The Importance of Project Managers Understanding their BIM Software Tools

It is becoming evident that more and more Architecture, Engineering and Construction firms are changing their process to a BIM workflow. In doing this, many of them train their employees on a new software CAD tool and provide some assistance to people that are working on the project. This works well until the managers start to have issues with the software they did not anticipate.
Issues such as:

· How would I tell this designer to set up the project?
· Why is the budget so different than what I had anticipated for schematic design?
· How many people do I need for a project using this new CAD/BIM tool?
· What should I expect out of this new platform/CAD tool? Am I being unrealistic?

These are just some of the questions a typical project manager may ask of himself but cannot answer because of the unfamiliar territory of a new CAD/BIM tool. How does one acquire this knowledge?

I happen to be a firm believer that if you are going to supervise individuals in the design field, you need to have a basic understanding of how the design application works. In the AEC industry, firms are converting to a BIM workflow and are using tools such as Revit and Navisworks.

Many of these project managers do not realize the implications of the new tool until it is too late. It is highly recommended that a manager take some type of a training class in the new CAD tool before he or she is faced with the task of supervising such activities (Hagerman offers these if you are interested). I teach and consult on CAD/Revit/Navisworks on a regular basis, and managers are either absent from these classes, or are too busy to stay for the entire sessions.

This can create problems because the managers need to understand the difference in work flow from the old software to the new, and be able to restructure their services around this. Now, I am not saying they need to be software experts; I am just saying they need to somewhat understand the underpinnings of the work flow. With this understanding, they can separate teams better for more efficiency, and they can work better and more closely with the CAD/BIM manager to solve problems before they start. In essence, they can plan more efficiently and better know what to expect.

As managers will realize, it will take much more than some basic software training to get through a project smoothly. It would take on-site consultation, perhaps daily training meetings and software support before a team can produce efficiently. It takes a smart manager - and a smart manager understands his tools.

Many managers expect immediate gains in productivity once the new software is implemented. This is hardly the case at first. One of the main problems is that the budgeting structure changes once the new platform is rolled out. What used to be “cheap” is now expensive. What used to be “easy” now has to be done more carefully and takes more time. An unsuspecting individual may react unfavorably to the new software and revert back to his or her “old methods”.

My point is that if managers do not devote their time to understanding the inherent changes the platform will have on their team, they may be contributing to steep costly errors…errors which the new platform was designed to reduce in the first place.

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This page last edited on Tuesday, December 06, 2011