Building Information Modelling involves much more than producing three-dimensional models. A successful BIM project requires multiple organisations, disciplines, software platforms and information exchanges to work together in a controlled and coordinated way.
Without an agreed process, project teams can create technically capable models that are difficult to combine, review or use. Files may be named inconsistently, models may use different coordinates, responsibilities may remain unclear, and information may be issued without appropriate checks.
A BIM Execution Plan establishes the rules for how BIM and digital information will be managed throughout the project.
It provides the project team with a shared framework for producing, exchanging, coordinating and approving information helping reduce uncertainty before it becomes a delivery problem.
What Is a BIM Execution Plan?
A BIM Execution Plan, commonly known as a BEP, is a project-specific document that explains how the team will meet the project’s BIM and information-management requirements.
It defines:
- Why BIM is being used
- What information must be produced
- Who is responsible for producing it
- When information must be exchanged
- How models and documents will be created
- Where project information will be stored
- How multidisciplinary coordination will be managed
- How information will be reviewed, approved and issued
A BEP connects the project’s technical requirements with the people and processes needed to deliver them.
It should not be treated as a generic administrative document. A useful BEP provides practical instructions that project participants can apply during their daily work.
Why Does a Project Need a BEP?
Every project develops working methods, whether they are formally documented or not. Without a BEP, those methods are often based on individual assumptions.
The architect may expect weekly model exchanges while the structural consultant issues models only at formal milestones. One discipline may use shared coordinates while another relies on internal origins. Different teams may apply conflicting naming conventions or model elements to different levels of detail.
These differences may not become visible until the models are federated or a major submission approaches.
A BEP brings these expectations together before they create coordination problems. It gives the team an agreed reference point and reduces reliance on informal conversations, individual memory and interpretation.
The level of detail should be proportionate to the project. A small residential project does not require the same BEP as a hospital, airport or major infrastructure programme. However, even a smaller project benefits from clearly defined responsibilities, model locations, naming conventions, coordinates and exchange procedures.
When Should the BEP Be Prepared?
The BEP should be developed as early as possible and refined as the project team and delivery requirements become clearer.
Before Appointment
A prospective delivery team may prepare a pre-appointment BEP as part of its response to the client’s information requirements.
This document explains how the team proposes to meet the requirements, including its:
- BIM capability and experience
- Proposed delivery approach
- Resources and responsibilities
- Software and technology
- Coordination methodology
- Information-production strategy
- Initial delivery programme
At this stage, the BEP demonstrates that the team understands the project’s information requirements and has a credible plan for delivering them.
After Appointment
Following appointment, the BEP should be developed into an agreed project document in collaboration with the appointed parties.
The post-appointment BEP confirms the detailed methods, responsibilities, standards and workflows the team will follow. It should align with contractual requirements and the project’s information-delivery milestones.
The plan should then be reviewed throughout the project rather than left unchanged after the initial BIM meeting.
Updates may be required when:
- New organisations join the project
- Responsibilities change
- Additional BIM uses are introduced
- Software or file formats change
- The project enters a new delivery stage
- Coordination procedures are revised
- Client requirements are updated
- Operational information becomes more detailed
The BEP should remain a controlled and current source of project guidance.
[Insert featured image: Multidisciplinary project team and coordinated digital building model]
What Should a BIM Execution Plan Contain?
The exact content depends on the project, but an effective BEP normally covers the following areas.
- Project Information and Objectives
The BEP should begin by explaining the project and the purpose of its BIM requirements.
This may include:
- Project name and location
- Client and key project organisations
- Project type and delivery method
- Major stages and milestones
- Project BIM objectives
- Intended model uses
- Applicable standards and contractual documents
Common BIM objectives may include:
- Multidisciplinary design coordination
- Clash detection
- Drawing and schedule production
- Design review and visualisation
- Quantity extraction
- Construction planning
- Asset-information delivery
- Sustainability and performance analysis
- As-built model production
Defining the intended BIM uses helps determine what information is actually required.
- Information Requirements
The BEP should explain how the team will respond to the project’s information requirements.
It should identify:
- Required models and documents
- Information-delivery milestones
- Model purposes at each stage
- Required graphical and non-graphical information
- Accepted file formats
- Required classifications
- Asset-information requirements
- Model limitations and permitted uses
This prevents teams from modelling information that provides little value while overlooking information required for decisions, coordination or handover.
- Roles and Responsibilities
Clear responsibility is one of the most important functions of a BEP.
