Grant: College and Community Innovation Program

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a process that is radically impacting the construction industryworldwide. It enables businesses to envisage the construction of a facility virtually, prior to its actual physicalconstruction, in order to identify problems, simulate challenges, analyze potential solutions, improve safety anddecrease overall build costs. Its utilization increases productivity by transforming existing levels of projectinteroperability, scalability, standardization and risk management and so significantly improving projectmanagement, decision-making and meeting deliverables and deadlines. This enables construction companies torealize major efficiencies at every stage of the building lifecycle from concept through to occupation. TheCanadian construction sector currently lags behind the rest of the world in research and adoption of BIMtechnology. Because of the prohibitive business costs of BIM adoption, which include sizable investments ininfrastructure, hardware, software and training, many SMEs will effectively be locked out of the competitionfor contracts that require BIM expertise.George Brown College (GBC) is committed to becoming the leading institution in Canada for BIM appliedresearch, innovation and training. GBC will support SMEs in adopting BIM approaches and adapting BIMtools into their business models. The proposed initiative will actively transfer BIM technology and processes toOntario's construction sector SMEs, increasing SME productivity and efficiency throughout the whole buildinglifecycle. GBC will provide training to recent graduates as well as to seasoned industry professionals so thatthey can facilitate BIM implementation in the workforce. This initiative will enable GBC to take a leadershiprole and partner with industry to address the BIM innovation gap and catalyze economic development in theconstruction sector in Ontario.