In 2022, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) published a series of restructured and substantially revised digital practice documents. This article provides an overview of the new documents.
Design professionals, owners, and contractors increasingly encounter building information modeling (BIM) on a variety of projects. Owners and contractors routinely ask designers to share their BIM models so they can rely on the models during construction. Architects and engineers must anticipate and manage a variety of BIM-related issues.
Before beginning any project, think through an array of BIM-related questions, including:
- How will BIM be used?
- Will the BIM models be for internal use only, shared with the entire design team, or provided to the owner as well as the construction team?
- If they will be shared, how and what stage of design will the models be used and to what extent can they be relied upon?
- Who will be collaborating on the development of the model?
- Will the collaboration’s resulting model be used solely through the design phase, or will its use continue through construction and beyond?
- How will model versions be controlled?
AIA Contract Documents has published a series of restructured and substantially revised digital practice documents to help parties address many of these questions.1
1. See AIA Contract Documents’ s for detailed descriptions of the new documents.
2022 AIA digital documents
The new documents are intended to initiate an up-front discussion about the extent to which BIM and digital data will be used on a project, including how both may be used and relied on. The goal is to give parties the means to share modeling information while anticipating and managing risk.
The new AIA digital practice documents help the parties walk through a process. First, the parties choose an exhibit based on their goals and concerns. The AIA offers four BIM exhibits for documenting agreed-upon expectations regarding scope and anticipated authorized uses of BIM and digital data. The exhibits set out the parties’ agreement on a few big-ticket items, such as the extent of model sharing across the project, permitted model use(s), and confidentiality and intellectual property issues. If BIM models are to be shared project-wide, a single version of a BIM exhibit is expected to be incorporated into each project contract.
The BIM model as a “Contract Document”
Exhibit E201TM–2022, BIM Exhibit for Sharing Models with Project Participants, Where Model Versions May be Enumerated as a Contract Document, designates a specific model version, or a specific portion of a model, as a “Contract Document.” (“Contract Document” is considered a defined term in the AIA agreements, with a specific meaning...and implications. It’s defined in the AIA owner/contractor contracts “as part of the Contract for Construction.”)
The AIA recognizes that designating a BIM model as a contract document represents a significant decision, one that acknowledges the reality that owners and more sophisticated contractors increasingly want and expect to have the design team’s BIM model. While proponents believe that this practice will help streamline the design and construction process, others worry that it blurs the traditional division of responsibility and liability between the design and construction teams and exposes both parties to unknown risks.
The risks, the AIA believes, are largely addressed in the new exhibit. Because all parties are “aligned in their understanding as to the extent of the reliance on particular model versions,” the design team can adjust its modeling efforts accordingly and address the increased level of design services and corresponding fees up front. The AIA acknowledges that the decision to designate a BIM model as a contract document should be made carefully with the advice of legal and insurance counsel. 色多多视频Design Professional agrees.
The new documents are intended to initiate an up-front discussion about the extent to which BIM and digital data will be used on a project.
Additional AIA BIM exhibits
E202TM–2022, BIM Exhibit for Sharing Models with Project Participants, Where Model Versions May Not be Enumerated as a Contract Document. This exhibit is intended for use when the model will be shared among all project participants but does not designate model versions as contract documents. Many of the other terms of E202 are similar to those in E201.
E401TM–2022, BIM Exhibit for Sharing Models Solely Within the Design Team. This exhibit is intended to be used when models will be shared solely within the design team, defined by the AIA as “the Architect, its Consultants, Subconsultants, and Sub-subconsultants, at any tier.” The exhibit anticipates a siloed approach to modeling, in which members of the design team create and distribute their models within the design team only and allows parties to "establish terms and protocols governing reliance upon, and the ownership, development, uses, and sharing..." of BIM models. For example, the parties could decide whether they can rely on shared models or use them solely for clarity.
E402TM–2022, BIM Exhibit for Sharing Models Solely Within the Construction Team. This is also a siloed approach, making the models available for use within the construction team only and not with the project owner or any member of the design team.
BIM Execution Plan, Model Element Tables, and third-party sharing
Once parties select the appropriate AIA exhibit, they complete a BIM Execution Plan (G203TM–2022), which helps them make more detailed decisions related to model sharing, software requirements, security, and modeling protocols.
The AIA offers two new model element tables the parties can incorporate into their execution plan if they will be using one to convey their Levels of Development (LOD): G204TM–2022, Model Element Table and G205TM–2022, Abbreviated Model Element Table.
The AIA C106TM–2022, Digital Data Licensing Agreement, can be used when the design professional needs to send digital data to someone with whom there is no existing agreement. The agreement would require the receiving party to indemnify the transmitting party for claims arising from modification or unlicensed use of the data.
Before executing any BIM agreement, seek expert guidance from your lawyer; your liability exposure and business needs will vary depending on the project. In addition, talk with your liability insurance specialist to make sure there are no gaps in your coverage.
For much more information about BIM contracts and risk management suggestions, see the newly revised “Electronic Information: Building Information Modeling” chapter and “Exhibit 15 – BIM Loss Prevention Checklist” in the Contract Guide, available on the .
References:
1. American Institute of Architects
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