The document should identify:
- Information-management responsibilities
- BIM leadership and coordination roles
- Model authors and discipline leads
- Model-review responsibilities
- Approval and authorisation responsibilities
- Coordination-meeting participants
- Responsibility for issue resolution
- Responsibility for information exchanges
A responsibility matrix can show which organisation or individual is responsible for each model, information container, deliverable or BIM activity.
This creates accountability and reduces the risk of tasks being duplicated or overlooked.
- Model Breakdown and Federation Strategy
The BEP should explain how the project models will be divided and combined.
The model breakdown may be based on:
- Discipline
- Building
- Level
- Zone
- Work package
- Construction stage
- Model size or technical limitations
The federation strategy should identify which models will be combined for coordination and how often the federated model will be updated.
It may also define:
- Model naming
- Model hierarchy
- Linked-model procedures
- Shared-coordinate requirements
- Model origins
- Levels and grids
- Zone boundaries
- Responsibility for model federation
A clear strategy helps ensure that separate discipline models align correctly and remain manageable.
- Modelling Standards
The BEP should document the standards that model authors must follow.
These may include:
- Model units
- Project coordinates
- Level and grid conventions
- Object naming
- Family or object requirements
- Classification systems
- Parameter naming
- Model element information
- Workset or layer conventions
- Model-authoring practices
- File-size management
- Warnings and model-health requirements
The aim is not to control every modelling decision. It is to establish enough consistency for information to be shared, reviewed and reused reliably.
- Level of Information Need
Project teams often refer broadly to Level of Development or LOD. However, graphical detail is only one part of the information required from a model.
The BEP should clarify the level of information needed for each purpose and project stage, including:
- Geometrical information
- Alphanumeric information
- Supporting documentation
- Accuracy and tolerances
- Required classifications
- Modelled and non-modelled information
The required information should be linked to a defined purpose.
For example, an element used for spatial coordination may require accurate size and location but not detailed manufacturer data. An asset intended for facilities management may require additional identification, performance and maintenance information.
- Common Data Environment
The Common Data Environment, or CDE, is the agreed system used to manage and exchange project information.
The BEP should explain:
- Which platform will be used
- How folders or containers will be structured
- Who can access each area
- How information will be uploaded
- How revisions will be controlled
- How reviews and approvals will occur
- How superseded information will be managed
- How information status and suitability will be communicated
A CDE is more than online file storage. It should provide a controlled workflow for information progressing from work in progress through sharing, review, approval and formal publication.
- File Naming and Revision Control
Consistent naming allows information to be identified, searched and managed.
The BEP should define the required naming convention for models, drawings, documents and other information containers.
It should also establish:
- Revision procedures
- Status or suitability codes
- Version control
- Approval status
- Issue purpose
- Naming responsibility
- Procedures for correcting incorrectly named files
These rules become particularly important when hundreds or thousands of files are exchanged between multiple organisations.
- Software and Data Exchange
The project team may use several authoring, coordination, analysis and document-management platforms.
The BEP should record:
- Approved software
- Software versions
- Native file formats
- Open exchange formats
- Model-export settings
- Coordinate-preservation requirements
- Data-transfer procedures
- Responsibilities for testing interoperability
- Procedures for software upgrades
Agreeing on versions and exchange formats early helps avoid inaccessible files, missing information and inconsistent model geometry.
- Model Coordination and Clash Detection
The BEP should define how multidisciplinary coordination will be undertaken.
This may include:
- Model-sharing frequency
- Federation responsibility
- Clash-test responsibilities
- Clash-test rules
- Tolerance settings
- Coordination zones
- Issue-priority categories
- Meeting frequency
- Model cut-off dates
- Issue-resolution deadlines
- Verification and closure procedures
Not every detected intersection is a genuine construction issue. The coordination process should focus on relevant, prioritised and actionable conflicts rather than generating unfiltered clash reports.
The BEP should also recognise issues that may not appear as direct physical clashes, including inadequate maintenance access, installation constraints, inconsistent levels and missing information.
- Issue Management
A structured issue-management process turns coordination findings into accountable actions.
Each issue should include:
- A unique reference
- Clear description
- Model location
- Supporting viewpoint or image
- Responsible organisation
- Issue priority
- Required action
- Due date
- Current status
- Resolution record
The BEP should define how issues are created, assigned, discussed, updated, verified and closed.
An issue should only be closed after the updated information has been reviewed and the resolution confirmed.
