AIA Contract Documents BIM Series Part 2: The Knowledge Divide

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[],"markups":[["a",["href","https:\/\/www.aiacontracts.org\/articles\/6500004-aia-contract-documents-bim-series-part-1-how-bim-exhibits-manage-risk"]],["b"],["a",["href","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=IT3F6iO2C-s"]],["a",["href","https:\/\/www.aiacontracts.org\/resources\/69541-guide-instructions-and-commentary-to-the-2013-aia-digital-practice-documents"]],["strong"],["i"]],"sections":[[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"May 4, 2022"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Later this year, AIA Contract Documents will\nunveil their new digital practice documents that deal with the terms and\nconcepts surrounding the use of a building information model, or \u201cBIM.\u201d In the\nleadup to this release, the AIA Contract Documents program is publishing a\nseries of articles talking about all things BIM. This is Part 2: The Knowledge\nDivide \u2013 What is it? And How to Manage Risk Around it."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"As explained in "],[0,[0],1,"Part\n1"],[0,[],0,", BIM is increasingly being woven through the fabric of every design and construction\nproject. Therefore, it is becoming progressively more important for those who\nnegotiate contracts to understand the nuances of BIM and \u2013 on the other side of\nthe divide \u2013 for those who engage in modeling to understand the nuances of\ntheir contract terms. This, in essence, is the \u201cknowledge divide.\u201d"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Those individuals with positions to\nnegotiate contracts terms\u2014attorneys (in-house and outside counsel), firm owners,\nsenior executives, and contract managers\u2014understand just enough about the design\nand construction industry and the project to have meaningful discussions about\nthe services being provided. They need to understand the services to manage the\nrisk they are willing to accept, which will be reflected in the accompanying\nlegal terms. For example, if a particular project will include earthwork and\ngeotechnical analysis, then they need to know enough about the pitfalls of\nlater discovering differing site conditions to be able to intelligently handle\nthe terms in the clauses on these topics. But with the years of practice that\nit takes to master an understanding of specialty and engineering sciences (and\nthe specific degree of craft necessary to produce proper BIM), it is\nunderstandable that the contract negotiator\u2019s knowledge of the practice can be\nlimited. These contract negotiators stand on one side of the knowledge divide."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"On the other side of the knowledge\ndivide stand those who engage in day-to-day modeling. For these individuals,\nthey are primarily concerned with perfecting their craft of modeling by producing\nthe best model they can. But they may be unaware of the contract terms to which\ntheir firm\u2019s negotiator has agreed\u2014even terms related to BIM."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"BIM used to be one of those topics\nthat contract negotiators could disregard. BIM didn\u2019t have a large impact on\ntheir firm\u2019s risk. Likewise, the contract terms could be disregarded by the\nmodelers because those terms had no impact on their day-to-day work, since BIM\nwas essentially a tool they used on the drafting floor. Given this framework, there\nwas no real need to build a bridge over the knowledge divide."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Times are changing. The industry has\nevolved such that BIM is now a critical and integral tool for projects. Greater\nuse of, and reliance on, models is impacting everyone, including both contract\nnegotiators and modelers. By way of example, a contract negotiator could unwittingly\nagree to allow their firm\u2019s model portion to be shared and used for quantity\ntakeoffs, and the modelers within that firm may be unaware of this agreement. Therefore,\nthe modelers may construct the model wherein the underlying quantities may not\nbe correct even though the two-dimensional (2-D) output is. When another\nproject participant asks for the model, the modeler might do one of two things:\nfirst, they might balk at sharing, knowing that some underlying quantities may\nbe inaccurate because their model had been created primarily to generate 2-D\ndrawings, and they then realize a significant amount of work will be required\nto reconstruct the model for that purpose; second, the modeler might share it immediately,\nignorant of the anticipated use(s) and the issues that will surely come when\nthe quantity take-offs prove to be in error. Both scenarios place a lot of risk\non the firm, and both responses are caused by the knowledge divide. This is\njust one example of the emerging risks inherent in BIM."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[1],1,"So, how do firms span the knowledge divide? How do they and manage this\nrisk? "],[0,[],0,"In general terms, contract negotiators should consider acquiring\nenough high-level knowledge about BIM\u2014both globally and as it pertains to their\nfirm \u2013 to understand the risk implications of BIM-specific terms and clauses in\ndesign and construction contracts and, likewise, modelers should consider gaining\nenough knowledge of design and construction contracts\u2014again, both globally and\nas it pertains to their firm \u2013 to understand the risk implications of their\nmodeling efforts. One specific approach that firms can consider on a\nproject-by-project basis is to conduct internal, pre-negotiation discussions where\ncontract negotiators meet with their modelers to discuss and understand the anticipated\napproach to BIM on a particular project. Armed with that knowledge, the\nnegotiators can effectively craft contract terms that reflect their firm\u2019s capabilities,\nscope of services, and expected model uses."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Notably, the AIA Contract Documents\nprogram\u2019s new Digital Practice Documents will help to span the knowledge divide\nfor all project participants. Also, the AIA Contract Documents program recently\npresented a 60-minute panel discussion about the Knowledge Divide, which can be\nviewed "],[0,[2],1,"here"],[0,[],0,". Lastly,\nyou can read more about the AIA\u2019s Digital Practice Documents in the "],[0,[3],1,"Guide,\nInstructions, and Commentary"],[0,[],0,"."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Stay tuned for Part 3 of this\narticle series, where we will provide a general introduction to the AIA\u2019s new\nBIM documents!"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[4,5],2,"AIA Contract Documents has provided this\narticle for general informational purposes only. The information provided is\nnot legal opinion or legal advice and does not create an attorney-client\nrelationship of any kind. This article is also not intended to provide guidance\nas to how project parties should interpret their specific contracts or resolve\ncontract disputes, as those decisions will need to be made in consultation with\nlegal counsel, insurance counsel, and other professionals, and based upon a\nmultitude of factors. Any language quoting from AIA Contract Documents that\nhave not yet been released is subject to change before final publication."]]]]}