BIM and IPD Retail The Key to Improving The Time to Market

Given the extremely fierce competition and a difficult economic crisis, the owners of large commercial buildings and midsize worldwide have two key priorities. First, they are supposed to plan effectively and accelerate their time to projects on the market. Medium and large global retailers have internal teams of project development, consisting of designers / architects, structural engineers, MEP (S & E) engineers and construction managers. In both cases, a change in work design practices / 2D coordination for the implementation of a 3D BIM platform enabled through IPD methodologies, has the potential to improve the quality of design documents and construction, reduce errors and increase efficiency throughout the design-build supply chain.


Through open contractual agreements and risk sharing between key stakeholders, IPD requires strategic meetings between the team internal property development and external staff, including structural designers, general contractors and construction services contractors / consultants in the early design / planning phase. For example, in the case of major retailers, 3D BIM models prepared by the in-house property development team with Revit can be seamlessly integrated with BIM models created by external agents, such as structural engineers MEP consultants, contractors, prefabricators and installers, using a project analysis software Autodesk Navisworks. Since Navisworks also allows communication between disciplines, the entire design of the interference can be effectively resolved and the final result is a high-quality design / construction documentation. Consequently, areas with critical problems and major deviations from project requirements are identified and resolved earlier in the process and facilitating better use of the available space.

In addition to precise detection confrontation, design / construction errors, and a more efficient design process, fully coordinated BIM 3D models can be used by general contractors. 4D programming, also called based modeling simulation plays an important role in the planning of construction and speed up the design time to market.

As BIM models are based on data driven, they not only provide a 3D parametric output to check the interference, but also to establish a solid basis for extracting crucial data such as production drawings (plans, elevations , sections), quantity takeoffs, material requirements, and programming data. In addition, the benefits of BIM jobs are further enhanced when used in conjunction with IPD method. Overall, the entire chain involved in the development of commercial real estate can derive a positive value, collectively employing BIM and IPD.