and can be just assembled in the worksite. Spool drawings are used by plumbers for the installation of various devices in the worksite.

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Social BIM

The practice wherein various project participants collaborate for model exchange, be it an organization or an individual. This is the opposite of lonely BIM wherein the models produced by one party are not exchanged with another.

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As-Built Drawings

As-Built drawings or Record Drawings or red-line drawings are the set of drawings that capture how the contractor built the project and what changes were made at the construction site. These changes may include design changes, modifications, field changes, etc.

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Shop Drawings

A shop drawing is a drawing or set of drawings that are required for the production of prefabricated components. Shop drawings are typically produced by fabricators, manufacturers suppliers or subcontractors.

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4D

4D represents the fourth dimension of time. 4D BIM adds an additional dimension to the 3D BIM which is essentially the time, enabling the generation of a construction process sequence on a timeline, or in other words, construction scheduling.

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Structural Analysis

Structural analysis refers to the assessment of the effects of static/dynamic loads on a physical structure. It is performed to ensure the reliability and durability of structures such as buildings, bridges, vehicles or mechanical systems for developing a design that performs under the desired circumstances.

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Point Cloud

Point cloud is a set of data points in a 3-dimensional coordinate system defined by X, Y, Z coordinates representing the external surface of an object. The cloud data is gathered using 3D Laser Scanners or some other technology to create a 3D mesh which may then be used to create a 3D BIM model.

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COBie

COBie (Construction Operations Building Information Exchange) refers to an international non-proprietary data exchange format to capture and deliver the managed asset information of a building, bridge or a machine. This information is used by the facility managers to maintain, operate, and track the assets within the structure/project. It can be viewed in design, construction or asset management software or even in spreadsheets.

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Bill of Quantities (BOQ)

Bill of Quantities or BOQ is a list of all constructional components, building materials & prefabricated items to be used in a project. BOQ is mostly used in the tendering & procurement stage of a project for preparing a cost estimate for the items to be purchased.

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As-Built Model

As-Built Model refers to the ‘As-is’ 3D representation of a product or building in its existing condition.

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3D CAD

A broad definition for 3D CAD is a three-dimensional digital representation of a product or building. It often embeds only a minimum level of detail, commonly generated through surface modeling (using Trimble SketchUp) and solid modeling (using 3DS Max) unlike a BIM model (Revit, ArchiCAD, FAB MEP, Inventor, etc) that embeds a high level of detailing.

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