The Basics of BIM ..... Staffing for BIM

As you rethink the process of design and documentation, one of the fundamental changes
you will need to address is staffing. A common misconception of project management when
teams are first moving from CAD to BIM is that staffing the project will be the same in both
workflows. This couldn’t be further from the truth because when the workflow changes: staffing allocations, the time to complete tasks, and the percentage of work by phase are all affected as a result of the changes.

Staffing for BIM

Several years ago, Patrick MacLeamy, FAIA, set out to illustrate the fundamental benefit to
more informed design that happened to be a by-product of building information modeling.
The graph, which has come to be known as the MacLeamy Curve, is not intended to imply a simple shift in labor earlier in the design process; rather, it stresses the importance of being
able to make higher-value decisions before it becomes too difficult to make changes to a design. The x-axis of the chart represents project phases from conceptual design through occupancy, whereas the y-axis represents the amount of effort in each phase.

Understanding Project Roles

With such a significant change in the effort behind a BIM-based project workflow, it’s also
important to understand how this change affects the various roles and responsibilities for the
project team. Project managers need to be able to predict staffing and time to complete tasks throughout the project phases and have relied on past precedent of staff and project types to do this.

Architect Generates design intent and coordinates issues such as material, code compliance, wall type, spatial program, and so on.
Modeler Creates 2D or 3D content that directly represents the design intent.
Drafter Works with annotations, sheet layout, view creation, and detail creation.

Describing the Role of the Architect

The role of the architect is to generate the design intent and manage the technical issues
of the project. As the model is being created, you will naturally have to solve issues like
constructability and wall types, managing the program of spatial and equipment requirements, as well as other issues involving code compliance and client relationships. This role includes the following tasks:

• Leading the creation of architectural elements and building from within the model

• Designing around code requirements and other building logistics

• Constructability and detailing aspects of the design

Describing the Role of the Modeler

The role of the modeler.in some firms referred to as the BIM coordinator.is to create and
manage the 3D families and detail components needed in the project, which includes all the
parametric families for things such as windows, doors, casework, wall types, stairs, railings,
furnishings, and so on. Typically, this role is the responsibility of less-experienced staff who
might not be able to fulfill the role of architect.  

This role includes the following tasks:

• Creating model content and families

• Creating drafting components

• Managing system families within the project

Describing the Role of the Drafter

The role of the drafter is to create sheets and embellish associated views with annotations or other 2D content. The drafter is responsible for the bulk of the work needed to document the project. 

This role includes the following tasks:

•  Keynoting

• Dimensioning

• Creating sheets and configuring views

• Creating schedules