Confidential for academic purposes only

Prepared by Victor Okhoya in October 2014

CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY

DOCTOR OF PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
OFFICE VISITS ASSIGNMENT
PROJECT CASE STUDY:
THE UTILIZATION OF BIM SOFTWARE ON VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT, TERMINAL RENOVATION PROJECT

BACKGROUND TO THE YVR-ETF-4 PROJECT1

Vancouver International Airport (code name YVR) is Canadas second-busiest airport and one
of the primary gateways for passenger traffic between Asia and the western coast of North
America. The Airport Authority operates and manages YVR pursuant to a long-term lease with
the Government of Canada.
The Expedited Transfer Facility (ETF) is a corridor facility designed to enhance the movement of
people and baggage for arriving passengers transferring to outbound flights at YVR.The
Vancouver International Airport Authority (VIAA) wanted to design and construct this corridor
facility to reduce times taken to transfer between flights.
The ETF project was divided into five different sub-contracts with different scopes. ETF-1, ETF2 and ETF-3 were all awarded to Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning Ltd (Kasian).
For ETF-4, the largest of the sub-contracts, procurement rules at YVR made it necessary to
tender. Kasian was asked to provide Schematic Design services and provide an indicative
design for a Project Description Requirement (PDR) competition.
Kasian was eligible for the competition and went on to win it. Kasian was also later awarded the
smaller ETF-5 contract. This case study will focus on the ETF-4 contract. The overall scope of
this contract can be seen in Figure 1.

BACKGROUND TO BIM AT KASIAN2

Kasian has been using Building Information Modelling (BIM) technologies for ten years. In this
time it has completed more than 100 projects on the Autodesk Revit platform. Many of these
projects have been social BIM projects with all engineering consultants also working in Revit to
create a federated multi-disciplinary BIM model.
.

1
2

From ETF-4 RFP

From Kasian BIM Marketing Collateral

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Figure1. ETF-4 3D model view and project scope

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Some of the proven benefits that BIM has brought include:

Better design visualization and communication with clients, consultants, contractors and
internally within the project team. This leads to better understood and executed design
decisions.
Better coordinated production document sets leveraging the parametric capabilities of
BIM software to keep documents automatically and accurately coordinated.
Ability to automatically extract data from the design model to support analysis,
scheduling and other design related computation.
Better resolved design documents during construction leading to fewer RFIs and change
orders as well as fewer claims and disputes.
Ability to coordinate sub-trades better through clash detection and construction logistics
planning in Autodesk Navisworks.
Leveraging BIM models for design assist to solve challenging design configurations and
installations.
Leveraging BIM models for design to fabrication processes thereby eliminating
traditional shop drawing reviews and dramatically reducing procurement schedules.
Faster turnaround on resolving and coordinating design conflicts through collaborative
3D live review sessions.
Higher quality details through standardized components and intelligent integration with
specifications language.

Kasian continues to invest in, and innovate, using BIM tools and technologies. It has a
dedicated team of talented professionals supporting the BIM effort in each of its offices. It has
developed working relations with leading consulting engineers, general contractors and
construction managers that allow it to gain optimum results from collaborative BIM efforts.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Architectural Team
One of the critical components for success with BIM technology on a project of this description
and complexity is a team of capable BIM users willing to explore, learn and possibly make
mistakes. Kasian was fortunate to have just such a team through the duration of the project.
There was also sufficient continuity to ensure knowledge and expertise gained through the
process remained available to the conclusion of the project.

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PROJECT PHASE

Prepared by Victor Okhoya in October 2014

TEAM SIZE

BIM USERS

Schematic Design

Design Development

Construction Documents

Contract Administration

BIM PROFICIENCY3

84%

Kasian Knowledgesmart
Average for Revit

60%

Figure2. ETF-4 architectural team size and proficiency

Project Team Matrix

It was not only the architectural team that was willing to undertake the task in Revit, many of the
consultants also showed willingness to participate in BIM through the duration of the project.
This is important because many times team members will half-heartedly take part in a social
BIM exercise only to pull out part of the way, or else to make it difficult for the coordinating
consultant by constantly having BIM related issues. Some of the subcontractors such as steel
fabrication and baggage handling also developed models that were incorporated into the BIM
process.
Project Schedule
The project was scheduled to run from December 2012 to February 2016. The Construction
Documents phase was to conclude in November 2013. The project is largely on schedule.
As we will see the use of BIM was important for different aspects related to the schedule. For
example, during Schematic Design, Kasian were simply developing the project requirements for
VIAA to put into procurement tender. At this stage VIAA had no intentions of requiring BIM for
the project. However, after seeing its value through Schematic Design, and after interaction with
Kasian who further persuaded them, BIM clauses were added as an addendum to the RFP for
Project Delivery Requirements.
Later in the process because parts of the project were being fast tracked it became
necessary to coordinate different streams of design development while issuing for construction.
The BIM model was a critical part of managing this multiple tender process.

