Case 4: BIM University A private university teamed with a national architect and a major local GC to design and build a 100,000 square foot high-technology laboratory and classroom building. All parties committed to achieve as many of the leading-edge current design and construction management topics as possible, including lean construction techniques, certified LEED gold, just-in-time (JIT) deliveries, locally sourced building materials, and others. Because the students on this campus are so green and techy, the team also committed to design and build the $60 million project paperless. The architect and GC convinced the owners representative that because of all of these cutting-edge approaches, there was no way to fix a lump sum or guaranteed maximum price (GMP) construction cost estimate up front. The GC therefore received a cost-plus percentage fee (CPPF) contract with a 4% fee. There were not any physical copies of drawings, specifications, RFIs, submittals, meeting notes, job diaries, or other typical construction management (CM) tools utilized throughout the course of construction. Building information modeling ( BIM) was used by all team members and each company had a full-time BIM operator whose training was paid as a job cost. The BIM operators had their own weekly coordination meeting outside of the other standard owner-architect-contractor (OAC), RFI, change order proposal (COP), submittal, and other weekly jobsite meetings. The project was completed safely, on time, and with adequate quality. The final cost was approximately $750 per square foot. Because of electronic tools, such as BIM, the GC reported upon completion the project cost 10% less than if it had been built utilizing conventional paper CM tools. The wages for the BIM operators for the general contractor, architect, project owner, and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) subcontractors amounted to $1.5 million over the course of this two-year project, not including computers and software and office space. During close-out, the university conducted a standard open-book audit of the contractors books. The auditor was unaware that the project did not have some price guarantee and was at a loss on how to report back to the universitys board of regents that the actual costs could be substantiated. Apparently, the owners representative, although experienced and authorized to award and manage the contract, did not run the CPPF idea past his superiors. Can the GCs cost-effective claim be verified? What are the cost differences between a conventional and paperless construction project? Who ultimately paid for all of the BIM coordination on this project? How much did BIM save from the bottom line? How much did it cost? Can a true cost comparison of any two projects ever be conducted? Arent there always differences?