Understand the work.
Make the cost visible.
A trade contractor is asked to “do BIM”. Before that can be priced, somebody has to turn those two words into people, hours, tools and an accepted result.
These are the questions behind BIMTA’s published discussion papers, shared by Steven Spry on LinkedIn. The June paper looks at the investment behind a working BIM capability. The July paper examines what practitioners were saying publicly about scope, access, coordination and information requirements. Together, they give us a starting point for better questions and practical tests.
Two papers. One practical concern.
The Cost of BIM Participation for Canadian Trade Contractors
Buying a licence is only part of the investment. The paper considers hardware, training, paid practice, templates, content, support and the people doing the work.
Read for: a fuller cost checklist and the difference between developing company capability and delivering a particular project.
Preliminary web-based assessment. English and French in the supplied PDF. Planning scenarios, not independently audited Canadian averages.
Read original cost paper (PDF) ↗Public BIM Discussion Research Report
The reviewed discussions raise questions about unclear scope, unavailable models, repeated coordination, disconnected platforms and data requests without an obvious use.
Read for: questions to bring into procurement and delivery planning before the effort becomes an argument.
BIMTA-RPT-2026-001. A qualitative review of selected public discussions. Not a representative survey, verified account of each dispute or measure of Canadian prevalence.
Read original discussion report (PDF) ↗The licence is the beginning.
A new modeller needs more than access to software. Someone must prepare the content, explain the trade workflow, check the work and help when an export or model exchange fails. Introductory training and independent project delivery are different stages of development.
The June paper uses central planning ranges of CAD $35,000–$85,000 for first-year capability development, excluding normal compensation, and CAD $95,000–$175,000 for continuing annual capability. Its wider itemised scenarios are $29,500–$98,000 and $92,500–$204,500 respectively. These are the paper’s stated scenarios, not a quotation, measured average or statistical confidence interval. See sections 6–8 of the original paper.
Use the categories to build your own budget. Do not add the two ranges together: software, support and paid development time can overlap. Reconcile paid learning with payroll, and check whether your loaded rate already includes overhead or equipment. Replace dated prices and wage references with your own current quotes and employment costs.
Bring the trade into the conversation early.
BIMTA’s position: the people who will model, coordinate, fabricate and install should help test whether a requirement can be delivered. Clear requirements should let the trade price the work and identify how it will benefit from the result.
The July report’s themes become useful when they turn into specific project questions. The questions below are BIMTA’s practical interpretation, not findings that a particular owner, consultant or contractor has failed.
| Before committing | Make this clear |
|---|---|
| Model access | Which background models will arrive, when, and for what permitted use? Who prices missing geometry or additional scanning? |
| Coordination authority | Who resolves competing requirements, confirms decisions and accepts the coordinated result? |
| Fabrication readiness | What additional detail, checking and release is needed before the shop can use the model? |
| Change and recoordination | How will revised inputs, affected areas, extra effort and approval references be recorded? |
| Data and handover | Who receives each field or export, what will they do with it, and how will they accept it? |
| Technology and training | Can the team complete and check the agreed workflow with the available tools, access, support and practice time? |
Raise unresolved points through the project’s permitted bid-question or change process. Recording additional effort does not, by itself, establish an entitlement to payment.
Know what the evidence can tell you.
The cost paper distinguishes public source figures, arithmetic, BIMTA assumptions and illustrative scenarios. Keep those labels attached when reusing a number. The discussion report records themes in a selected source set. A public complaint is evidence of a reported experience, not an independently established project fact.
For the underlying information-management principle, the UK BIM Framework’s Guidance Part D, edition 2 (February 2021), explains purpose-led information requirements and explicit acceptance criteria. See printed pages 30–35. This is supporting UK guidance, not a Canadian contract requirement automatically imposed on a project.
Reading notes on the original publications
- The PDFs are preserved as supplied. This web summary was added on 20 October 2026. It does not refresh every source or certify either paper.
- The June paper’s central ranges are narrower communication ranges selected by BIMTA. The itemised endpoints are shown above so the distinction remains visible. Its training hours are assumptions, not a qualification standard.
- The July report lists ISO 5966 as source S9 for report presentation. Its inclusion in the owner-requirements evidence row on page 5 should not be treated as evidence of owner behaviour. Report-format references are not project-performance evidence.
- Earlier platform complaints describe the discussions reviewed at the time. They do not establish defects in today’s software. Check current documentation and test the project’s exact versions.
- Neither paper measures a guaranteed return, proves a national rate of occurrence or establishes contractual liability. Original source registers and limitations remain in each PDF.
Help turn discussion into evidence.
A useful next contribution names the task, the required output, the complete effort and what the receiving team accepted. Keep confidential models, contracts, rates and personal details in approved company storage. General lessons can be discussed without identifying the project.