[Insert supporting image: Coordination issue assignment and resolution workflow]
- Quality Assurance
The BEP should explain how models and information will be checked before sharing or formal issue.
Quality reviews may include:
- Model position and coordinates
- Levels and grids
- Naming compliance
- Model completeness
- Model warnings
- Duplicated elements
- Room or space boundaries
- Linked models
- Classification and parameters
- Required information
- Drawing-model consistency
- File performance
- Export validation
Each discipline should complete its own checks before submitting information for multidisciplinary coordination.
Federating poor-quality models does not create a reliable coordinated model. It simply brings several unresolved problems into one environment.
- Information-Delivery Planning
The BEP should connect required information with the project programme.
Information-delivery planning may identify:
- Required deliverables
- Responsible task teams
- Production dates
- Review periods
- Coordination dates
- Approval dates
- Formal issue milestones
- Dependencies between disciplines
Task Information Delivery Plans can define the information produced by individual task teams, while a Master Information Delivery Plan brings those requirements together at project level.
This allows information production to be planned and monitored rather than managed through last-minute requests.
How a BEP Improves Coordination
Coordination is more effective when the entire team follows the same agreed process.
A good BEP ensures that:
- Models use the same coordinate system
- Information is exchanged at agreed times
- Current models are clearly identifiable
- Clash tests focus on meaningful relationships
- Responsibilities are assigned
- Issues are tracked consistently
- Decisions are reflected in updated models
- Coordinated changes flow into drawings and schedules
This reduces the time spent locating files, correcting model positions, interpreting inconsistent information and determining who should resolve an issue.
The result is a more focused coordination process and better use of project meetings.
How a BEP Improves Accountability
Project problems often remain unresolved because responsibility is unclear.
A BEP establishes who must produce, review, coordinate, approve and issue each type of information. It also provides agreed procedures for tracking actions and recording decisions.
This creates a visible line between:
- The requirement
- The responsible party
- The required delivery date
- The submitted information
- The review outcome
- The final approval
Accountability should not be used to create blame. Its purpose is to make expectations clear and help the project team identify problems early enough to address them.
Common BEP Mistakes
A BEP loses value when it becomes disconnected from project delivery.
Common mistakes include:
- Reusing a generic template without adapting it
- Preparing the BEP after modelling has already begun
- Including requirements that the team cannot practically follow
- Failing to assign clear responsibilities
- Treating software as the main focus
- Using undefined technical language
- Overcomplicating procedures for a small project
- Failing to update the document when the project changes
- Keeping the BEP separate from onboarding and coordination meetings
- Writing detailed rules without checking whether teams follow them
The strongest BEP is not necessarily the longest. It is the one the project team understands and uses.
Making the BEP a Working Project Tool
The BEP should support daily delivery rather than remain stored in a project folder.
It can be made more effective by:
- Introducing it during project onboarding
- Providing concise model-authoring checklists
- Reviewing key requirements during coordination meetings
- Linking responsibilities to delivery schedules
- Auditing compliance at agreed intervals
- Recording approved changes
- Making the current version accessible through the CDE
- Using appendices for technical settings and detailed procedures
The core document should remain clear and readable, while detailed standards, matrices and schedules can be maintained as controlled supporting documents.
Better Planning Before Modelling
Many BIM problems appear technical but begin as management problems.
Misaligned models, unreliable exchanges, unresolved clashes and inconsistent information often result from expectations that were never clearly established.
A BIM Execution Plan addresses these risks before they become embedded in the project. It gives the delivery team a common structure for producing and managing information and creates a practical connection between client requirements, project responsibilities and technical workflows.
When prepared early, tailored to the project and actively maintained, the BEP becomes more than a compliance document. It becomes the operating manual for digital project delivery.
How 6DBIM Can Help
6DBIM supports project teams in developing practical, project-specific BIM Execution Plans aligned with their delivery requirements.
Our services can include:
- BIM Execution Plan development and review
- BIM and information-requirement assessment
- Model responsibility matrices
- Model federation strategies
- File-naming and revision protocols
- Common Data Environment workflows
- Coordination and clash-detection procedures
- Issue-management workflows
- Model quality-assurance requirements
- Information-delivery planning
- BIM onboarding and compliance reviews
- ISO 19650-aligned information-management support
Our approach focuses on making BIM requirements clear, proportionate and usable—helping project teams improve coordination, strengthen accountability and deliver more reliable information.
Discuss your project with 6DBIM to establish a BIM Execution Plan suited to your project team, delivery stage and information requirements.