VDC Consulting for Owners & Developers
Owners pay for BIM on almost every large project and receive something useful on far fewer of them. The gap is rarely technology — it is that nobody wrote down what the model was supposed to do, who owned it, or what had to be delivered at handover. We write those requirements, hold the project team to them, and represent the owner's interest in the coordination process. Our VDC work spans a $1.5B pharmaceutical campus, a $450M sports complex, a $150M academic medical center, and a $100M civic cultural center.
BIM Requirements Nobody Defined
Most owner contracts require "BIM" without specifying LOD by discipline and phase, naming conventions, model ownership, exchange formats, or what has to be handed over at closeout. When the requirement is undefined, the delivered model is whatever the design team happened to produce, and the owner discovers the gap at handover when there is no leverage left.
No Independent Check on Coordination
Coordination status is usually reported by the party being paid to perform it. Without an independent read on open versus resolved conflicts, an owner has no way to know whether coordination is genuinely converging on the milestone or whether the clash count is falling because tests were narrowed.
The Handover Model Nobody Can Use
A model that was excellent for construction coordination is often useless for facilities management, because asset data, equipment tagging, and space naming were never requirements. Owners then pay a second time to produce the record model they thought they were already buying.
We work from the owner's side of the table. That starts with a BIM Execution Plan and LOD matrix written as contract-usable requirements rather than aspirations, including what each party authors, at what level of development, at which phase, and what must be delivered at closeout. During construction we provide an independent read on coordination progress — open, resolved, and reopened conflicts by trade and zone — so status reporting is not solely coming from the party being measured. And because handover requirements are defined at the start, the model the owner receives is one facilities can actually use.
What does an owner's VDC consultant actually do?
Three things. Before the project, define what BIM has to deliver and write it into the requirements. During the project, give the owner an independent read on whether coordination is converging rather than relying on self-reported status. At closeout, verify that what was contracted was actually delivered. It is a representation role, not a production role.
We already have a general contractor running BIM. Why add a consultant?
Because the contractor's BIM program is scoped to build the building, which is the right priority for them and not always the same as the owner's. Handover data, record model quality, and asset information are usually outside that scope unless someone requires them. An owner's consultant sets those requirements up front and checks them at the end.
When is the right time to bring in owner-side VDC?
Before the design and construction contracts are executed, because that is when BIM requirements can still be written into them. Engaging after award means negotiating for deliverables that were never scoped. If the project is already underway, the next best moment is before construction documents are finalized.
What should be in an owner's BIM requirements?
At minimum: LOD by discipline and phase, model authoring and ownership responsibilities, naming and coordinate standards, coordination meeting and issue workflow protocols, exchange formats and frequency, and an explicit definition of the closeout deliverable, including whether asset data and equipment tagging are required for facilities management.
