Building information modeling is one of those terms with a changing definition. In the residential construction world, it's a holistic process that solves many challenges in a building's evolution including timelines, accuracy, minimizing files, collaboration and eliminating waste.

“BIM is such a misunderstood term. BIM is not a software; it's a process,” says Jay Moore, business development director, Ameri-CAD, an ITW company based in Allen, Texas. “If you are sharing information up and down the chain, you are sharing BIM data.”

Using Ameri-CAD's VisionREZ software, designers can create 3-D models, construction documents, add products such as windows and doors into a design, export a bill of materials and share that file with the manufacturer. “We created a link to export our model into manufacturers' solutions,” Moore says. “We populate the architectural model with the manufacturer's data and create a bill of material. It's a bidirectional link, collaboratively sharing data with the supply chain.”

An important part of successful BIM is working with manufacturers. “SoftPlan allows you to place real manufacturer objects in a house. Fixtures will show up accurately in the construction documents, 3-D model and on the material list,” says John Jones, vice president, SoftPlan.

Cadsoft's Envisioneer residential BIM tool works with other BIM solutions on the market to create a complete system. “We integrate with other leading BIM solutions in the market including iLevel's Javelin software for engineered wood and MiTek Sapphire Structure for trusses and structural components,” says Brad Finck, vice president, Cadsoft. “We also integrate with Keymark for whole-home analysis. Most recently we created a bidirectional link with 20-20 software for communicating with kitchen and bathroom design specialists. They can do the full kitchen or bathroom design and send it back to us.”

Learning Curve, Challenges

As with any new technology or business practice, there's a learning curve. Design software creators offer support to minimize the curve. “We offer free seminars to our current users - several webinars every week from introductory-level to very specific. We also offer an extensive video library with more than 400 training videos,” says Scott Harris, vice president, sales and marketing, Chief Architect. The company also provides support staff with building industry background.