Based on average scores from Knowledgesmart, a Revit assessment tool in use at Kasian

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SCHEMATIC
DESIGN

CODE REVIEW

DESIGN
DEVELOPMENT

CONTRACT
DOCUMENTS

TENDER &
PRICING

CONTRACT
ADMINISTRATION

AS_BUILT/RECORD
DRAWINGS

PROJECT MANAGER

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

PROJECT ARCHITECT

REVIT
ARCHITECTURE

REVIT
ARCHITECTURE

REVIT
ARCHITECTURE

REVIT
ARCHITECTURE

PDF

REVIT
ARCHITECTURE

REVIT
ARCHITECTURE

PROJECT TEAM
(BIM OPERATORS)

REVIT
ARCHITECTURE

REVIT
ARCHITECTURE

REVIT
ARCHITECTURE

REVIT
ARCHITECTURE

PDF

REVIT
ARCHITECTURE

REVIT
ARCHITECTURE

OWNER
[YVR]

NA

NA

NA

NA

PDF

NA

NA

AUTHORITIES
[CITY OF VANCOUVER]

NA

PDF

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

STRUCTURAL
[Bush Bohlman]

NA

REVIT
STRUCTURE

REVIT
STRUCTURE

REVIT
STRUCTURE

PDF

REVIT
STRUCTURE

REVIT
STRUCTURE

STRUCTURAL
[Reed Jones
Christoferssen]

NA

REVIT
STRUCTURE

REVIT
STRUCTURE

REVIT
STRUCTURE

PDF

REVIT
STRUCTURE

REVIT
STRUCTURE

MECHANICAL
[Integral]

NA

REVIT
MEP

REVIT
MEP

REVIT
MEP

PDF

REVIT
MEP

REVIT
MEP

CIVIL
[]

NA

CIVIL 3D

CIVIL 3D

CIVIL 3D

PDF

CIVIL 3D

CIVIL 3D

CIVIL AIRPORT
ENGINEERING
[Hatch Mott McDonald]

NA

AUTOCAD

AUTOCAD

AUTOCAD

NA

NA

NA

CODE
[CFT Engineering]

NA

AUTOCAD/PDF

AUTOCAD/PDF

AUTOCAD/PDF

NA

NA

NA

GEO-TECHNICAL
[Thirber Engineering]

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

ELECTRICAL
[MCW]

NA

REVIT
MEP

REVIT
MEP

REVIT
MEP

PDF

REVIT
MEP

REVIT
MEP

GENERAL
CONTRACTOR
[Ledcor]

NA

NA

NA

NA

PDF

REVIT/PDF

REVIT/PDF

CONSTRUCTION
MANAGER
[PCL]

NA

NA

PDF

PDF

PDF

REVIT/PDF

REVIT/PDF

STEEL
SUB-CONTRACTOR
[?]

NA

NA

NA

NA

PDF

TEKLA
STRUCTURES

TEKLA
STRUCTURES

MECHANICAL
SUB-CONTRACTOR
[?]

NA

NA

NA

NA

PDF

AUTOCAD/PDF

AUTOCAD/PDF

ELECTRICAL
SUB-CONTRACTOR
[?]

