Software partnership to take BIM to construction

A recent relationship formed by two construction software providers responds to industry demand to move building information modeling (BIM) from design and preconstruction to the construction lifecycle. CMiC, a software solutions provider for the architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry has formed a strategic development relationship with Vico Software, the developer in 5D BIM for Construction, to jointly develop deep integration between their BIM and ERP solutions. The partnership provides the framework to exploit the advantages of BIM throughout the full construction cycle and all operational departments.

"Our customers have pushed BIM beyond 3D modeling and preconstruction planning. They see the advantages in integrating full BIM data with business functions such as procurement, contract management, AR/AP, and even CRM," said Mark Sawyer, CEO and president, Vico Software. "CMiC and Vico working together tie the power of the BIM with the day-to-day business operations. Our customers have been asking for this and we are delighted to work with CMiC in direct response to that request."

"This partnership represents two software vendors truly listening to their customers," Gregg Davis, CIO, Webcor Builders. "The future of our industry is in virtual design and construction so tying together Vico’s and CMiC’s solutions is a huge leap ahead for their clients. Webcor is ecstatic about this development and looks forward to continuing to work with both organizations." Webcor Builders has been consistently ranked among the ENR Top 100 General Contractors and the Forbes 500 largest privately owned companies. Webcor Builders chose CMiC in 2007 and has been using Vico since 2005.

"This changes the way BIM will be used," said Bassem Hamdy, vice president, solutions, CMiC. "With the rise of BIM, the challenge emerged how to make the information in the model useful to all aspects of the organization. We’ve heard from our clients, particularly during a session that we had at our annual user conference in 2008, that there was a need to get BIM into the hands of builders and executives and not have it confined to the design and preconstruction stages of the project. Having the scope of information provided by Vico 5D BIM integrated with CMiC’s solutions in areas such as job costing and general ledger and provides advanced document management and project controls, is the answer that the industry and our clients have been waiting for. In the current economic situation, making BIM more useful for the entire organization is definitively a competitive advantage."

CMiC Project Management will serve as the hub for the fluid exchange of 5D BIM data, such as RFIs, job costing information and documents. The access to information that CMiC’s integrated software provides means that BIM information will flow seamlessly across the organization, eliminating the need for re-keying data and reconciling data from multiple applications, improving business processes and accelerating collaboration.