Why BIM for Healthcare?

Of all the industries that are going to benefit from BIM, healthcare is probably the leading one. Because hospitals are very complex buildings with an awful lot of building services(mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) to coordinate with the structural elements. Cost and schedule are crucial here & quality control can literally be a matter of life and death. Realizing this, many healthcare facilities are now requiring the inclusion of BIM as part of the preconstruction bid process.

Advantages :

• Having a fully integrated BIM model properly implemented, can streamline design, approvals, construction, and operations/maintenance for the healthcare sector's massive projects. It also simulates process and material distribution, patient and staff flow, and M/E/P activities.
• An office building may have four moving parts, whereas a hospital will have 50 or 100 moving parts. By modeling healthcare projects, the early adopters of BIM are seeing reduced project costs, shortened schedules, and increased project quality. The biggest gains are the result of improved coordination of ultra-complex building systems and the ability for real-time visualization with Building Team members and clients
• Here the architectural team collaborated with the structural, mechanical, and electrical engineers to create an integrated BIM model to map out the complex building systems design.
• By including hospital administrators and staff in the 4-D modeling process, conflicts between construction and operations can be easily pinpointed
• Four-D modeling is not only about constructability in terms of making sure the contractor can phase things properly, it's also about conveying to the client that they'll stay operational through construction.”
• Parametric modeling can also provide a clearer vision of construction phasing for both the Building Team and the client. This is especially crucial for healthcare projects that involve renovations and additions to existing facilities and campuses that must remain fully operational during construction
• In addition, BIM is turning out to be a great way for experienced designers to train younger team members. Working on one file forces the team to communicate more, which leads to more ideas. As each team member works on the model, others can see and comment on their work, which helps the entire team learn. It also provides us with the potential to recognize and resolve challenges earlier on.