Practice Management Member Conversations

With the advent of Building Information Modeling and the collaborative nature of the BIM Model, how is your firm dealing with the liability of turning the model over to the contractor or the owner as the building moves into the construction phase?

We have been using Revit for several years as "our" tool, now the contractors are asking for the "keys to the tool box".  Any suggestions?

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John P. Ehrig FAIA, LEED AP
Vice President - Case Project Manager
Helman Hurley Charvat Peacock / Architects Inc.
Maitland FL
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You need to have a signed agreement with the contractor where they accept the model as it is turned over to them; that they agree to supply their subcontractors with the most updated version of the model.  
the Contractor has to take reasonable measures to prevent unauthorized access to the project model; distribute responsibility to subcontractors for the accuracy of updates and changes; and then take continued responsibility for updating the model, including control points, data elements and provide an updated copy of the files to the Architect at completion.;  You need to cover ""undetectable"" alterations to the data base.  In addition, the contractor must be responsible for the accuracy of all extracted data used for bidding and estimates;  and transmission of the information.  Someone (usually the contractor) must be responsible for updating and changes as the project progresses.  Revision and change tracking will be a lot of work, and the contractor should be responsible for this.

in addition, since structural pricing often occurs before the model has been completely set up, there should be some protection for the architect regarding changes as the 2-D information is evolved into 3-D information -- this usually involves a change to the pricing and some claims of ""iincomplete"" information. 

My experience has been that only the upper few tiers of subcontractors can actually use the model for bidding and construction; the other subs will typically build from and price from, a 2D set.  the extraction of the model information as to what constitutes the appropriate bidding package for various subcontracts is entirely the responsibility of the general contractor. 
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Anne Whitacre
Principal
Whitacre Ink
Seattle WA
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Managing liability issues around the sharing of information among the project team (Owner/AE/GC) is a function of establishing clear and complete agreements and expectations.  I would recommend that you ensure your Owners utilize the AIA forms of agreements and include supporting documents like the AIA E202-2008 Building Information Modeling Protocol Exhibit.

This document is intended to be used on any project that utilizes a Model.  The document is not a stand-alone document, but is intended to be attached as an exhibit to an agreement for design services or construction on a project where the parties intend to utilize a Model.  The document establishes the procedures and protocols the parties agree to follow with respect to the development and management of the Model throughout the course of the project.

The document establishes the requirements for the Model content at five progressive levels of completeness and the authorized uses of the Model content at each defined level of completeness.  Through a table the parties complete for each project, this document assigns authorship responsibility for each Model Element by project phase, also defines the extent to which Model Users may rely on the Model content, clarifies Model ownership, sets forth Model standards and file formats, and provided the scope of responsibility for Model management from the beginning to the end of the project.

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Michael Gilbert AIA
HCN
Brentwood TN
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-10-2010 11:22
From: Anne Whitacre
Subject: How does your firm deal with the liability issue of the BIM model

You need to have a signed agreement with the contractor where they accept the model as it is turned over to them; that they agree to supply their subcontractors with the most updated version of the model.  
the Contractor has to take reasonable measures to prevent unauthorized access to the project model; distribute responsibility to subcontractors for the accuracy of updates and changes; and then take continued responsibility for updating the model, including control points, data elements and provide an updated copy of the files to the Architect at completion.;  You need to cover ""undetectable"" alterations to the data base.  In addition, the contractor must be responsible for the accuracy of all extracted data used for bidding and estimates;  and transmission of the information.  Someone (usually the contractor) must be responsible for updating and changes as the project progresses.  Revision and change tracking will be a lot of work, and the contractor should be responsible for this.

in addition, since structural pricing often occurs before the model has been completely set up, there should be some protection for the architect regarding changes as the 2-D information is evolved into 3-D information -- this usually involves a change to the pricing and some claims of ""iincomplete"" information. 

My experience has been that only the upper few tiers of subcontractors can actually use the model for bidding and construction; the other subs will typically build from and price from, a 2D set.  the extraction of the model information as to what constitutes the appropriate bidding package for various subcontracts is entirely the responsibility of the general contractor. 
-------------------------------------------
Anne Whitacre
Principal
Whitacre Ink
Seattle WA
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