Responsibilities And Skills of a Bim Expert

 The topic of Building Information Modeling is gaining momentum in the construction industry. Compared to the conventional construction and planning processes, BIM does indeed change the way people think and act. This led to significant changes among a wide variety of project participants. It also shows that the BIM method implies a coordinating and cross-phase project role which is the bim expert. In order to be able to carry out the tasks of the BIM specialist, however, specific specialist knowledge, social and methodological skills as well as additional qualifications are required.

Profile And Duties of a Bim Expert

Current developments show that the BIM-oriented construction and planning processes do indeed imply a new, central role. On the one hand, this represents an important interface through the management, control and coordination of the flow of information in the project. On the other hand, it can also make a valuable contribution to the implementation of a central BIM strategy within a company. Successfully implementing BIM, ideally company-wide, can be a key to future competitive advantages.

The main responsibilities of a bim expert include structuring, maintaining and managing the building data model. He takes on the entire coordination of the BIM planning as well as the controls of the individual sub-models in order to merge them into a joint, consistent overall model. As the central point of contact for everyone involved in the project, the BIM specialist coordinates the schedule and cost plan. He is responsible for compliance with the guidelines and workflows that must be agreed beforehand.

The basic competence profile of a bim expert combines several heterogeneous areas of responsibility, so that there are many similarities with other professional fields, such as civil engineering, architecture or classic management. For example, technical plan reviews, organizational and administrative activities with regard to the BIM model, as well as coordination management are among his areas of responsibility. Here, the BIM specialist should have a particularly strong ability to communicate and work in a team. Since his area of ​​responsibility is strongly based on the virtual building model, special technical qualifications are also essential.

As part of the modeling, special skills are required for the construction of a BIM model and the maintenance and management of the model. Knowledge of the BIM methodology in general and specific IT skills in particular are essential here. This includes the ability to deal with the corresponding BIM software as well as programming knowledge. Furthermore, the bim expert develops a wide variety of document templates for all functional areas involved in the project or company-wide. Thus, this supports the integration of the BIM method into daily work processes.

In addition to these job characteristics, the bim expert is responsible for setting up and maintaining a network of experts.  He can exchange ideas about technical innovations as well as changes in standards and norms. This should include both national and international developments. Depending on how the company positions itself when introducing the BIM method, there are additional tasks that can go far beyond the project level.