NA

NA

NA

NA

PDF

AUTOCAD/PDF

AUTOCAD/PDF

CONVEYANCING
[FUJITEC]

NA

NA

NA

NA

PDF

AUTOCAD/PDF

AUTOCAD/PDF

BAGGAE HANDLING
SUB-CONTRACTOR
[Van Der Lande]

NA

AUTOCAD
ARCHITECTURE

AUTOCAD
ARCHITECTURE

AUTOCAD
ARCHITECTURE

AUTOCAD
ARCHITECTURE

AUTOCAD
ARCHITECTURE

AUTOCAD
ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECT
[Kasian]

CONSULTANTS

CONTRACTORS

Figure 3.ETF4 - project team matrix with software platforms

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Figure 4.ETF4 - project schedule network diagram

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Prepared by Victor Okhoya in October 2014

SCHEMATIC DESIGN
During the Schematic Design phase it was mainly the architect (Kasian) and the owner (VIAA)
who were active. The structural engineers, whose tender packages were due earlier due to fast
tracking, also did some initial work like preliminary framing but were not involved in the BIM
process. The mechanical and electrical engineers mainly did narratives.
During Schematic Design the main activity in the architectural Revit model was programming.
The Revit model was uses for creating room and area objects to generate space planning
studies and to validate space plans against the programme requirements. The advantage of
using Revit is that all room and area objects have embedded area data that is parametrically
linked to the model, and which is then easily extracted into schedules for analysis. Revit also
produced color diagrams linked to the room and area schedules that are very useful for visual
analysis.

Figure 5.ETF4 - color coded floor plans in the Revit model

The other area where the use of Revit was crucial was in the exploration of design options.
Revit has the ability to generate different design options as partitions of the main database. This
means each design option is a full project in own right that can be presented, scheduled and
analysed. However the main model remains intact and, importantly, does not need to be copied
or recreated for each design option:one main model multiple parametric design options.

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Figure 6. ETF4 - design options in Revit

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The consistency provided by a single model database like Revit was also appreciated on a
project of this complexity. Keeping the 400+ sheet document set coordinated, current and
properly referenced, especially in a multiple tender packages situation, would have been a full
time job without the help of a self-coordinating tool like Revit.
Revit was also instrumental for providing high quality and evocative visual presentations. The
architects leveraged the model to create myriad 3D studies and renderings in order to
communicate the design and to help the client sell it to their own stakeholders. Ambitious
interactive animations were also created as project marketing aids. For example, a time
sequence animation of passenger movement through the terminal was generated based on 3D
imagery from the Revit model.
On the client side, they were not originally very knowledgeable about BIM. However as the
Schematic Design phase progressed they realized they were receiving far more output then
they were used to seeing, getting stronger visualizations and interacting more intimately with the
design decision making process. This, together with the enthusiasm of the architect, persuaded
them to mandate BIM as an addendum to their Project Description Requirements RFP.
At the end of the Schematic Design stage VIAA, on the recommendation of Kasian, retained a
BIM Consultant to not only help them develop a BIM addendum for their ETF-4 RFP but also to
define BIM standard requirements for future projects.
The one challenge with Revit reported by the architectural project manager is the inability for
more senior staff to interact directly with the Revit model. Experienced staff members tend not
to be as computer savvy as younger staff, and many do not use Revit. This means that they
must rely on junior staff to drive the production tool as it were. In the case of the YVR ETF-4
project this worked out fine for the architect, but this is not always the case. Some project
managers get saddled with junior staff members who are not highly competent or motivated,
and this can put their projects at a disadvantage. They never know what is going wrong until it is
too late.

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
During the Design Development stage the Schematic Design developed by Kasian was
approved by the VIAA board and a tender prepared for the Design Development to Contract
Administration phases of the project. Kasian succeeded in winning the competition.
Through Design Development, Revit was heavily used by all consultants for modeling and
coordination. Autodesk Navisworks was also introduced as a visual coordination tool.
Navisworks has the advantage that it easily aggregates 3D models from many different sources
including non-Autodesk software. Also it optimizes large models for navigation which makes
them light weight and easy to move through.
Weekly coordination meetings with all stakeholders were used to keep the effort coordinated
and on track. Consultants participated as did some sub-contractors with critical scope like the
baggage handling contractor. These weekly meetings took advantage of Navisworks models to
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visualize and resolve issues in 3d. Navisworks also allowed for coordination with the baggage
handling contractor who was working in Autodesk AutoCAD Architecture a completely
different platform than Revit.

