BIM methodology
the method, not just the model
BIM methodology is a way of working that brings together all the information of a construction or an installation in a three-dimensional model connected to a database, and organises how it is created, shared and maintained throughout the life of the asset. Above any software, BIM is a common working method. Here we explain it in a specific setting: the industrial plant that is already up and running.
Looking for the starting definition? What BIM is, in one honest sentence ↓
BIM methodology is a working method before it is software
It is easy to confuse BIM with “a 3D program”. The distinction matters: a program is a tool; BIM methodology is the working system that decides how a plant’s information is generated and shared so that it serves everyone who touches it.
In practice, adopting BIM methodology means agreeing a common language: what each element of the model represents, with what data, in what format and who maintains it. A wall stops being a line and becomes an object the model recognises; a pipe carries its material and diameter; an item of equipment, its specifications. On the basis of that agreement, a BIM system lets engineering, maintenance, operations and external suppliers work with the same truth, instead of with copies of drawings that contradict one another between offices.
The programs — Autodesk’s Revit for modelling, Navisworks for coordinating, or others — are the tools with which that method is applied; they can change and the methodology remains intact. That is why BIM does not depend on a single piece of software: it depends on the rigour with which the work is done.
BIM methodology is the method; the programs are the tools. The method defines how the plant’s information is created, organised and shared; the software only produces it. If you want the full definition and the difference between BIM and Revit, you will find it in what BIM is.
BIM technology: the tools that support the method
When BIM is applied to a plant that already exists, the method rests on a specific chain of technology. These are its links and what each one is for.
- 01 Laser scanner and point cloud The 3D laser scanner measures the real geometry of the plant and generates a point cloud: a metric replica of what is there today, including geometry that appears in no drawing. It is the starting point, true to the measured plant.
- 02 Modelling and coordination On that point cloud the as-built is modelled in Revit and the disciplines are coordinated in Navisworks, detecting clashes between structure, equipment and pipework before touching the plant. The open IFC format allows the model to be exchanged between different programs.
- 03 CDE platform A Common Data Environment (CDE), such as Autodesk Construction Cloud, holds a single version of the documentation and keeps it up to date, accessible to the owner, engineering firms and the plant from any device.
We do this work every day: setting up that chain of technology on a plant in operation, without stopping production. If you would like to see it applied to yours, start with the first link in the chain.
Two ways to apply the methodology: design BIM and capture BIM
Almost everything taught about BIM assumes you start from zero. But in industry the starting point is usually the opposite: a plant that has already been running for years.
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Design BIM New build
You start from a project that does not yet exist and design it in BIM before building it. This is what architects, engineering firms and construction companies do: the model is born before the installation and guides how it will be built.
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Capture BIM · what A3D does Existing plant
You start from an installation that already exists: it is measured with a laser scanner and its as-built BIM model is reconstructed, true to what is there today — not to the drawing from twenty years ago. The model comes afterwards, so that you can intervene on the measured reality.
Applying the methodology to an existing plant changes the order of the phases, but the method is the same: information organised in a model with data. That as-built model is the base on which an extension is planned, an item of equipment is replaced or a job is put out to tender with everything foreseen in advance. We develop the distinction in more detail in what BIM is; here we are interested in what it brings when your plant is already running.
Benefits of BIM in an industrial plant
In industry, the advantages of BIM are measured in better-made decisions. These are the benefits we see time and again on real process plants.
- 01 Project control 3D visualisation with the information inside the model makes it possible to validate an extension before building it and to foresee the result at every step, instead of discovering the problem with the crane already on site.
- 02 Cost control Measurements come from the model itself and are recalculated when it is modified. This gives a common yardstick for comparing the bids of different tenderers on the same as-built base.
- 03 Up-to-date base of digital assets An up-to-date model is a single source of truth: every department consults the plant with the same criteria, on standardised specifications, templates and processes.
- 04 Coordination with engineering firms When an external engineering firm comes in with a different way of working, the reference BIM model sets unified criteria and guarantees the quality and standardisation of what each party delivers.
- 05 Connected maintenance The model can be linked to the CMMS through a code matrix, so that technical documentation and maintenance speak the same language. It is the bridge to the digitisation of maintenance.
- 06 Decisions on what is real The underlying benefit: intervening on the real, measured condition of the plant, and not on a filed drawing that stopped matching the installation years ago.
The method asks something in return: rigour. Maintaining the nomenclature, the structure and the coordination of each element is work; and that rigour is precisely what makes the model reliable and the investment profitable in the medium term.
We bring these benefits to the field every day, plant by plant and sector by sector. If you want to see them applied to your specific installation, we will work it through with you.
