If BIM isn't already part of your practice it's very likely that you'll adopt it at some point during 2013. However, regardless of the current status of BIM within your business there's one question that we've heard time and again: "What does it mean for our fees?" It's a crucial question of course, because BIM doesn't come for free. The training, software and hardware upgrades need to be repaid, with interest. So what is the impact on BIM in terms of fee structures?

The answer might seem worrying at first, as in many cases it will mean that the time required upfront at the start of a BIM project increases. This is because the level of detail needed to create an accurate and effective BIM model is greater than the tolerances that the industry generally works to today. For some, especially architects, this means more time spent during the initial planning phase with correspondingly greater costs. Further down the line the QS may well also have a greater involvement in the verification and refinement of the bill of quantities and cost plans.

Of course the client needs to bear these costs. But why should they? Wasn't BIM supposed to save time and money? It does. And to accelerate adoption we need the client to understand that this greater investment will pay dividends later on. A more effective and accurate design, with more detailed bills of quantity and cost plans, will mean the frequently significant charges associated with amends or issues that need to be rectified on-site will be much lower. There will also be less waste and potentially faster construction schedules as any major issues have been resolved ahead of the build phase.

So, although the 'design' cost will remain largely unchanged, initial planning fees will rise because the project will be more accurately defined and much of the construction risk removed rather than simply passed to the contractor, as is the case in most 'traditional' projects. This reduced risk lowers the cost over the entire project. It is this benefit in return for greater upfront investment that needs to be communicated to the client. However, when clients return for repeat projects of similar buildings the templated and standardised elements that form part of a BIM model will mean that costs may be lower. This aspect actually creates an incentive for the client to remained 'locked in' to a group of suppliers to exploit this benefit over time.

Hence we can see that although BIM will indeed save money (and help the environment too, an argument that carries weight theses days especially among Government and major contractors) it's not as simple as many of the savings traditionally seen through technological change. It's the goal of all of us to get this message through if we're too see the uptake of BIM continue to grow at the pace we're now seeing across the world.