A Masters Class in the Architecture Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago revealed significant insight on the emerging legal issues surrounding Building Information Models and related business processes. It is evident that BIM is a new Standard of Care that is used in the building industry.

1. BIM Emerging as Legal Standard of Care
April 2011
By Michael Bordenaro
BIM Education Co-op Co-founder and LinkedIn Member
During a Master's of Architecture class in a Louis Sullivan Chicago landmark, building-
industry legal leader James Salmon, Esq. informed the students, and the other special
presenters that BIM is emerging as a new “Standard of Care” in the U.S. justice system.
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago's Architecture Department Masters class, held in
Sullivan's Carson Pirie Scott & Company building at State and Madison, was treated to a
special presentation including Salmon and Building Information Model leaders Professor
Hector Camps, and Kimon Onuma, FAIA.
Leading off the special web-based class with a presentation on Integrated Project Delivery,
Salmon described a recent case he helped settle out of court by showing that Building
Information Modeling processes would have alerted the team to problems in the pre-
construction phase before they surfaced in the field.
Salmon engaged Camps, who teaches Building Information Modeling at Miami Dade College,
to create a virtual model of the troubled project based on the original, 2D construction
documents. The 3D model clearly showed the problems that eventually arose in the field.
Building Information Model image of improper stair details that could have been identified in the design stage .
Image by Prof. Hector Camps of Miami Dade College and PHI-Cubed, Inc.
The legal team, of which Salmon was a member, showed defendants that using a Standard of
Care commonly achieved with Building Information Models points out problems in design
documents before construction. The legal team indicated they would tell a jury that if the
building team responsible for the construction problems would have made a Building
Information Model, the issues would have been identified and addressed before they
manifested in the field. The case was settled out of court.

2. Kimon Onuma, FAIA, a leader in the use of Building Information Models delayed the start of
his presentation to ask Salmon more about the meaning of “Standard of Care” and the
meaning of this settlement.
Salmon says, “A professional standard of care is specific to community or locality. A rural
doctor may be held to one standard of care while a doctor practicing at John Hopkins might
be held to a higher standard of care. The same is deemed to be true of design professionals
as the Ohio Administrative Code makes clear.”
The Ohio Administrative Code states “... a registered architect shall act with reasonable care
and competence and shall apply the knowledge and skill which is ordinarily applied by
registered architects of good standing, practicing in the same locality.”
Salmon says, “The "locality" of competent design professionals is quickly being redefined by
the Internet and ubiquitous access to information regarding Integrated Project Delivery,
Building Information Models and Lean processes on the web. In my business community
Kimon and Hector clearly demonstrate what a reasonable building industry professional would
do. As buildingSMART alliance board of direction members, they demonstrate proven
business practices.”
Salmon added, “Others will have a different Standard of Care. But in my community, if you
hire professionals who understand and engage in proven BIM business processes, you won't
go to court. You will build the building virtually first. Your collaborative partners will help you
resolve problems and share in financial rewards for achieving team goals.”
Salmon indicated that building industry professionals have been advised in the past not to
share their Models for fear of being sued. “Now, it is possible to be sued if you do not use
Building Information Modeling software in a manner consistent with emerging industry
standards,” Salmon says. “You might be embarrassed if your Model is inaccurate, but it is
better to be embarrassed and have a successful project that it is to be sued for not having a
Building Information Model.”
Onuma “Tweeted” his understanding of this key legal perspective within 24 hours.
The fact that building industry leaders are educating each other “on the fly” as they are
teaching students indicates that dramatic changes are occurring at a rapid pace in the
building industry. There is much uncertainty as to the best way to gain benefits from the
numerous technological developments happening on a regular basis. A good way to keep on
these developments is to join the buildingSMART alliance: signed up for Salmon's Blog; follow
Onuma on Twitter and see Camp's approaches to Revit education, CATIA and general BIM.
Building Information Model business processes, as represented by the Army Corps
of Engineers supported Construction-Operation Building Information Exchange are
being required by federal agencies. ONUMA, Inc. provides a free COBIE Checker to
help building industry professionals comply with federal requirements.
Collaborative Construction Blog at: http://collaborativeconstruction.blogspot.com/
Find Onuma's Twitter feeds at www.twitter.com
See more about Camp's educational material at www.phicubed.com