Figure 7. 3d working visualizations shown to the client

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Code Review
The code review consultant worked primarily in AutoCAD and PDF formats. Since Revit easily
outputs both these formats, the architectural team output in DWG (AutoCAD format) and PDF
(Adobe format) for the code consultant. Any coordination was done by importing CAD format
drawings into Revit, which again the software has the capability to do.
Separately, the code consultant prepared 3D smoke studies and time egress studies. But these
studies were done in specialized software and there was no integration with the project BIM
models.
Multiple Tenders
With a project of this scale and scope in a major international transit hub like Vancouver, it was
inevitable that parts of the contract would be fast tracked to mitigate against closures and
disruptions
sruptions of airport operations.
Thus, for example,, some structural and civil engineering scopes were due early while other
scopes like interior design were still in their design development. This meant a lot of
coordination in order to detail, issue for permit and tender parts of the document set while others
were still in the design stages.
Revit proved useful for this. The Revit coordination system meant that document sets needed
for issue were always coordinated and referenced without hours of manual checking.
Automated numbering and renumbering of views, sheets and title blocks also helped with cross
referencing. Revit design options were also invaluable for continuing to design while freezing
aspects of the model for issuing.

Figure 8. View of composite BIM model in Navisworks

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Engineering Consultants
The project had two structural engineers, mechanical, electrical, civil and aviation as its major
engineering consultants.
The two structural engineers were a legacy of the history of the building. The domestic building
at the airport was an older building and had been engineered by Reed Jones Christoffersen
(RJC), while the international building was more recent. ETF-4 involved both buildings in its
scope and Bush-Bohlman had been recently involved in renovation work at the airport. So both
RJC and Bush-Bohlman were selected.
This meant that each engineer produced their own document set. The engineers coordinated
details and specifications as required but remained separate in their modeling and each
maintained their own Revit model.
The preferred BIM workflow for structural engineering at Kasian is for the architect to model
their own structural members (columns and walls, structural slabs and roofs) early in the design
process when they need to quickly make multitudes of changes. Later in the process, they void
out or turn off their structural elements and rely on the structural engineers model. Structural
framing is however left strictly to the engineer.

Figure 9. Structural model

Mechanical engineers produced a mechanical model and electrical engineers developed an

electrical model. However both were reluctant to populate their models with information for
which they thought they would then be liable such as setting out dimensions which the
contractors need. This is a bottleneck in the BIM process.
Also the engineers do not model everything. The mechanical engineer is typically only required
to model items up to 2 inches in diameter while the electrical engineer does not model wiring or
conduit unless it is critical for coordination.

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The preferred mechanical workflow at Kasian is for the mechanical engineer to place her own
spaces in her Revit model. These can be based on the architectural room objects in the
architects model. The architect places and locates plumbing fixtures and the mechanical
engineer has the choice of whether to copy them into her model or to connect to the ones in the
architects model.

Figure 10. Mechanical model

The preferred electrical workflow at Kasian is for the architect or interior designer to provide an
indicative layout of light fixtures in the reflected ceiling plan. The electrical engineer or lighting
consultant can then replace these generic fixtures with specific designed fixtures.

Figure 11. Electrical model

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The civil engineer worked in 3D DWG format using Autodesk Civil 3D software. She provided
3D CAD backgrounds that the architect leveraged to create 3D toposurfaces in Revit. This was
critical to coordination of pavements, fueling stops, curbs, bridges and exterior envelope as
even minor height changes make a difference.

Figure 12. Consultant models and composite view

Coordination with the aviation consultant was important for designing the bridges and
connections to the aircraft and coordinating with fuel rigs. Minimum distances and constraints,
as specified in the NFPA 4154 standard, had to be maintained. All of this while tying into the
existing building and its fixed levels.
The aviation consultant worked in 2D format using Vectorworks. This presented a twofold
challenge: first coordination of these complex conditions was weakened by working in 2D.
4

NFPA 415: National Fire Protection Association Standard on Airport Terminal Buildings, Fueling Ramp
Drainage, and Loading Walkways

