7 reasons why a connected workflow will make a huge difference for your BIM project!

It’s no secret that construction projects require continuous coordination, from design up until delivery. The real secret, however, is how teams execute this coordination. That is what sets apart the good from the best.

If you’re reading this, chances are that you’re looking to enhance your BIM workflow. You’re at the right place! Let’s explore how a connected workflow will save you time and money in 7 essential points:

1) Connect with stakeholders from all fields

You enjoy using your favorite BIM software? Awesome! But here’s the thing: we often get so passionate about our favorite tools that we forget some of the most important stakeholders in our project: the clients, the data experts, the business developers, etc.

These users want to collaborate on the project, but don’t have access to BIM software and/or don’t have the knowledge required to navigate through them. However, no one should have to be a tech guru to participate in a project and communicate about any issues that occur. Using a BIM collaboration tool such as BIMcollab Nexus ensures anyone can participate. It is a user-friendly and powerful platform for communication that any stakeholder can use without problem.

With a connected workflow, nobody is left out. There is no need for long emails. No need to ‘look up what was that problem about and circle back’. No need to keep on running in circles. All history related to any issue is right at your fingertips. Together, you and your team can inspect, comment, solve, and close.

2) Centralize all data and be prepared

Let’s explore a scenario you will probably be familiar with. Your meeting starts in an hour, and you still have to prepare all issues that must be discussed! We don’t want to cause any panic here but well, time is ticking, and there are two possible options:

Option 1:
You sort through your emails, searching for a specific question received from the MEP team about Building C. Then, you check the solution proposed by the architecture team. Can’t find it in your emails? Oh, it must have been in a chat! By the way, do you remember that PDF you received from the structural team?

With information everywhere, it might take a while to centralize it in your general tracking spreadsheet. Especially if you want to cross-check all the redundant issues. Not quite there yet? Sorry, the meeting has already started.

Option 2:
In a better world, BIMcollab Nexus centralizes your issues in one location and takes all tedious work out of the equation. You can focus on what really matters! In one click, you can find and filter all issues in Building C ahead of your meeting. And why not automatically generate a report about the most urgent issues? Two minutes. Done. You can now use the remaining 58 minutes of your hour to catch up on some other tasks. How convenient!

3) Solve issues through a complete workflow

Do you remember that meeting yesterday? There must have been a fair share of issues to solve! That could take ages without a BCF Manager connected to your modeling software. Fortunately, you can connect BIMcollab Nexus with your favorite BIM tool through our numerous plugins. Imagine how easy it is to filter your outstanding issues, double-click and be directed to the issue directly in your 3D model in your modeling software!

But what about the team leader or the BIM Manager who must check the changes and approve them on his/her end? This is exactly what’s impeccable in BIMcollab Nexus. Every single step of BIM collaboration and issue management has been thought through. From detecting issues to communicating about them, all the way to solving and closing the issues.

For example, if implemented, a team leader can be the only one who has the rights to close issues. This replicates the need for revisions and checks that are often regulated within a company. Team members can still solve an issue, which is then redirected to the team leader for a final check, all within Nexus!

The circularity of the BIMcollab ecosystem is apparent: no matter which BIM tools you use, it brings great advantages if you centralize all issues and improve communication with your team members from different disciplines or firms. Now, you can spend your time on actual results!

4) Track the progress of your project

‘You can’t control what you can’t measure!’. This saying feels particularly accurate in the context of a construction project where many different parameters are always at play. Different phases. Different disciplines. Different issues!

But then again, a dilemma emerges here. Spending precious hours to gather and organize data could be a roadblock to quick progress on the project. However, it is a whole different story when these metrics are automatically generated! In that case, all you have to do is inspect the statistics and act on them. Nexus’ automated graphs are always up-to-date and follow the real-time progress of your project. You can even analyze the progress of different projects at the same time! No more precious hours wasted on data gathering.

5) Keep issues confidential

Once you start tracking all issues, you will quickly realize how numerous they are. There is obviously a need to categorize them. Of course, you can achieve this through filtering the issues related to the parameters in your project. That in itself is quite powerful, but there is more within Nexus!

How about only showing the architectural team the issues relevant for them? You can apply the same thing for any other team, whether it is an internal division or an external stakeholder. It will help you keep issues confidential within each team, while at the same time giving you an easy and practical way to organize the never-ending list of issues! After all, why should one see the issues they do not have to act upon?

6) Customize your BIM workflow with controlled information

The BIM requirements you set up for your last project were quite the achievement. How nice would it be to standardize them and share them with your colleagues? There are many details that can make all the difference in a BIM workflow. Creating project templates, standardizing paramaters across your projects, and making sure that all the information you and your team need is available.

Let us consider an example. A team member creates an issue about a clash they discovered. They take a screen capture, write a brief description, and save it. That sounds great, until you realize the issue hasn’t been linked to a zone in the project, has no responsible person assigned, and you have no idea how urgent it is.

This is where mandatory fields can be helpful. For example, a BIM Manager could set requirements to fill the zone to which an issue belongs, assign team members, as well as a deadline for it to be solved. Since this information is now required, no one can create an issue without it!

You can even take a next step by implementing custom fields with values that are specific to each project. If the parameters you set are not enough, you can simply set up your own. If you then ensure filling out this information is required, there is no limit to the quality of information you can gather.

Needless to say, the above setups are almost impossible to implement manually. But you can certainly implement them through BIMcollab Nexus! In fact, they are the backbone of an effective, centralized issue management workflow! It enables the automatic generation of accurate stats and metrics, as all the information needed is available, controlled and answers the custom needs of each project.

7) Always access to the latest models

When we say connected workflow, there’s still a piece of the puzzle that’s missing: access to your latest models! With BIMcollab’s ecosystem, it’s possible to get that link in more ways than one.

For example, if you already use Autodesk Docs or Trimble Connect to store your models, you can instantly access them through BIMcollab Nexus. No model management needed in addition to the setup that you already have!

Looking back, the defining factors of a connected workflow are quite simple! Who doesn’t want to implement a BIM process that helps you save precious hours? That helps you automate your boring tasks? That allows you to communicate better with all your team members? And, to top it all, that gets you better project results? Anyone wants that.