Given its potential to reduce costs, Building Information Modeling (BIM) increasingly is becoming a widespread requirement for construction projects in the United States. But due to its level of maturity in the market and the differing requirements of the states, BIM implementation in the United States is largely ad hoc and differs from project to project. BIM requirements are often stated in vague and ambiguous terms, creating uncertainty about what the owner is buying, what the contractor is providing, and how BIM might affect allocation of responsibility and liability among all parties.

While there are multiple BIM guidelines published in the United States, the industry lacks a standardized protocol. Currently, the closest the United States has to a standardized protocol is the National BIM Standard (NBIM-US). NBIM-US attempts to integrate five different U.S. industry guidelines to create a uniform set of procedures, and it is supported by pro-standardization groups, such as BuildSMART. While NBIM-US is a step in the right direction for standardizing BIM implementation in the United States, it is still not close to serving as a uniform protocol.

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To encourage more consistent and standardized use of BIM in the construction industry, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) runs the BIM Education Program, and also offers a Certificate of Management in BIM (CM-BIM) for construction professionals. This is the first and only certificate program teaching the practical application of the BIM process for commercial construction firms.

In October 2018, GBCA held the BIM Education Program, and hosted the CM-BIM exam. The course was taught by local, CM-BIM certified professionals (pictured above):

  • Matt DeBasio, P. Agnes, Inc.
  • Sam Arabia, Torcon, Inc.
  • David Maser, Sr., Gilbane Building Company
  • Guest Speaker: Jennifer M. Horn, Esq., Horn Williamson, LLC

We look forward to having more certified BIM professionals in the Philadelphia Region market! Learn more about GBCA’s most recent BIM Education Program Series:

For more information about GBCA’s educational offerings, please contact Angela Hendrix, Director of Education and Professional Development, at ahendrix@gbca.com.