By Yermys Peña
Working in AutoCAD today —with flat drawings—is like trying to navigate with a compass in the age of GPS. Traditional methodologies are no longer sufficient for the complexity of today's projects. Continuing to design in 2D ignores the fact that margins of error are no longer acceptable when time, materials, and capital are more expensive than ever.
It's time for technical disciplines in our country to take the leap. Structural and electromechanical engineers, contractors, and supervisors must align themselves with a new standard of collaborative work that reduces rework, accelerates schedules, and improves the quality of the final product. We must leave behind the fragmentation of the process and understand that design doesn't remain on a screen: it translates into actionable decisions, financial control, and direct profitability for the developer.
BIM—Building Information Modeling—is a comprehensive methodology that allows for modeling not only the geometry of a project, but also its operational and economic performance. By centralizing information from all disciplines in an intelligent three-dimensional model, traceability, technical coordination, and responsiveness to changes are improved. Every decision can be evaluated for its construction, budgetary, and planning impact before being implemented on-site.
One of its greatest advantages is its ability to prevent interference between systems before they reach the construction site. By applying clash detection , 4D coordination, and 5D quantity take-off, technical conflicts are anticipated that, with traditional methodologies, are only detected in the field, generating cost overruns and delays.
According to data from the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), the implementation of BIM can reduce on-site conflicts by up to 76% rework associated with uncoordinated design errors by . These figures explain why, in mature markets such as the UK and Scandinavia, BIM is already a mandatory requirement for large-scale public and private projects.
In many cases, "working in BIM" is confused with simply "creating plans in Revit," without adopting the collaborative processes and the validation and coordination workflows that characterize the methodology. Using 3D software does not necessarily imply BIM management. The value lies not in the tool itself, but in how information flows, is validated, and is used to build upon it.
After more than five years implementing BIM in different phases—design, pre-construction, and execution—I can clearly state that its true return lies not only in the aesthetics of the model, but also in its ability to generate financial efficiency. Every quantity accurately estimated, every phase synchronized, every conflict avoided, directly impacts the project's operating margin. And that is what defines its success.
BIM is not a luxury. It's not an extra. It's an advanced control system that allows you to build with data, not assumptions. It's the difference between a visually appealing design and a profitable construction operation.
Building with precision, executing efficiently, and closing profitably shouldn't be the exception.
It should be the standard.
