Roles and Responsibility of BIM Manager on Projects

Roles and Responsibility of “BIM MANAGER” 1
WHAT ARE THE MAIN ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF ‘BIM MANAGER’ ON
PROJECTS?
By (Name)
Course
Professor’s name
University name
City, State
Date of submission

Roles and Responsibility of “BIM MANAGER” 2
Roles and Responsibility of “BIM MANAGER” on projects
Building Information Modelling is a new methodology employed in the construction
industry to overcome some of the challenges experienced over the past years such as delays in
the design process, poor delivery of projects, and cost overrun (Reddy, 2012). BIM has proofed
to be advantageous in developing the designs in a 3-dimensional model hence enhancing the
performance of the construction players in carrying out their activities in ease and efficiently
(Azhar, et al., 2012). Its use has significantly increased across the life cycle of projects from the
design stage to implementation and finally the maintenance cycle of the project. The concept of
BIM in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry has made all the
stakeholders in the construction project to get the knowledge behind the BIM tool to enable them
to collaborate and conduct their duties effectively (Azhar, 2011).
The BIM tool is used for different purposes by each of the construction player. It also
help clients to understand more of the project’s needs. The architects and engineers use BIM to
analyze and develop the project design (Porwal & Hewage, 2013). Meanwhile, the contractors
use BIM for managing the construction activities (Azhar, et al., 2012). Quantity surveyors use
the tool to produce the cost estimation while the facility managers use it for managing the
operations and maintenance purposes (Azhar, et al., 2012). However, in order to rip more
benefits in the BIM tool, the construction projects need to have a BIM manager to coordinate all
this activities with much more precision to avoid any kind of delays. Therefore, this urgent need
requires the industry to specifically have a BIM manager whose sole purpose will be integrate
and coordinate the understanding of the design model in order to help manage the project using
BIM tool. Therefore, this paper aims in identifying the main roles and responsibility of BIM
managers in a construction project. However, in the recent years, the job title of BIM manager

Roles and Responsibility of “BIM MANAGER” 3
has been utilized by the construction industry to enhance on their productivity. In fact, ever since
the term “Building Information Modelling “ emerge in the early 2000s, there has been job
opportunities for BIM managers tasked in managing the BIM tool (Bryde, et al., 2013).
Nevertheless, questions have a rise over the years on who are really BIM managers, what are
their roles, who can become a BIM manager and what are the minimum requirements to become
one. Their answers still remain to be unclear with different view and opinions emerging on this
debate.
Perhaps, in UK, the most common role of a BIM manager is the modernization of the
older CAD manager role, who is basically allocated the best and powerful CAD software as a
super user in the team (Gould & Joyce, 2009). The person ensure that the drawing outputs follow
a consistent layout that is in accordance with the standards of the company. Definitely, it seems
like a BIM manager is an improved version of a CAD manager (Gould & Joyce, 2009). This
means that the BIM manger has the central role of all the BIM related issues in a project and
whose sole responsibility is to manage all the BIM processes. The BIM manager main role is to
manage and supervise all matters related to BIM and ensure that they effectively support the
project implementation stage.
In most of the construction industry, the BIM manager role and responsibilities include
 Responsible in the construction of the BIM model creation and additional information
development during the construction process to ensure that all the standards involved in
the building codes are followed to certify the project for approval purposes (Gu &
London, 2010).