Building Information Modelling or BIM Benefits Structural Engineers to Design, Visualize, Analyze, Simulate and Document projects efficiently. With BIM authoring tools like Autodesk Revit, ArchiCAD, Vectorworks etc. the Structural Engineers can virtually develop the building structure. 3D modelling tools helps structural engineers and designers to create models for documentation and coordination. The constant model updating with any changes in the design or general specifications and keeping all the data as accurate as possible are the main advantages of BIM for structural engineers. BIM transforms the way we handle and visualize components. The most important benefits of BIM for structural engineers are productivity, Coordination and consistency of Data, and improved 3D Visualization and Simulation of problems and situations.
Benefits of BIM for Structural Engineers are Productivity, Coordination and Data Consistency, and Improved Visualization and Simulation of problems.

BIM Benefits for Structural Engineers

1. Coordination

The involvement of different stakeholders in a build project increases the efforts to be put in for coordination and bring in more opportunities for errors and re-works. If a change is made by the structural engineer to a design element, and the same is not updated by the drafter, the documents become out of sync, affecting the validity of the design produced. The collaborative nature of the BIM Process not only allows the project team to coordinate better, but also better design decisions can be locked using the data driven business model. The coordination issues can be identified and solved within the design phase rather than extending them to the development phase, thereby improving accuracy and reducing errors.

2. Productivity

Structural Engineers spend more time in coordination activities than into Design & Value Engineering. Use of BIM can reduce the time spend in coordination and allows Structural Engineers to focus all their efforts in solving problems, instead of constantly checking for errors or coordinating the changes made.

The data driven BIM process enables the Structural Engineers in providing creative solutions for problems. The Engineers can easily isolate and filter any area of the building structure of special interest and can visualize the same in 3D. This provides better project insights, enhancing its understanding and facilitating the process of solving problems and coming up with ideas. BIM reduces the design and drafting errors and hence provides with lower designing cost and improved productivity.

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3. Team Building & Knowledge Sharing

Both relation and productive aspects are covered and can bring great advantages with the use of BIM Process in the construction workflow. The relationship between the various technical experts who are able to exchange and share knowledge gets developed by sharing of models and it increases skills and productivity for the whole team.

4. Visualization & Simulation

Visualization of projects using various tools also helps improve the predictability and the behavior of a structure. The Structural Stability and Performance Analysis can be easily performed using the 3D virtual model developed in the BIM Process. The ability to create simulations and check different structural layout is yet another relevant benefits of BIM.

The process of explaining complex situations can be simplified through rendering and animations which can be easily generated from the BIM Model. These visualizations can be used to present ideas in a better way, helping teams communicate more effectively.

Conclusion

Structural Engineers can transform even the most complex models into reality using BIM and allows a much more detailed modelling with a larger variety of materials, utilizing less time and resources. Structural Designers can thus focus more on what is essential rather than unproductive.

Amitha Jacob

Amitha Jacob is a Civil Engineering graduate from Christ Knowledge City College of Engineering & Technology. Being a BIM enthusiast she is working as a BIM Engineer in BIMEX Engineers. She is interested in Travelling and reading.

This Post Has 3 Comments

  1. Monarch Innovation Pvt. Ltd.

    Very good Article About BIM Benefits Structural Engineers it’s really helpful for the reader

  2. Roshini

    Thanks for sharing. BIM has indeed made the life of structural engineers easier.

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