4D
4‐D capabilities make scheduling easier with BIM. A 3‐D building information model provides excellent visualization of a space. When that model illustrates the phases of construction over time, it becomes 4‐D (3‐D plus time). 4‐D schedules are a powerful tool for phasing, coordinating, and communicating planned work to a variety of audiences, including project stakeholders and those directly responsible for executing the work. Materials can be calculated automatically, ordered electronically, and delivered to the site in larger preassembled pieces just when they're needed. There are huge advantages to that because you don't have as much raw material on the site. Because these raw materials are sometimes moved as many as seven times over the course of a construction project, just‐in‐time (JIT) delivery increases the efficiency of workers. Using the building information model for specifications, steel and MEP systems can be prefabricated off‐site. We can actually have [structural elements] produced off‐site now, at a lower cost and in a more friendly environment, and then have them shipped to the site and erected in a very precise, quicker period of time. Simply put, BIM helps perfect project phasing. It provides the ability to optimize procedures that are used to build, so you can place cranes in the right position, use your manpower most effectively, and deliver materials on time.