National BIM Standard-United States® Subcommittees, Workgroups: Volunteers Wanted

Calling all building industry professionals with an interest in building information modeling (BIM). The National Institute of Building Sciences buildingSMART alliance®, developer of the National BIM Standard-United States® (NBIMS-US™), is looking for volunteers to get involved in development of the NBIMS-US Version 3.

A BIM is a shared resource of knowledge about a facility that can be used to make decision about the building through its life cycle, from the initial idea, to design and construction, through daily operations and eventual demolition. Because a BIM covers all aspects of the building process, everyone in the construction industry will be impacted as the use of BIM becomes standard operating procedure. Therefore, it is important that representatives from every segment of the industry participate in development of the standard.

"Developing the National BIM Standard-United States® is a monumental effort that will change the way our industry operates,” said NBIMS-US™ Project Committee Chair Chris Moor, who is the Director of Industry Initiatives at the American Institute of Steel Construction. "Volunteers have the opportunity to use their expertise to ensure the NBIMS addresses their specific areas of focus, which means they can have an impact on the acceptance and usability of BIM within the life cycle of a building. Their involvement is crucial to our momentum.”

The NBIMS Project Committee is looking for volunteers to sit on the following Subcommittees and Workgroups:

Subcommittees

  1. Product Development Subcommittee (PDS): Develops the means and methods of proactively seeking, collecting, monitoring, developing and balloting any existing (and ongoing) industry initiatives and projects that may result in future NBIMS-US™ content.
  2. Technical Subcommittee (TS): Ensures the technical accuracy and consistency of all information exchange (‘technical’ and ‘reference’) ballots and NBIMS-US™ content, as guided by the buildingSMART International (bSI) best practice documentation and specifications.
  3. Terminology Subcommittee (TGS): Develops and maintains a set of terminology definitions and polices their use throughout NBIMS-US™ ballots and content.
  4. Implementation Subcommittee (IS): Develops and maintains the overall style and content structure of NBIMS-US™, and develops and manages a ‘ballot to content’ process that streamlines production of the end product.
  5. Standard Practice Subcommittee (SPS): Develops, manages, maintains and evolves the "best practices” aspect of NBIMS-US™ (ballots and content).
  6. Market Education Subcommittee (MES): Actively promotes NBIMS-US™ and educates the market about the overall effort and product.

Workgroups

  1. Ballot Review Workgroups (WG): Review and vet the ballots in preparation for commenting and voting by the membership. The exact number of workgroups will be established as the ballot submission period approaches, based on the estimated workload. Currently, six groups are expected.

NBIMS-US™ is a consensus document that serves to standardize the way practitioners use BIMs to more easily pass information from one phase of the building process to another. The NBIMS-US™ Project Committee oversees the standard’s development.

Click here to learn more about the NBIMS-US™, view the volunteer requirements and fill out the online application form. Applications are due December 31, 2012.

About the buildingSMART alliance®

The buildingSMART alliance®, a council of the National Institute of Building Sciences, develops the National BIM Standard-United States® to streamline the collection and use of construction data. The Institute is a liaison between the public and private sectors, working with government, building industry and manufacturing stakeholders to advance building science and technology.