A buyer's guide
How to choose a BIM consultant in the Gulf
Nine criteria, the questions to ask during selection and the signs that should make you pause. Written by a team that has done this work since 2015, for owners, public clients and design firms.
The nine criteria
- 01
Projects of the same type and scale
A hospital, a metro line and a hundred-building campus raise different problems. What counts is projects where the consultant played the role you are asking for, not the total number of references.
Questions to ask
- Which similar projects have you worked on, and in exactly what role?
- Who was your direct client, and can we speak to them?
- What did you deliver, and at which stage?
- 02
A clear position in the team
A consultant can work for the designer (modelling, design, coordination) or for the owner (writing requirements, checking models). Whoever checks should not be checking models they produced.
Questions to ask
- Who will you be working for on this appointment?
- Do you hold any other role on the same project?
- How do you separate production from checking?
- 03
Works to your standard, not theirs
The international reference is the ISO 19650 series: the owner's exchange information requirements (EIR), the BIM execution plan (BEP), the common data environment (CDE). A good consultant starts from your EIR and the owner's standards and applies them.
Questions to ask
- Can you show us a BEP you wrote in response to an owner's EIR?
- How do you handle an owner standard that differs from yours?
- Which CDE have you used, and with which approval workflows?
- 04
Engineering, not just modelling
The most expensive clashes are almost always MEP clashes. A team that can design MEP systems resolves a conflict in the model; a team that can only model reports it and waits.
Questions to ask
- Are there MEP engineers in the team?
- Can you design, not only model?
- Who decides how a clash is resolved?
- 05
A validation method you can see
Ask which rules are checked, how often, and how the result reaches you. A sample report is worth more than a description of the process.
Questions to ask
- Can we see a real, anonymised validation report?
- Are the check rules derived from our EIR?
- How is a non-conformity closed out?
- 06
Automation and openBIM
On programmes with tens or hundreds of models, manual checks do not hold up. What counts are scripts and checking tools, dashboards, and the ability to work in IFC without tying you to one software vendor.
Questions to ask
- Which checks have you automated on past projects?
- Do you also deliver in IFC?
- Do the dashboards stay with us at the end of the appointment?
- 07
Named, available people
Ask who the BIM manager and the discipline coordinators will be, how much of their time goes to your project, which time zone and language they work in, and when they will be on site.
Questions to ask
- Who is the BIM manager, and which projects have they run?
- What happens if a key person changes?
- How many working hours overlap each day?
- 08
Data that is still useful afterwards
The model also serves whoever will run the building. Agree from the start which asset data to hand over, in which format (IFC, COBie or the operator's standard) and how it will connect to the maintenance system or a digital twin.
Questions to ask
- Which asset data do you plan to hand over?
- Have you connected a model to an operations system before?
- Who checks data completeness at handover?
- 09
A fee model you can read
Lump sum per deliverable, time-based or per model: each works if the scope is well written. Ask how changes are handled and what is excluded.
Questions to ask
- What is included and what is not?
- How is a change priced?
- Does the price depend on the number of review cycles?
Engagement models compared
The same consultant can be appointed in different ways. Choose the model based on who needs to check whom.
| Model | When it fits | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Specialist sub-consultant to the lead designer | The lead designer needs BIM, MEP or coordination capacity it does not have in-house. | Roles and responsibilities towards the owner must be written into the BEP. |
| Owner's BIM advisor | The owner needs to write the EIR, assess BEPs at tender and check the models delivered. | It must be independent of whoever produces the models. |
| Outsourced production | Workload peaks, large-volume modelling to standards already defined. | Quality depends on your own checks: plan for an independent review. |
| Framework on a programme | Programmes with many buildings or packages, where rules and tools are reused. | Set indicators and reporting frequency from the start. |
Red flags
- No real sample deliverables, only slide decks.
- A fee proposal written before reading your EIR.
- The same level of development asked for everything at every stage.
- Model checking assigned to whoever produced the models.
- No named BIM manager, or one name on too many projects at once.
- Deliverables in proprietary formats only.
Selection checklist
- At least two projects of the same type, with role and deliverables described.
- Role in the team defined and separate from checking.
- A sample BEP written against a real EIR.
- Discipline engineers in the team, not only modellers.
- A sample validation report, with rules derived from your EIR.
- Automated checks and delivery in IFC.
- A named BIM manager, with clear availability and working language.
- Asset data and handover format agreed.
- Scope, exclusions and change handling written into the proposal.
In the Gulf: whose rules apply
In the Gulf, BIM requirements are set by owners and authorities rather than by a single national law. In Saudi Arabia the Building Permit is one application on MOMAH's Balady platform, submitted by a local Architect of Record, and government projects follow EXPRO's national manual with its BEP template. In Qatar, Ashghal publishes its own ISO 19650-based standard (ABIMS). In Dubai, Municipality circulars have required BIM for defined building categories since 2013. A consultant must work inside these rules, alongside the local Architect of Record, not around them.
Frequently asked questions
What does a BIM consultant do?+
They organise and control project information: writing or applying the information requirements, setting up the BEP and the common data environment, coordinating discipline models, checking their quality and preparing data for operations. Some consultants, BIMON among them, also design the MEP systems inside the model.
Local or international consultant?+
It depends on the role. Work that requires a local licence and dealings with the authorities stays with a locally registered practice; BIM management, coordination, MEP design and model checks can go to an external team, provided it works to the project's standards with enough overlapping hours.
Which documents should you ask for during selection?+
Sheets for similar projects with role and deliverables, a sample BEP, an anonymised validation report, the CV of the proposed BIM manager and a proposal with scope and exclusions in writing.
Can the same consultant model and check?+
Yes, if the checks are part of its own quality control. Checking on behalf of the owner, however, should go to someone who did not produce those models.
Middle East contact
Working on a Gulf project?
Tell us the project, the country, the stage and your role (owner, lead consultant, contractor). Riccardo Pagani, BIMON's CEO, will reply in English or Italian within one working day.
- r.pagani@bimon.it
- Offices
- Rome · Milan · Padua
- Time zone
- CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) · Riyadh, Doha UTC+3
Sources
Sources accessed on
- [1]ISO 19650-1:2018 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including BIM · ISO
- [2]RIBA Plan of Work: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Overlay · RIBA · 2026
- [3]Ashghal BIM Standards (ABIMS): Modelling and Data Management Guide D0601 V1 · Public Works Authority (Ashghal) · 2022-03-15
- [4]CMS Expert Guide to BIM: United Arab Emirates · CMS · 2017-06-30