The digital built environment is grappling with a fundamental disconnect: the project-operations gap. I recently wrote an article for Digital Construction Plus, based on insights from Alex Plenty, Head of Digital Construction at Skanska, explores how the industry’s two distinct worlds—the structured, standards-driven world of BIM (Building Information Modelling) and the fragmented, innovative landscape of smart buildings—exist as separate communities within this larger gap. It argues that bridging the chasm between them is a potential solution to the overarching problem, requiring a fundamental understanding of the different operational realities (i.e CAPEX-focused vs OPEX-driven), and a Start With Smart “data pull” approach rather than a BIM push one downstream. The solution lies in strategic collaboration, top-down regulatory push and client leadership, and the evolving role of the MSI who can act as translators between these two worlds. Finally, we explore how the intersection of Data, Digital Twins and AI could be the catalyst for bringing the BIM and Smart Buildings communities closer.
You can read the full Bridging the divide between BIM and smart buildings articles, but I have produced a summary of the key take aways below:
The Future of Data, Digital Twins and AI: The convergence of these three elements is a powerful solution. BIM provides the static foundation, but it is the real-time data that transforms a Digital Twin into a living, performance-oriented asset. AI, in combination with this technology and its data, can then provide autonomous maintenance and decision support, helping to bridge the project-operations gap and bring the BIM and smart buildings communities closer, as well as meet the demands of performance contracts.
The Project-Operations Gap: The foundational challenge is a lack of influence and input from operational teams on smart specifications made during design. Stakeholders with the long-term responsibility for the building are left with a system they can’t effectively run.
BIM and Smart: Two Distinct Cultures: The industry is defined by two distinct cultures: the structured, standards-driven world of BIM and the fragmented, innovative landscape of smart buildings. The challenge is to find a way for these separate communities to communicate and align.
The Financial Divide: This communication breakdown is exacerbated by the disconnect between CAPEX (project budgets for BIM) and OPEX (operational budgets for maintenance), which makes it less cost-effective for operational teams to maintain BIM models outside of larger projects and for larger clients.
The MSI as the “Translator”: Master Systems Integrators play a critical role in bridging the gap, acting as a human translator who normalises data and aligns documentation to make BIM models useful for operations.
The “Start with Smart” Flip: The solution is to reverse the process from a “data push” to a “data pull,” starting with the operational needs of the end-user to define the data requirements for the design and construction phases.
Top-Down Leadership: Change requires a top-down approach, which can be both regulatory (like the government’s BIM mandate) and client-driven (through EIRs and performance-related contracts). This is the most effective way to force the supply chain to collaborate and align.