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Secondly, the Vectorworks platform presented challenges translating to and from Revit.
Although both platforms read and write DWG format files, the export/import process always has
related portability errors because of the different approaches of the two vendors, and their tacit
unwillingness to provide seamless processes across their products.
Baggage Handling Subcontractor
The baggage handling subcontractor, Vanderlande industries, had a major scope of which the
ETF-4 project was just a part. In all they had been tasked to install 9 km of baggage lines in the
airport. They were under a separate contract with the VIAA and as such were present in the
process much earlier than the normal tender sub trades.
Their software platform was a heavily customized version of AutoCAD Architecture with which
they produced a detailed 3D model of their installation. The model was sufficiently detailed for
fabrication. This would have presented a problem if coordination was being done strictly in Revit
as the combined architectural and baggage handling models would have been heavy and
difficult to navigate. Fortunately, Navisworks was in use and this made the navigation of the
aggregated models much easier.
The baggage contractor clearly saw the value of 3D coordination and in fact organized several
of the weekly coordination sessions including teleconferencing in the designers at their home
office in the Netherlands.
One challenge with trying to coordinate design models with subcontractors is the question of
tolerances. The latter are used to working to real world tolerances while designers provide much
wider leeway in their models and documents. Thus, for example, the baggage subcontractor
would want to model baggage lines to within millimeters of a column which the architect would
dispute because the model does not show everything. Fire proofing spray on the column may
alone account for 50 additional millimeters.

CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS
Tendering and Cost Estimating
Bid documents were issued in PDF format. This is usual practice because the PDFs are the
sealed instrument of service of the architect. Professionals do not want the little understood
potential for liability associated with issuing a BIM model for tender purposes.
Cost estimates are also prepared off PDF packages to legally secure the contract sum. This is
an area where technology has far outstripped the conservative tendencies of practice. Tools
exist to do material take-offs from BIM models but these werenot used on the ETF-4 project.
General Contractor and Construction Manager
The General Contractor (GC) and Construction Manager (CM) were most active when
permitting and tendering got underway through the Construction Documents phase. There were
a total of five tender packages: Civil, Structural (2), Envelope and Building. The CM was present

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Figure 13. Baggage handling model

through the entire design process but the GC was selected only after the first tender was
issued.
The GC did not initially intend to use the BIM models but once they understood their potential
value for their construction conditions modeling, they virtually demanded that the consultants
provide 3D models. They also used Navisworks for coordination and some virtual construction
logistics. However, they were not prepared for full on clash detection and coordination using the
powerful clash detection features within Navisworks.
The exchange between the Owner, the Consultants, the GC and the CM over the BIM models
was interesting. The GC felt that the Consultants should hand them over since they facilitated
the GCs process. When the consultants hesitated the GC turned to the owner who demanded
that the consultants turn over the models.
The consultants, on their part, were hesitant for two main reasons. First, they were not sure
about liability for inaccuracies and errors within the models. Models are typically not quality
assured as this could potentially be a lengthy process, and in any case they are not the primary

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deliverable of the architect or her engineers. To this the GC said they would be willing to sign
any number of waivers and indemnifications that the consultants required.
The second objection of the consultants stemmed from the question what is the value of a BIM
model. There is definitely a premium in terms of investing in the tools and skills to produce BIM
models. There is also clearly a benefit to the GC and its trades.
But the owner argued that it had retained the consultants to deliver a building and that any and
all tools of their trade that made this possible was implicit in the commission. The owner felt that
it did not need to provide any additional consideration to the consultants for the use of their
models. It should be said that this matter was not entirely resolved, but the consultants did
share their models in the interests of maintaining amicable relations.
Another big challenge during the CD phase was the large number of issues (over 50). This
requires a sophisticated approach to the management of revisions. Even though Revit helps a
lot in managing sheet numbering information and cross referencing it does not have the
workflow tools for complex tender situations with demanding revision tracking and logging.

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION
The Consultant team agreed to update their models through the Contract Administration (CA)
phase. This is not always the case in the industry. Many times CA is undertaken by senior
staffers who are not Revit users. They typically prefer to use AutoCAD.
Even when CA is done using Revit, many users do not update the model. Instead they issue
sketches and instructions as 2D line work based on the Revit model. The YVR team however
decided to maintain their models up to date as they made changes through the CA phase.
The benefit of doing this on this project was that the complexity of the project required it. There
were constant changes, updates and interim conditions arising from multiple tenders and
constructing in an operational facility environment. If the model was not up to date many of the
change orders would have been difficult to effect.
Another advantage of keeping the model up to date is that it is then record drawing ready at the
end of the process. No additional work needs to be done to issue record drawings. This also
means that the model is fit for further uses like facilities management or operations and
maintenance should this be required.
Steel Fabricator
The steel fabricator had a massive scope with steel accounting for 20% of the overall contract
price. Steel was tendered in multiple packages with each tender set up to follow the sequence
of construction.

