Role of BIM in Healthcare Industry

The long-term success of hospital and surgery center development projects depends upon effective communication between architects, healthcare executives and developers. In recent years, the use of building information modeling (BIM) has increased in healthcare industry as hospital project managers learn about the many benefits of BIM. BIM can help healthcare projects evolve faster and with greater accuracy apart from helping stakeholders visualize the impact of proposed hospital designs.

1. Hospitals are built faster with BIM
BIM is highly regarded for its ability to promote efficiency during the healthcare construction process. Project completion speed is one of the most important aspects of the hospital design process, especially in communities with high population.

2. Existing hospital projects are brought to life with BIM
One of the greatest challenges facing healthcare developers is the task of bringing proposed designs to life. It is easy for stakeholders to get distracted when reviewing hospital plans that involve hundreds of empty patient rooms and unused operating theaters. BIM modeling allows developers to effectively keep a track of project flow through visualization.

3. BIM helps stakeholders visualize complex healthcare facilities
As technology is changing, developers must ensure that hospitals are designed with a flow that is compatible with current trends. Hospitals and surgery centers need to constantly evolve to meet the unique needs of each patients and practitioners. BIM modeling allows developers to effectively motivate patient staff and flow, promoting visualization.

4. Design changes are faster and easier to make when BIM is used
Rarely are hospital projects free of conflicts or design changes. Hospital stakeholders often have conflicting ideas regarding layouts of operating theaters, patient rooms, and intensive care areas. BIM modeling makes it easier for stakeholders to recognize the conflicts early in the design process so they can be resolved without delaying construction.

5. BIM designs can be used in the future if updates are planned
Long-term hospital management is an important variable that is often overlooked during the design and construction process. In most cases, project delivery teams typically turn their attentions to a new project once their current project is completed

Updates and renovations may not be planned for years or decades after a project has been delivered. With the help of BIM, project details are easily captured in the facility database that was employed during the project’s design.

“BIM is a perfect fit for healthcare industry because of the complex nature of these buildings, the repetitiveness of the activity within the building.“– Dan Noble, FAIA, FACHA