Every day is a battle to get the firm moving towards a more collaborative BIM environment. I was talking with my associate last week and we were discussing the continual struggle to push up hill to get staff working with new technology. It reminded me of the AUGI article from way back in 2008, “CAD Manager: THE ULTIMATE DIRTY JOB” by Mark W. Kiker. Of course today it would read BIM Manager. He brought up some great key points that are still relevant in today’s world of BIM.
- The troubles of the day may take you away from the initiatives for tomorrow.
- Working towards other people’s goals can rob you of the time needed to complete your own.
- You may spend hours working to prevent problems that others may not even know could exist.
I try to take a moment whenever I feel lost to reacquaint myself with these points. The article goes on to say that most of the Managers find the job ultimately rewarding.
It is very important to keep your perspective on the job, when I was younger I used to get so frustrated I would start looking for a job in other firms, thinking it would be different. Now I realize it’s always the same, the difference is you stop listening to the negative and work towards the positive, and before you know it your ideas are implemented.
I’ve learned to approach staff (users and Project Managers) by showing them the tools that will help me support their project more efficiently. The key seems to be the word “me”. The tools that we have developed of course are the core to doing BIM projects: The BIM Execution Plan, and Progress Tracking. These tools help focus staff on the project deliverables and not get lost in the Revit Model.
I will leave you with a final thought from Mark’s article, which I believe applies to BIM Management also:
“CAD Management is not the easiest career, but it can be very rewarding. The rewards are there every day if you look for them.”
BIMFreak 