There’s no “one size fits all” for BIM coordination meetings, but using statistics can get you close.
Simply put, BIM coordination refers to merging multiple disciplines into a federated 3D model (e.g., architectural models, structural, HVAC systems, electrical systems, plumbing & fire models) and checking for clashes between these models, as well as solving constructability issues.
This process is accomplished through collaboration among the stakeholders through BIM coordination meetings, typically weekly.
To estimate how many weeks or meetings it could take to coordinate a building fully, we can use statistics and extrapolate. We learned that some factors that impact this process’s duration are project type, size, structure type, etc.
- In our experience a warehouse that typically has a lot of open space, where you primarily coordinate offices, bathrooms, and mech rooms or hotels with high repetitions, you will end up with around 7500 ft/meeting. So, you need 10 meetings to coordinate a 75,000 sqft building fully.
- If the building is a school, a commercial building, or a MOB, the number drops to 4500 ft/meeting.
- If you have a wood structure, things get a little less efficient and the number drops even more to 3,000 ft/meeting.
- If we are talking about localized retrofits the number can go down to around 2,000 ft/meeting.
- Condensed industrial buildings must be analyzed case by case.
Long story short, arranging BIM coordination meetings is a fundamental step. We’ve shared some statistics here to calculate the number of meetings.
If you want to improve coordination meetings, we recommend reading one of our latest blogs: 9 Tips for Effective BIM Coordination Meetings.
