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The term itself is not in favor throughout the construction industry, and it is yet to be seen whether it will win over alternatives, which include:
  • Virtual Building Environment (VBE)

  • Virtual Building

  • BuildingSMART


BIM is often associated with IFCs ( Industry Foundation Classes ) and AecXML , which are data structures for representing information used in BIM. IFCs were developed by the International Alliance For Interoperability . There are other data structures which are proprietary, and many have been developed by CAD firms that are now incorporating BIM into their software.

Proponents claim that BIM offers:
#Improved productivity due to easy retrieval of information
#Embedding and linking of vital information such as vendors for specific materials, location of details and quantities required for estimation and tendering
#Increased speed of delivery
#Reduced costs

In August 2004 the US National Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST ) issued a report entitled "Cost Analysis of Inadequate Interoperability in the U.S. Capital Facilities Industry" ( NIST GCR 04-867 (PDF) , which came to the conclusion that, as a conservative estimate, $15.8 billion is lost annually by the U.S. capital facilities industry resulting from inadequate interoperability due to "the highly fragmented nature of the industry, the industry’s continued paperbased business practices, a lack of standardization, and inconsistent technology adoption among stakeholders".


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