How the BIM system is adopted in a plant that already exists
Bringing the methodology to a plant in operation is a reverse-engineering process: digitally reconstructing what is already built. These are its phases, as we carry them out.
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1 Capture of the real condition
The plant is laser-scanned to obtain the point cloud, with accuracy true to the measured plant and with production running. It is the starting point of the model.
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2 BIM modelling on the point cloud
On the point cloud the as-built model is reconstructed, interpreting the existing documentation and checking it against what the laser actually measured: structures, equipment, pipework and ducting.
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3 Data in every object
Each element of the model answers “what is this?”: material, function, specifications. This makes the model searchable and categorisable by systems, beyond shape.
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4 Check against the plant
The information is cross-checked with the operator or the plant manager, who knows the function of each item of equipment or which pipe fell out of use. Nobody knows the installation better than the person who operates it.
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5 Up-to-date BIM management
The documentation is centralised on a CDE platform and kept up to date as the plant changes. That homogeneous BIM management is what underpins audits, inspections and submissions to official bodies with consistent data.
Doing this does not usually require setting up an in-house department all at once. The volume of BIM work in industry is seasonal — one large project and then quieter periods — so the formula that works best is hybrid: the plant team provides knowledge of the process and its assets, and a specialist BIM engineering firm provides staff, its own libraries and the experience to build and maintain the model. It is, broadly speaking, industrial digitisation put into practice with good sense.
We do this process every day, from the first visit to the maintained model. If you would like to see it applied to your plant, there are two ways to take the first step.
If your plant already exists, the method starts by measuring it
If you have come this far looking to understand BIM and your installation has been running for years, the first step of the method is to capture your plant: measure what is there today and reconstruct its as-built model, true to reality. That is A3D’s work on industrial plants that are already built.
A3D applies BIM methodology by capture: it measures the plant with a laser scanner and reconstructs its as-built model true to the measured real condition, the base on which any intervention is decided.
Frequently asked questions about BIM methodology
Direct answers to the most common searches about “BIM methodology” and “BIM technology”, with the same rigour, even though they are entry-level concepts.
What is BIM methodology?
BIM methodology is a way of working that brings together all the information of a construction or an installation in a three-dimensional model connected to a database, and organises how that information is created, shared and maintained throughout the life of the asset. Above any particular software, it defines a common method: who provides what data, in what format and at what time. The programs — Revit, Navisworks or others — are the tools with which that method is applied.
What is the difference between BIM methodology and BIM technology?
The methodology is the working method; BIM technology is the set of tools that make it possible. In the digitisation of a plant that already exists, that technology includes the 3D laser scanner, the point cloud it generates, modelling programs such as Revit and coordination programs such as Navisworks, the open IFC format for exchanging models between different programs, and CDE platforms to keep the documentation up to date. The method leads; the technology supports it.
What are the benefits of BIM in industry?
In an industrial plant, the benefits of BIM are concrete: project control by validating an extension on the model before building it; cost control, with measurements that come from the model itself and are used to compare bids from different tenderers; an up-to-date base of digital assets that everyone consults with the same criteria; coordination with external engineering firms under a common reference model; and decisions taken on the real condition of the plant, not on a drawing filed away years ago.
Can BIM methodology be applied to a plant that already exists?
Yes. When the installation has already been running for years, the method is applied by capture: the plant is measured with a laser scanner, its as-built BIM model is reconstructed true to the measured plant, and any intervention is planned on that model. This is A3D’s work on industrial plants that are already built: starting from how the plant is today, not from how it was designed in its day.
Is an in-house BIM department needed to adopt the method?
A hybrid formula is usually enough: the plant team provides knowledge of the process and its assets, and a specialist BIM engineering firm provides staff, its own libraries and the experience to build and maintain the model. Many industries combine both depending on the workload, which in the sector is seasonal, instead of maintaining a large full-time team.
What technology is used to bring BIM to an industrial plant?
The 3D laser scanner captures the real geometry of the plant as a point cloud; on that point cloud the as-built is modelled in Revit with its data; the models are coordinated in Navisworks and exchanged in the open IFC format; and the documentation is kept up to date on a CDE platform, such as Autodesk Construction Cloud, accessible to the owner, engineering firms and the plant.
And yours, where does it stand?
The methodology is the theory; your plant is the specific case. If it is already built, the useful step is to know the state of your drawings before planning any works. Tell us about your plant: an A3D specialist will tell you in 15 minutes where to start, which area to survey first and with what scope.
Want the technical detail? See how the as-built model is built or review what BIM is.