Clients often compare BIM modelling outsourcing with two other options: hiring a freelancer or taking on a new employee. A freelancer is usually one person, with limited capacity as soon as a project turns out bigger than planned. Taking on a new employee takes time, brings ongoing salary costs and leaves an immediate gap during illness or holidays.
With us it works differently: we already have a large, variable team ready that scales up or down on each project to whatever the work requires.
If someone drops out through illness or holiday, we replace them, without you having to arrange anything yourself. There are no ongoing salary costs, and the project knowledge stays with our team rather than with one individual. That is how we keep BIM modelling moving, even when circumstances change along the way. For you, that is the key difference from a freelancer or a new member of staff. We always weigh this up together with you in a first conversation.
Cable tray routing in the model, built with parametric families that carry the material schedule with them.
Parametric working in BIM modelling
A large part of BIM modelling revolves around parametric working: components that adapt to a new situation or a different size, instead of a drafter redrawing them by hand each time. We build these parametric Revit families, in other words smart components, which we set up once and can then place anywhere in the project. A familiar example comes from greenhouse construction: companies there that work in AutoCAD often redraw a valve in a piping system every time it is needed in a different size, such as 90 or 110. With a smart family, we place that same valve in a single action, in the correct size, without starting again.
In that kind of work, it saves at least seventy per cent of the time, and that is exactly where BIM modelling proves its value over standalone drafting. The material schedule updates automatically: if the component changes, the schedule changes with it, without anyone having to check it separately. That avoids someone having to recount by hand afterwards whether the schedule still matches the model. Not every existing project already has a setup like this: sometimes a set of families or templates has become messy, with duplicate or contradictory components that every drafter uses slightly differently.
In that case we first look at whether a clean-up will do or whether rebuilding is quicker, which depends on how far the existing set has drifted from a logical structure. For you, the result is the same: a set of smart components that makes the modelling faster and more consistent, rather than starting from zero every time.
Software and file formats for BIM modelling
We carry out outsourced BIM modelling mainly in Revit, complemented by AutoCAD and Rhino, and where relevant Inventor and Grasshopper, with Dynamo and Vault to a limited extent. We always work with the latest versions, so you never run into an outdated file format. We exchange files in the standard Revit formats, supplemented by DXF, DWG and STEP, and in practice our drafters can handle virtually any common CAD format.
That matters a great deal, because a BIM model often serves as the basis for other parties on a project, from contractors to installers, each working in their own software. We work in our own environment, with our own licences, not in yours, which means we can start straight away without you having to set anything up first. When connecting to an existing set, we first look at how it has been built: which families already exist, which naming conventions you use and which components are still standalone.
If that set hangs together logically, we build on it using the same structure, without imposing our own. If the existing set is messy or contradictory, we raise that with you first, because building further on an illogical set ultimately costs more time than bringing order to it first. With BIM modelling in particular, a well-built model forms the basis for everything that follows, from 2D derivatives to material schedules, which is why we deliberately spend time on that setup at the start of a job.
No ongoing payroll costs and no idle staff once the peak is over. If one of our people is off sick or on holiday, we replace them and the work simply carries on.
What BIM modelling outsourcing delivers
BIM modelling outsourcing gives you a complete BIM model, together with all the derived drawings that go with it. From the model we deliver 2D drawings such as floor plans, elevations and sections, which we take directly from the model rather than building them separately. Where needed, we add detail drawings, for example for junctions or components that deserve extra explanation within the bigger picture. Parametric Revit families are a standard part of our work: smart components that adapt to a new situation, with a material schedule that updates automatically as soon as something in the model changes. We clean up existing families and templates or, if a set has become too messy, rebuild them. We also take on revisions of an existing model, for example when a BIM model no longer matches the current situation on site or an amended design.
We deliver our output in the standard Revit formats and, where you need it, also in DWG, DXF or STEP, so other parties on the project can carry on working with it. On larger jobs we deliver in stages, with interim feedback rounds, rather than all at once at the end. Exactly what we deliver depends on the phase of the project: in an early phase the emphasis is on setting up the model, in a later phase on the derived drawings and the material schedule. We always discuss this with you beforehand, so it is clear what output will be ready at the end of the job.
Quality control on every modelling job
BIM modelling outsourcing also raises a question about control for many clients: who reviews the work, and how do we prevent an error in the model from resurfacing further down the line. With us, every model and every drawing goes through at least three review layers before delivery. A drafter builds the model or drawing, a second team member checks that work for consistency and accuracy, Sam, our team leader, then goes over it once more, and Barry, our project manager, does a final check before it goes to you.
That sequence of checks is not a formality; it is how we keep errors to a minimum in practice, even with a high volume of modelling work.
For BIM models this matters even more, because a model often forms the basis for multiple derived drawings and for the material schedule: an error that creeps into the model automatically carries through into everything we derive from it. By placing the checks early in the process, with the drafter and the second team member, we prevent an error from only coming to light late on, when fixing it takes much more time.
With a parametric family this applies even more strongly, because an error in the setup of one smart component carries through to every place that component is used. That is why we always check a new family especially carefully before deploying it in multiple places in a project. For you, this means you do not have to follow along every day to build on our results with confidence.
Frequently asked questions about BIM modelling outsourcing
Hand your BIM modelling over to us
Send us your documents and drawing conventions and we will let you know within one to two working days what we can take on and when.