The real benefit of BIM is customer satisfaction

Our retail clients spend a lot of time trying to understand what their customers want, like and need in order to make them happy and loyal. In the construction industry prioritising and monitoring customer satisfaction is often absent from the project objectives, not recognised as a key performance indicator (KPI), and rarely a shared vision.

There is a lot of speculation about how Building Information Modelling (BIM) will benefit the construction industry and there is no doubt that by automating processes there are many efficiency gains to be had. But while individual supply chain members seek to understand the benefits BIM makes available to their own part of the process and what they personally will gain from it, the overall benefit that BIM offers to the industry is overlooked. This overall benefit of BIM is customer satisfaction.

BIM by its nature is client-centric and can, used well, deliver a better service.  Some of the most pertinent benefits of BIM include:

  • Making contract documents more accurate
  • Improving communication
  • Reducing the costs associated with errors and coordination problems
  • Providing the client with better visibility and certainty of the outcome
  • Improving project budgeting and cost management
  • Improving safety
  • Reducing the need for meetings and RFIs
  • Speeding up scheduling processes
  • Ultimately producing a less defective end product

Meanwhile, customer satisfaction comes from exceeding expectations, that means not just meeting the basic need for a building, but also providing services that meet and exceed their specific individual requirements, as a result delivering something extra. By placing too much emphasis on the financial gains made from small improvements in process and management, the opportunity for real change using the BIM process will be lost. It is time to collectively focus on the client.

Take a look at the BIM model animation below. This shows the BIM modelling process for a large supermarket. At each stage of the modelling process the client is able to interrogate data, simulate, expand, enhance and coordinate the model.

Video supplied by our BIM specialist division – Cadnet

The key to successful BIM is collaboration. This does not necessarily mean that individuals are participating in the BIM process, but they can work with their modelling team to ensure that the BIM model continues to meet their needs and offer building intelligence throughout the lifecylce of the building. Many traditional industry divisions and constructs will need to be overcome for the collaboration to happen.

There is a shortage of independent advice and support available to the construction industry, and this is where we fit in. Our experience in BIM implementation allows us to advise and support clients, professionals and contractors either collectively or individually to deliver a better service and not just a better building. We want to ensure that clients make a real gain from their investment in BIM, and ultimately that they have a satisfied customer.

Mark Johnson, National Accounts Manager – C A Design Services