The role of the head of the organization in the implementation of BIM is paramount. BIM can become very expensive if installed inefficiently. It is very important for the head of the organization to mobilize the team, formulate the vision and communicate it very well. If there is a chain of leadership in the organization’s structure, all its members need to be involved, understand the goals, differentiate how much and where resources can be donated in order to progress. It is necessary to implement a support system in the organization that would ensure the stability of the team during the introduction of change (1 Fig.). The manager must constantly support and evaluate the progress of the implementation. The team should be encouraged to provide feedback, actively participate in the process of change, and contribute to decision-making. The BIM manager plays a bridging role, supporting and encouraging everyone to get involved, solving problems and advising on all issues.

Appropriate technological competencies are also required for the successful implementation of BIM. Technological leadership is an integral and important part in the successful implementation of BIM in an organization. It can be internal or external. A technology leader must point the way in an organization, manage change, and discover the best return on investment ratio.

Technological competencies must cover everything from hardware to specialized software. The position of technology leader is held by the director of technology or the head of the IT department, as well as the connecting specialty – the head of BIM. The head of BIM is a temporary position in the long run.

In addition to the organization’s strategic issues, technical support is very important at the project level, so a competent specialist is needed to advise the team on software and hardware issues, engage in quality control, communicate with an external project team, develop work standards, and contribute to contract preparation. Due to the scope and significance of the work, this position must be performed by a dedicated specialist, the BIM Coordinator.

A BIM coordinator is often assigned to a team member who is well versed in the software, has a technical understanding and knowledge of the aspects of teamwork, is more interested in innovation, and is able to prepare texts, communicate with the team, and conduct training.

The team is at the heart of this process, so all attention must be focused on the team members. In addition to accurate communication and reasoning as to why this change is happening, why it is necessary, what benefits it will bring and how it will be better than the current situation.

Training and its organization are inevitable and an integral part of introducing change. Trainings need to be organized for the whole team, individual specialists, some of them will have to be done with internal resources, some will have to be hired. A training plan linked to the organisation’s BIM implementation plan must be developed. The aim of the training is to achieve such a level of team competence development that each member would have enough knowledge to formulate the task and the rest of the information they could find and elucidate by themselves. This usually accounts for about 60-70% of all software knowledge. This percentage will be recommended by the consultant conducting the training or the expert advising during installation. Training also needs to be organized in the context of the project so that the subjects taught can be applied directly in practice.

Training must first be provided for managers. It is important that they communicate harmoniously with each other and communicate the same things, so a discussion of all aspects of the implementation must take place before the presentation to the team. If the organization is larger, it is recommended to organize workshops to discuss best practices, potential risks, deployment management plan, and time period targets,- all of which are summarized in an overall strategy and implementation plan. This part is often missed, resulting in uncoordinated implementation, leaders communicate different things to a team, causing confusion, and increasing the risk of more complex deployments, which becomes a major barrier to successful implementation.

BIM roles are divided separately at the organizational and project levels. Roles are defined differently in different standards. BIM is constantly evolving and adapting. The essence of BIM is to leverage technology for the benefit of the organization and the team.

There are three levels of BIM roles in an organization that can be called differently. One person can perform multiple roles. If the organization is smaller, the roles at the organizational level may overlap with the project roles.

The BIM Deployment Manager, commonly referred to as the BIM Manager, can hold the positions of Technical Director, IT Manager, BIM Architect, BIM Technology Manager, and more. This person plays the role of strategy maker, business case creator, as well as the primary role of team preparation and follow-up, maintenance and control.

The BIM coordinator is responsible for the technical implementation of the BIM, he may also be called the BIM technologist, the Head of the BIM team, the head of some part of the project.

BIM developers are all participants in a BIM project who contribute to the implementation of BIM projects according to defined requirements. They can be called BIM engineers, BIM modelers, BIM plotters or BIM technicians. Often these are designers and engineers working in a certain part of the project.

The roles of BIM in a project vary depending on the roles of the organization, so requirements need to be defined separately for each project. To speed up the process and make it more efficient is possible by developing templates, that would be applied to each project individually, and clear internal agreements, with a well-defined role for each in the project.

The BIM project needs to manage specific aspects:

• Legal – harmonization of the contract, BIM protocols, standard and other documents and descriptions of the procedure for their implementation.
• Technological – to prepare a common data environment, to select a map of technologies, to assess the needs of communication (Internet technologies), to ensure compliance with the development of a future project.
• Communications – to provide channels and forms of cooperation, communication procedures (rules), principles of registration and recording.
• Competencies – to ensure that all project participants have sufficient knowledge of technology, procedures, rules and software. Conduct training to raise the level of competence of the team accordingly.
• Interests – to ensure that the interests of the participants are safeguarded at the project and organizational levels, and that no legitimate comments or changes are made that ensure the qualitative and project management and other aspects of the interests of the parties.
• Quality control and management – to continuously monitor the quality of communication, use of systems and the information contained in them, to study the quality of models and the information contained in them using technologies such as automated intersection verification, automation using coding (Scripts).

Lots of aspects. Clearly, it would be difficult for a single position to cover such a range of competencies and work, given that these aspects need to be managed at both the organizational and project levels.

So, if the organization is not small and there is more than one project, it is not a matter of one position. The composition of the BIM team also depends on the scope of the project, the number of participants, competencies, project requirements, project specifics and even innovation. In larger projects it can be very broad, in smaller roles it can be combined. With a different team composition, the competency map also changes, so one thing is clear – the BIM development plan is different for each project.

It is important to emphasize that there is an attempt to standardize the roles of the project team and their names, but practically there is no single standard. In this context, it is necessary for each project to define the roles, obligations and responsibilities of the position or to specify project standard and its deviations.

Based on the findings of the experts, here are some tips for a successful BIM implementation:

• Under no circumstances unrealistic goals should be set (e.g. to reduce construction time by 30% or to use and try too many tools at once).
• Do not buy software just because it is the most expensive and well-known on the market. Technological solutions should show clear value.
• Present only facts, don’t try to show things nicer than they really are.
• All projects are unique. Every project needs to discover and exploit technology, that has not yet been used and tested, way of working, or other innovation. This way you will move forward with each project and have the best customer feedback.
• On the other hand, use only those technologies that will really bring value. If the project doesn’t require a complicated process, simplify everything to the most primitive safe process possible.
• Apply innovations not only at work, but also in communication, try new ways of communicating, surveys, communication apps and so on. Make the project fun and exciting.
• The customer is always paramount. He must approve of any action, after hearing a negative attitude (no doubt, because doubt can get credits that will need to be justified), abandon the idea.

https://www.bimthinkspace.com/2008/06/episode-9-bim-s.html