A common misperception about BIM is that it�s just for designing and constructing buildings. �People shouldn�t look at the word �building� in BIM as an actual building, but as the verb �to build,�� says Jay Mezher, design visualization manager for Parsons Brinckerhoff in Seattle. �It�s not limited to vertical structures. You can model and analyze as many issues in horizontal projects as you can in buildings.�
An increasing number of engineers and builders in the industrial, infrastructure and civil disciplines are finding valuable applications for model-enabled processes on nonbuilding projects, paving the way toward a range of new opportunities. This emerging area of practice is what we call “Heavy BIM.”