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Figure 14. Steel subcontractor's model showing fabrication details

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The steel fabricator chose to model the steel details from scratch in Tekla, a steel detailing BIM
application. A big difference between the structural engineers steel model and the steel
detailers model is that the engineer does not typically model connectors, gusset plates, end
plates, stiffeners and other miscellaneous steel. These items can, however, be critical for
coordination, especially with interweaving mechanical systems.
In addition, engineers may not bother to slope structural members in their model, instead
providing this information as notes or with 2D symbols. Also, since they do not have final
member sizes for chords and struts in open web steel joists their structural framing tends to be
approximate especially when dealing with tight tolerances.
For these reasons, the architect as coordinating consultant, and the baggage handling
contractor were pleased to use the fabricators model for further coordination. Since the model
was created in a non-Autodesk platform, the fabricator exported it using the open format
Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) which was then imported into Revit and Navisworks.
The ability to visually coordinate steel with the fabricators model has been a big benefit to the
over-taxed CA architect who did not have the budget to review shop drawings in great detail.
Frequent interaction with the steel model has enabled him to catch several issues like
connecting plates sticking out of the floor which would have been elusive to catch by reviewing
2D drawings.
The Trades
Other subcontractors included Mechanical, Electrical, Envelope and Conveyancing. They all
used PDFs and CAD format drawings and did not participate in the 3D model. This has meant
that they were not as well coordinated and it has showed up on site with the Mechanical
subcontractor repeatedly infringing on the Electrical zone clearance.

CONCLUSIONS
The use of BIM technology on the YVR-ETF4 project was enjoyable, effective and beneficial for
the architect. It presented Kasian with a vivid picture of what project delivery will look like in the
near future. It set the bar in terms of applying digital technology to their transportation projects.
There were some important lessons learned along the way. First, you need good people to do
good things. Investing in human resources and skill development in BIM continues to be a
priority at Kasian.
Second, you need willing and ambitious leadership. Many of the experiments undertaken on
YVR-ETF4 would not have happened without the willingness and support of the Project
Manager and Principal in Charge, both of whom were not even Revit users.

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Figure 15. Leveraging the models during construction

Finally, you need willing partners to make the process work. If consultants and contractors are
recalcitrant then much less will be achieved. In this case the role of the owner is also important.
If the owner is uninformed or apathetic about BIM then this will make it difficult to motivate the
conservative elements on the project towards progressive solutions.
There were also opportunities missed on YVR-ETF4. Even though the technology was available
to them they did not fully leverage laser scanning technology and use point clouds to coordinate
complex existing conditions. This was however done to good effect on YVR-ETF5.
The client was ultimately not able to plan the integration of the BIM models into their facility
management and operations and maintenance systems. This remains a goal to strive for on
future work.
Other value added capabilities were also skipped due to lack of progressive industry partners.
Thus integrating BIM models with specifications or with quantity take off tools did not happen
because spec writers and cost estimators have not fully embraced these capabilities.

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Finally, neither the consultants nor the contractors used Navisworks for formal clash detection
exercises even though they used it extensively for visual coordination. This was probably a
significant omission on a project of this scope and complexity and Kasian has since developed
the capabilities to run consultant coordination clash checks on Navisworks models as part of
their delivery process.
We end by mentioning some practice related challenges that the progressive use of BIM on
projects like YVR-ETF4 exposes. First, the lack of quantifiable metrics with which to describe
the successes of an aggressive BIM project like this one is striking. While most participants in
the process will hail it as successful and beneficial, no one can easily say how much time or
money it saved the project. This makes it harder to convince skeptics to invest more in
technology driven processes. Indeed, apart from self-fulfillment, the main positive outcome
Kasian can point to is an intangible a deeper respect and relationship with the client.
There are also contractual impediments to the use of BIM that need to be resolved as the
technology becomes more widespread and mainstream. Consultants worry about turning over
models because drawings are still perceived as the instruments of service. The quality
assurance of BIM models is not an easy process, but without rigorous reviews BIM models carry
increased risk since they also carry much more information than drawings. It does not help that
the insurance and legal professions have not come out definitively on the status of BIM as a
delivery method preferring to take a wait and see attitude instead.

Figure 16. Point cloud technology on YVR-ETF5

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