- Watch out
- What it costs
- Experienced readers
- Remember
- In BIMpedia
The best way to make the next project easier is to learn from this one, deliberately. Lessons learned sessions capture what went well and what didn't; close-out makes sure the project's record is complete and archived. Both are often skipped when everyone rushes to the next job.
A lesson is only useful when it changes something:
| Captured | Changed |
|---|---|
| "MEP models arrived 2 m off at the first drop" | Mobilisation checklist: test exchange in week 1 |
| "FM couldn't load our COBie" | Requirements template: test import at stage 4 |
| "Room numbers changed at stage 4" | Information standard: room numbering frozen at stage 3 |
Close-out for information
- Archive the final models, drawings, documents and decisions, with their status and revision.
- Hand over what the client needs (as agreed) and check acceptance.
- Record the lessons and send them to the owners of templates and standards.
- Close the project's CDE workspaces in an orderly way, keeping access for those who need the record.
Each project ends with a lessons workshop and a long spreadsheet. Nobody owns the actions. Three projects later, the same coordinate problem appears at the first model drop.
Each lesson gets an owner and a change: the BIM lead updates the mobilisation checklist and the office template within a month. On the next project, the first model drop lines up, and the lesson is marked "confirmed".
"At stage 4, the client said our door data was useless because the fire ratings used a different list from their FM system." Write it as a lesson learned with an owner and a change.
Key takeaways
- Capture lessons at each stage, not just at the end, while people still remember.
- Write each as what happened, why, and what to change; give it an owner.
- Turn lessons into changes: templates, BEP, information standard, requirements, training.
- Close-out archives the project record (final models, documents, decisions) so it can be found later.