Lack of communication and poor project management was to blame

锘縏he failure to properly use building information modelling on the construction of a life sciences building in the US has led to what is believed to be the first ever legal case caused by the technology.

Randy Lewis, a vice president of XL Insurance, said that problems occurred when the M&E engineer failed to tell the contractor that the building鈥檚 M&E systems needed to be very tightly installed into the ceiling plenum. This failure meant the contractor ran out of space 70% of the way through assembly.

鈥淭he MEP systems were modelled [using BIM] however 2D documents were produced for construction, a practice that is typical for firms or teams new to BIM,鈥� he explained.
Poor project management and a lack of meeting documentation were also to blame, he said.

The parties involved wished to stay anonymous and settled out of court for 鈥渕illons of dollars鈥�, split between the firms, Lewis said.

Topics