DEVELOPMENT OF THE BIM COMPETENCY TABLE

 

There is a lack of coherence around BIM skills and competencies.

For those who understand what BIM means – in practice, it’s easy to assume that everyone else does. Unfortunately, terminologies and definitions are not always easy to understand and are frequently used incorrectly, further muddying the waters for everyone.

There needs to be greater clarity and an industry standard for simple, commonly agreed answers to questions like:

 

What are the most important skills a BIM Coordinator should have?

What is the difference between a BIM Manager and BIM Lead?

How do I progress from a competent BIM Technician to a proficient BIM Manager?

What training should we be providing to retain our BIM specialists?

How much should we pay a competent BIM Manager?

 

 So, in 2017, a small team of BIM specialists started looking at a solution.

 

Having researched how different companies assess BIM skills and competencies it was clear that every business is unique.  So, how do you create a simple standard that can be bespoke?  After dozens of different models, some of which got dangerously close to defining how to do BIM, the conclusion was eventually, relatively simple.

 

Firstly, all the industry really needs is a simple means to answer two questions: ‘where am I now’ and ‘what do I need to learn to grow’.

 

Secondly, if the solution could be a ‘skeleton’, it can be fleshed any way the business wants without losing integrity.  This allows accurate identification and comparison of skill sets, bespoke action plans that fit with a unique ‘company way’ but still aligning with standardised continuous training.

 

And so, the BIM Competency Table was born – a point of reference – aligning ISO 19650 BIM requirements (tasks) with BIM roles.  You can access the BIM Competency Table here.

 

The table makes it possible to answer the two questions ‘where am I now’ and ‘what do I need to learn to grow’ and we have used it to create an assessment tool so you can accurately assess your current BIM competency.  If you now look at the generic BIM Career Map you can see what milestone is next and, using the BIM Competency Table, what experience you need to gain to progress.

 

It is important that the competency table and associated solutions are created collaboratively – with continuous input and improvement by industry.  Anyone interested in being part of the solution is invited to contribute.

 

If you have any constructive comments / ideas please email mike@dbe.careers