While clash detection in BIM software is highly automated, a 2026 study in ASCE’s Journal of Construction Engineering and Management found that review and resolution of those clashes remain manual and labor-intensive.
Most MEP coordination bottlenecks are formed at that stage, and the workload typically falls to one person, usually the BIM manager or VDC lead, who is already responsible for several other things on the project.
MEP coordination brings mechanical, electrical, plumbing, structural and architectural models together into one buildable design. Every trade updates on its own schedule, so those models are rarely in sync at the same time.
Once the models are federated, software flags where they conflict. Someone still has to review it, prioritize it, get a decision from the right trade, and document the fix before it’s actually closed. Left unresolved, small issues get expensive fast: a duct-to-beam conflict becomes field rework, a missed penetration affects structural work already in place, and tight equipment clearance forces a routing change after installation has already started.
Late design changes make this worse: moving one piece of equipment can affect ductwork, piping, electrical routing, structure, ceilings and access all at once.
Hiring another internal BIM coordinator sounds like the fix, but that role is one of the hardest in construction to fill right now. The Birmingham Group’s 2026 labor shortage analysis names VDC and BIM managers specifically among the toughest roles to hire, alongside senior superintendents and estimators. That search can run for months, and the coordination backlog keeps growing the whole time it does.
Away Digital saw this play out directly with a national MEP engineering firm managing a growing data center pipeline. Instead of one large clash report at the end of design, a team of five specialists plus a coordination lead went live from week one, running regular model federation and clash review cycles throughout. Clashes were filtered and grouped by floor, system and trade, exactly what Autodesk’s own Model Coordination guidance recommends for keeping review focused on real constructability issues instead of low-priority noise.
That shift recovered two to three weeks on key project milestones and cut costs 55 to 65% per role against an equivalent onshore hire. By the third project, the remote team was catching coordination issues before the firm’s own onshore engineers even raised them.
| Without a dedicated team | With a dedicated team | |
|---|---|---|
| Clash review | One large report at project milestones | Ongoing cycles, filtered by floor, system or trade |
| Model state | Often coordinated against an outdated version | Federated regularly, so every discipline works from the current one |
| Who owns it | Falls to internal PMs, engineers or the VDC lead | Carried by a team whose only responsibility is coordination |
A dedicated team runs the same fundamentals, just consistently rather than only when there’s time for them. A BIM Execution Plan sets standards, file naming, coordinates and LOD requirements upfront, before coordination even starts.
From there, the cycle repeats through design development and preconstruction: federate the models, prioritize real constructability issues over false positives, resolve with the relevant trade, document the decision, repeat. Design authority never moves. It stays with the architects, engineers and trade contractors throughout.
A few signs make the timing obvious:
A dedicated team adds that capacity without building a permanent BIM department to get there. For a closer look at why BIM talent has gotten this hard to hire in the first place, see why hiring BIM talent is slowing down architecture firms in 2026.
Away Digital builds dedicated BIM teams for construction companies delivering complex, MEP-intensive projects, structured around your tools, standards and workflows from day one. See how it works.
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