In-House vs Outsourced BIM Coordination: What GCs Should Keep and What to Hand Out

It’s 11 pm on a Monday. Your coordination meeting starts at 9 tomorrow morning.

The mechanical model arrived an hour ago. Your only VDC coordinator is still federating models, running clash tests, and building the report. On two other projects.

Sound familiar? Many general contractors have more coordination work than coordinators. The question isn’t whether to get help. It’s which parts to hand out, and which to keep.

What does BIM coordination involve on a GC’s project?

On most projects, BIM coordination follows the same cycle, week after week:

• Collect the latest models from each trade.

• Check them: right location, right naming, right level of detail.

• Federate them, which means combining all trade models into one model, usually in Navisworks.

• Run clash tests to find where systems collide or crowd each other.

• Group and assign the clashes, so each issue has an owner.

• Meet with the trades to agree to fixes.

• Track each issue until it’s closed and repeated.

Some of this need judgment and authority. Much of it is careful, repeatable production work. That split is the key to outsourcing.

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Which BIM coordination tasks should a GC keep in-house?

The pattern is simple. Anything that needs a decision, a relationship, or a signature stays with you. Anything that turns files into a clear, meeting-ready picture can go out.

When does outsourcing BIM coordination make sense?

Outsourcing tends to pay off when:

• You’re running several projects at once with one or two VDC staff

• Your workload has peaks, such as several projects entering coordination together

• You need reports ready before every meeting, without late nights

• Some trades can’t model their own systems and need modeling support

• You want your coordinators doing site and trade work, not file processing

When should BIM coordination stay fully in-house?

Keeping everything in-house can be the better call when:

• One very large project has a full VDC team on site

• The contract requires on-site coordination staff

• The project has strict security rules about where files can go

• Your team has the capacity, and the process already works

Or see how our BIM clash detection services work.

How do you outsource BIM coordination without losing control?

The GCs who outsource well set the rules before the first model changes hands:

• Agree for a clash matrix. That’s a simple grid of which systems are tested against which, and how close is too close (the tolerance).

• Set naming and grouping rules, so every report looks the same and is easy to scan.

• Fix the deadline before each meeting: for example, a report was delivered the afternoon before.

• Use one issue tracker that your team, the partner, and the trades all see.

• Agree who updates after each meeting.

• Keep the chair. Your coordinator runs the meeting; the partner supports.

• Review weekly and fix process problems early.

If you also link the model to the construction schedule, the same partner can often support 4D schedule linking.

What should you ask for an outsourced BIM coordination partner?

• Which software do you use for federation and clash testing, and which versions?

• How quickly can you turn around a clash report after new models arrive?

• How many hours overlap with our working day?

• Have you worked on our type of building, or with similar trades?

• Can we see a sample clash report and issue log?

• Who will be our day-to-day contact?

• How are our models and files kept secure?

The sample report is the most revealing. It shows whether the partner understands what your team needs on Tuesday morning.

More about how we support contractors: BIM for general contractors.

How is outsourced BIM coordination priced?

Usually one of two ways: a price per project or coordination phase, or a monthly rate for a dedicated coordinator supporting several projects.

Per project suits a defined coordination phase. A monthly rate suits a steady pipeline.

Frequently asked questions

Can an outsourced team run our coordination meetings?They can join and support them, presenting clashes and recording decisions. But your coordinator should chair, because decisions about cost, schedule, and trade responsibility are yours.

Do we still need an in-house VDC coordinator?Yes, in most cases. Outsourcing removes the production load, not the need for someone with authority to lead coordination and make decisions.

How do we keep trades accountable if coordination is outsourced?The same way as now: through your meetings, your issue tracker, and your contracts. The partner prepares the information; your team holds the trades to it.

What do we need to share with an outsourced coordination team?Access to the trade models, your clash matrix and tolerances, naming rules, the meeting schedule, and the issue tracker. A confidentiality agreement should be signed first.