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Smart BIM

About the project

Smart BIM

Smart BIM — Designing for Smarter, Safer, More Collaborative Construction
 
Smart BIM is an AI-powered platform that integrates Building Information Modelling (BIM) with intelligent property and construction management tools. It supports the full construction lifecycle—from planning and coordination to operations and maintenance—by streamlining workflows, enabling real-time collaboration, and making complex building data accessible and actionable.

As the UI/UX Designer, I collaborated with the product manager, engineering team, and BIM consultants to:
  • Translate technical BIM processes into intuitive user flows
  • Build a scalable design system
  • Prototype key platform features for real-world use cases
  • Solve pain points experienced by engineers, project managers, and field technicians

Role

User Experience
User Interface

Visual Design

Prototyping

Company

ShiPeng Technology

Year

2025

Who are our users?

Key Stakeholders in Smart BIM and Their Roles
Electrical Inspectors

Engineers (Structural, MEP, etc.)

Engineers—including structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing specialists—use Smart BIM to detect design clashes, and analyze system layouts. The platform allows them to interact with complex building data intuitively, while AI-assisted tools help them identify errors and improve coordination across disciplines.

Two male engineers looking information on Imac at a construction site

Contractors

Contractors rely on Smart BIM for construction planning, real-time progress tracking, and on-site issue management.
They use the platform’s scheduling tools to stay on top of deadlines, while the integrated dashboards and material tracking features help reduce waste and improve efficiency during the build process.

Construction site visitor

Owners and Facility Managers

Owners and facility managers benefit from Smart BIM through long-term access to a digital twin of their building.
They use the platform to manage maintenance schedules, monitor energy performance, and integrate building systems—all from a centralized interface that evolves with the building over time.

Interior Designer

Interior Designers and Landscape Architects

Interior designers and landscape architects use Smart BIM to visualize and align their designs within the larger building model. This coordination helps prevent conflicts with structural or mechanical elements, ensuring smoother collaboration and fewer design changes during construction.

Architect

Government Agencies

Government agencies turn to Smart BIM for regulatory review, public infrastructure planning, and oversight of large-scale construction projects. The platform provides them with up-to-date models, documentation, and progress reports to ensure transparency and compliance at every stage.

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Software Providers

BIM designers use Smart BIM to upload and update models, communicate with on-site teams through the Q&A system, and make adjustments as needed. This helps ensure design accuracy and improves collaboration with both internal teams and clients.

Understanding the Problems

We began by identifying key friction points in construction project management through stakeholder interviews and task flow mapping.

Key Challenges:
 

plans

Error-Prone Quality Checks

Construction quality often suffers due to fragmented documentation, outdated drawings, and inconsistent communication across teams. Without a centralized source of truth, mistakes in installation and construction are common—leading to delays, rework, and compliance issues. Teams often struggle to verify the latest version of project plans, which increases the risk of unauthorized or incorrect implementation on-site.

Working with Financial Documents

Cost Overruns

Material waste and procurement inefficiencies are major drivers of rising project costs. Inaccurate or incomplete information about required materials results in over-ordering, under-ordering, or duplication of supplies. Additionally, lack of transparency in procurement workflows and difficulty tracking material flow across teams contribute to inflated budgets and missed savings opportunities.

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Delayed Timelines

Projects frequently fall behind schedule due to misaligned teams, last-minute design changes, and unforeseen site issues. Errors during construction phases often require rework, which consumes both time and resources. Meanwhile, poor coordination between departments and lack of real-time updates make it hard for stakeholders to respond quickly to shifting conditions, leading to contractual breaches and penalty risks.

These challenges result in significant productivity loss and low transparency between teams on-site and off-site. When information is scattered across multiple platforms or buried within siloed systems, teams often spend excessive time chasing updates, clarifying responsibilities, or waiting on approvals.

This leads to delays in decision-making, duplicated efforts, and increased chances of miscommunication. Without a centralized, real-time view of project data, it becomes difficult for off-site teams to stay aligned with on-site progress, ultimately weakening collaboration and accountability across the organization.

ABOUT

Backend in a box called brainCloud is a cloud-based backend platform that provides pre-built features for game developers to build multiplayer, social, and free-to-play mobile games across platforms without having to develop their own backend systems.

It offers APIs for cloud data storage, multiplayer functionality, achievements, leaderboards, monetization through in-app purchases and promotions, and notifications. Developers can also extend its functionality through custom cloud code.

My mission was to refresh the brainCloud brand logo and enhance the user interface and experience design across key platform feature pages.
By introducing new features and optimizing existing ones, the goal is to create a more seamless, efficient, and engaging experience for developers, improving workflow, accessibility, and overall satisfaction.

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Our UX Approach

To solve these issues, we designed a BIM-centered platform powered by AI and integrated visualization tools. Our design approach focused on
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Key Features & UX Solutions

Project Dashboard

The main portal for managing all construction projects. Users can:

  • Switch seamlessly between list and map views for a clear overview of all projects.

  • Quickly compare and track project progress, budget, and critical issues through dashboard cards.

  • Navigate directly into specific projects for deeper management and updates

Side Navigation

The side navigation enables users to seamlessly switch between the Company tab—providing an overview of all projects—and the Project tab for a deep dive into a specific project. Within the Project tab, a project selector allows users to choose which specific project they want to view.

My Schedule

Users can view and manage schedules across all projects to:

  • Consolidate inspection deadlines, meetings, and key events from multiple projects into a single calendar view

  • Track upcoming activities by date to ensure timely follow-ups and prevent missed milestones

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Mission Center

View and control every project’s tasks in one place — from design to construction — with real-time status, priorities, and assignments:

  • Centralize design, construction, and collaboration issues from multiple projects in one view

  • Monitor status, priority, and assignees to keep every project on schedule and aligned

BIM Dashboard

Users can upload 3D BIM models to:

  • Present architectural layouts with real-world precision

  • Analyze and highlight design conflicts before construction begins

  • See any referenced model elements listed in the right-hand issue panel

  • Click the Target icon on an issue card to locate the corresponding component in the model for comparison

  • Navigate directly to the issue in Issue Management from the issue list

  • View related issues in the right-hand panel when selecting a component in the model

Timeline Management

Interactive timeline page for planning and tracking project milestones:

 

  • Integrates with model updates and construction phases

  • Helps teams visualize progress and deadlines in real-time

  • Integrates with an AI assistant that, once provided with project details, generates an optimized project timeline and Gantt chart based on the given data and schedule—making progress tracking simpler and more efficient

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