BIMForum: A resource for collaboration and successful BIM implementation

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The BIMForum provides an interdisciplinary venue to facilitate and accelerate the adoption of building information modeling (BIM) in the AEC industry.

“We will lead by example and synchronize with counterparts in all sectors of the industry to jointly develop best practice for virtual design and construction (VDC),” says BIMForum’s mission statement. “We will share our experiences and execute our goals via online forums, highly useful deliverables and practical industry conferences. We will revolutionize the building industry.”

The Orlando BIMForum Conference

The upcoming BIMForum conference, an annual event, this year in Orlando from Oct. 20 to 21, provides intensive and comprehensive resources for anyone in the AEC industry to dig deeply into BIM’s practical applications, challenges, and trends.

The 2015 Orlando forum will focus on VDC for Design Phase Management and Pre-construction.

The use of virtual design and construction (VDC) techniques is becoming more widespread in just about every global economy,” says the conference brief. “Governments, such as in the United Kingdom, are even setting targets for required VDC/BIM within the next few years. We would like to explore how the utilization of VDC techniques in the design and planning phase are ultimately impacting our project outcomes.

“With architects, engineers, builders, and design-assist trade contractors widely using VDC tools during the design and planning phase, how is this early utilization impacting our ultimate project outcomes?

“How are we engaging this newly transparent model based design process? Or are we still missing key interfaces or cross-disciplinary understanding? Are we managing and coping with the iterative design process better, or simply locking in designers earlier? Are we still glorifying the printed set, or have we truly found a new medium of communication (and what does it look like?)”

For information and to register to attend the conference, see http://meetings.bimforum.org/annual.

BIMForum’s organization

The BIMForum operates as a unified group, chaired by John Tocci of Tocci Building Corporation, based Woburn, MA. Ten subforums address each relevant industry sector and topic. “These subforums collaborate with each other and other industry organizations (AIA, NIBS, NIST, IAI, C3T, 3xPT, CURT, etc.) on interdisciplinary projects to accelerate the adoption of BIM,” the BIMForum website reports.

Here are the subforums with contact information

Academic Subforum
Mission: To develop BIM curriculum, support academic research and foster discussion between BIM programs at various universities and colleges.
Chair: Guillermo Salazar, WPI

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Vice-chair: Michael Puddicombe, Norwich University

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Insurance Subforum
Mission: To identify risks, to support enhancements and improvements to existing insurance policies, and to support the development of new insurance policies which relate to the project and project participant’s use of BIM technology and processes.

Subcontractors’ Subforum
Chair: Michael Hastings, Marsh

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Mission: To perform a key role in the AGC BIMForum to ensure ongoing success in IPD and BIM and to provide the AGC BIMForum with the subcontractors pool of knowledge and opinion to ensure equitable and quality output.

Legal Subforum
Mission: To reduce the perception that BIM increases liability for architects or contractors, through open discussion of liability, new contracts and insurance.
Chair: Pat O’connor, Faegre & Benson LLP

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Vice-chair: Carl Roberts, Ballard Spahr LLP

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Owners’ Subforum
Mission: To become the primary resource for Owner’s who are exploring how to understand and procure BIM related services in order to influence the use of BIM throughout the industry.
Chair: Maureen McDonough, Harvard University

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