Who is responsible for the Model Quality Assurance?

[Boglarka Orban]

In our previous article, What is the Role of a BIM Coordinator?, we identified the primary responsibilities of a BIM Manager and a BIM Coordinator.

It is not a short list and shows us how a good office structure, with clear roles and responsibilities, is strategic for the success of a BIM project. 

Model quality assurance is the process of reviewing and validating a BIM model to ensure it meets project standards for accuracy, consistency, and data integrity—covering elements like geometry, classifications, naming conventions, and IFC data—to support reliable documentation, collaboration, and compliance.

As a BIM Coordinator, one of the most important tasks I was responsible for was checking the quality of the architectural model.  

I had to perform frequent model audits to ensure the project complied with the client’s requirements, national/ international standards, and office standards. This proactive activity would guarantee the model was always ready to communicate and coordinate while exchanging information. Moreover, it would play a crucial role in maintaining the consistency of all project outputs, helping with the business identity. This task was only possible because a clear Quality Assurance Strategy was in place.

Learn more about Quality Assurance with our BIM Coordinator Program

The BIM Manager should define the quality assurance strategy for the practice by defining:  

• Who will be responsible for the quality checks?
• When will these checks be performed? 
• What will be checked? and
• How to perform the checks

The BIM Coordinator is the most suitable professional for running quality assurance checks at the project level. They will have a good understanding of project development and will be able to ensure that the checks are done following the project timeline. Considering the project requirements, they will also know how to identify what needs to be checked, considering any project's specificities.

Here are the different checks that a BIM Coordinator could perform:   

• Visual checks to identify any elements that are redundant in the model. For example, by opening the 3d window in Archicad, you can navigate through the model, checking for flying objects, obvious element repetition,ns or missing elements.
• Interference checks within the discipline model. This is internal clash detection. For example, you can check for door clearance or whether the ceiling height is suitable for the window arrangement.
• Standards checks to ensure that both the internal practice standards and the agreed standards in the project have been applied to the model elements. For example, you can check if the layer naming follows the agreed naming convention.
• Information checks within the discipline model to validate and verify the data attached to the model elements. For example, you can check if elements are correctly classified and have a unique ID, structural function, and position.

All these checks can be performed in Archicad using tools such as Graphic Overrides, Interactive Schedules, Collision Detection, or Model Compare. However, the BIM Coordinator should also be able to use different software, such as Solibri, to perform any required additional checks.

To learn more about Model Quality Assurance, sign up for the BIM Coordinator Program on Graphisoft Learn.