When companies in the UK outsource Building Information Modelling (BIM) Services, they have a set of expectations. The essential ones include precision, seamless integration, and zero friction downstream. However, what do they usually get? A glorified 3D CAD model that looks good on paper. In reality, it is often architecturally hollow and computationally useless for operations!
Now, where’s the disconnect here? Is it the service provider’s inability to deliver the client’s expectations? In some cases, yes. But in most cases, it is the gap between what clients think they buy and what they specify in their briefs.
Per the BS EN ISO 19650 framework, BIM is more than just a geometry file. It is a structured, managed flow of digital assets across a building’s lifecycle. So, when a brief specifies nothing more than just a BIM Level 2 or a Revit model, the intended information outcomes can remain unclear. As providers of BIM Coordination Services, we’d like to address the gap in this blog. Therefore, we’ve highlighted some factors many UK clients receive when commissioning BIM services and the critical parameters most briefs fully miss.
The Deliverable: Geometry vs. Structured Asset Data
What Clients Get: A clean, coordinated 3D geometric model containing basic dimensional parameters.
What Briefs Fail to Specify: The exact Level of Information Need (LOIN).
Imagine a 3D model without asset data. What would you call it? A digital plasterboard. Usually, briefs demand geometric detail. But they ignore alphanumeric data needs. If your brief doesn’t define what data parameters you need for facility management, you will end up receiving a visually rich model that practically tells your facilities management team nothing!
COBie Data Drops: A Usable Database or Raw CSV Chaos?
What Clients Get: A compliance-tick Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) sheet dumped at Project Completion.
What Briefs Fail to Specify: Phased COBie Data Drops and validation rules.
COBie is supposed to populate the CAFM system without making manual entries. But if the brief doesn’t mandate data schema checks at RIBA Stage 3 (Spatial Coordination), your service provider will struggle to fill in COBie fields during handover. So, what will you get? A spreadsheet filled with duplicate asset tags, missing room locations, and non-standardised units that do not load into systems such as Maximo or Planon.
Clash Detection vs. True Spatial Coordination
What Clients Get: Automated clash detection reports generated by Navisworks or Solibri.
What Briefs Fail to Specify: Clash Tolerances and Clearance Zones.
Running a clash report takes a few button clicks. But resolving clashes isn’t as straightforward. It is complex and demands perfect engineering judgment. Most briefs request clash-free models. But they do not specify hard versus soft clash tolerances or critical operational clearances without specifying hard versus soft clash tolerances, or crucial operational clearances.
Open Standards (IFC) vs. Proprietary File Lock-In
What Clients Get: Native software files tied to a single software vendor.
What Briefs Fail to Specify: OpenBIM compliance via Industry Foundation Classes (IFC).
Five years after the project completion, clients often find themselves locked out of their own asset data. The reason? They cannot open old proprietary file formats without buying costly software licenses. Now, what does a robust brief specify? It mentions IFC 4 mapping standards, ensuring the digital twin stays accessible even if you change the software vendor later.
Common Data Environment (CDE) Ownership
What Clients Get: Access to a contractor’s temporary cloud portal during construction.
What Briefs Fail to Specify: Client-side CDE architecture and status code workflows.
Clients leave CDE setup fully to the main contractor. As a result, they lose the digital audit trail once the project is over. To avoid situations like these, briefs must mandate who owns the CDE container, how permissions are structured, and how metadata is logged.
As-Built Accuracy: Laser Scanning and Point Cloud Verification
What Clients Get: An as-built model that is simply the design model saved with a new file name.
What Briefs Fail to Specify: Scan-to-BIM verification thresholds and Point Cloud integration.
Construction involves several on-site modifications. Unless your brief specifies mandatory 3D laser scanning during key construction milestones, your handover model will reflect the architect’s intent. It will never represent real-world reality behind the ceiling tiles.
Unambiguous Exchange Information Requirements (EIR)
What Clients Get: Generic, copy-pasted template documents from old projects.
What Briefs Fail to Specify: Project Information Requirements (PIR) linked to business outcomes.
EIR fundamentally drives every BIM project. Most briefs use generic EIR templates. They ask for everything, thus increasing tender costs. However, a tailored EIR specifies exact responsibility matrices, such as who delivers what model component, at what stage, for what purpose. Clarity in each aspect eliminates duplicate work across architecture, structural, and MEP disciplines.
Unlock the Actual Lifecycle of BIM with Bimacme!
At Bimacme, we provide BIM Coordination Services. However, we go beyond just delivering services. Our experts delve into each aspect of your expectations (as our client), assisting you in creating a brief that fully aligns with your requirements and includes everything you want to create a practically useful structure. So, stop paying for digital clutter. Receive truly operational assets with our BIM coordination and MEP BIM Modelling Services. Email us at info@bimacme.com.