The role of BIM in the construction industry is to support collaboration between the different actors involved (designers, builders, architects, clients) and integrate the design and simulation processes into a single model that can manage all phases of the life cycle of the building.

The main benefit of adopting the BIM methodology is the 3D representation during the design phase, which speeds up processes, reduces delivery times and allows errors and inaccuracies to be detected first. The greater efficiency in sharing information and a more precise control over all the processes involved, also make it possible to contain costs and schedule in advance maintenance operations.

The fields of BIM related to technology allow the management of complex projects such as home automation and the willingness of the customer to control the building. During the design phase it is already possible to simulate the integration of the different systems and the control of the possible scenarios in a 3D environment, giving all the professionals involved the opportunity to work together without data or process conflicts. 

BIM technology has been used for some time by various software that, in addition to its formats, allow you to save the model in the open format IFC (Industry Foundation Class), with the extension .ifc to facilitate interoperability between the different architectural disciplines, construction and plant engineering. IFC files are classified as intelligent 3D image files, which contain, among other technical information, various encodings attributed to objects and artifact, and are compatible with all software that use BIM technology.

Major BIM modeling software includes Revit, Navisworks, and Autodesk BIM 360.

Revit is today the most popular software for BIM and is developed by Autodesk.

Designed for engineers, architects, designers, contractors, and landscape architects, it is a solid Windows platform that offers an intelligent model-based approach to planning, designing, and building infrastructure and buildings.

It also minimizes the risk of errors caused by communication problems as the entire process passes through a single system.

This BIM 4D is able to follow the entire construction life cycle from conceptualization to maintenance and even demolition.

BIM will become the standard process for all buildings and is being integrated into public procurement legislation across Europe.

In fact, Directive 2014/24/EU on Public Procurement clearly expresses the indication to introduce Building Information Modeling within the procurement procedures of the Member States.

The adoption of the directive requires that all member states encourage the use of BIM in their respective countries for projects financed with public funds in the European Union from 2016.

In Italy, the official adoption took place with Decree No. 560 of December 1, 2017, which established the procedures and timing for the gradual introduction of electronic modelling methods and tools for construction and infrastructure.

The entry into force of the decree, however, does not coincide with the mandatory nature of the BIM, which instead begins on January 1, 2019 for works over 100 million euros and then from 2019 to 2025 will be introduced in Italy the obligation for all contracts for new public works.

The measure also indicates the preliminary obligations of the contracting authorities, which they will have to adopt:

1. a staff training plan,
2. a plan for the acquisition or maintenance of hardware and software for the management of decision-making and information processes
3. an organizational act that explains the process of control and management, data managers and conflict management.

To read the entire text of the decree

An increasing variety of intelligent objects are being installed in buildings to perform actions such as data collection and control. These Smart Building Environments are the subject of many questions when considering their life cycle.

The first is how intelligent objects are embedded in the environment: from the appearance of the sensors to the physical location and surrounding settings needed to perform specific tasks. From the information network point of view, if a wireless sensor network (WSN) or wired Ethernet is deployed, it should be designed to provide intelligent objects with an excellent level of communication.

The second is how intelligent objects interact with the environment. Intelligent objects are located in a specific environment to perform their tasks and often require the input of spatial data, such as building plans. Moreover, when performing a performance analysis of the building, such as an analysis of the energy efficiency of the SBE, not only information from the sensors/counters, but also the architectural/geometric data of the building are essential.

Thirdly, the maintenance of such intelligent objects in the post-construction phase of a building. In order to maintain an intelligent construction environment that is more complicated than traditional structures, it will be necessary to document and transmit to the managers of the structures more construction data. In the event that the company that designed and built the building is no longer in business, building management can continue to function properly as long as the documented information is complete and reliable.

To answer all 3 of these questions, BIM can help us with its ability to host collaborative architectural information and provide semantic knowledge of the building.
Designing Smart Buildings with BIM is both beneficial and cost-effective. First, designers can use BIM building knowledge for planning sensor, actuator and meter layouts. The performance of intelligent objects can be verified against known constraints and their layout optimized for best functional performance. Secondly, BIM also acts as a data repository for the physical information of intelligent objects. For asset maintenance and monitoring in the post-building phase of the building, it is possible to record the hardware information of intelligent objects and document and display their installation locations in 3D.

Intelligent objects can be designed and manufactured by different suppliers. The data provided may vary in the structure and may communicate using different protocols. With the introduction of BIM, each intelligent object can be profiled through a single information exchange interface.