In 2017, the HKSAR Government decreed that BIM technology must be used in the design and construction of all major government capital works projects with a project estimate of more than HK$30 million that were scheduled to start during or after 2018, and that the use of this technology in private construction projects should also be promoted. This has generated a surge in demand for BIM personnel and training needs.

To ensure that the construction professionals have appropriate skill levels and competency in using BIM technology, and that the scope and quality of BIM courses provided in the market meet the requirements, it was important to establish a certification body for BIM personnel and an accreditation body for BIM training courses in Hong Kong.

To facilitate the healthy development of BIM in Hong Kong, CIC has introduced the BIM Certification and Accreditation Schemes to ascertain the competency of BIM personnel and the quality of local BIM training courses.

The Certification of BIM Coordinator is targeted at BIM practitioners who already have relevant practical experience in BIM projects, meet the relevant academic requirement and have completed a CIC-Accredited BIM Coordinator Course.

Core Competencies of a BIM Coordinator:

1. BIM Initiation (Ability to describe BIM concept definitions and scope, BIM standards and guidelines in Hong Kong and global contexts). (Level 2)
2. BIM Software and Technologies (Ability to operate BIM software[1] and the modelling process, and describe current and relevant technologies). (Level 3)
3. BIM Uses and Processes (Ability to understand BIM uses, apply BIM software applications, and to execute and administer the responsible BIM tasks for individual or cross-disciplinary BIM project coordination). (Level 3)
4. Digital Information Management, Collaboration and Integration (Ability to execute and administer the operation of a common data environment and data quality control system for effective use and sharing of digital information in a BIM project). (Level 3)
5. Communication Skills (Ability to apply interpersonal and communication skills in meetings, report / training material writing, etc.). (Level 3)

[1] Commonly used BIM software could be found from the list of Construction Innovation and Technology Fund (CITF) pre-approved BIM software available on website of CITF http://www.citf.cic.hk/?route=search).

BIM Uses in Core Competency 3 could be referenced to the CIC BIM Standards (General), the Development Bureau's Technical Circular (Works) No.9/2019 and the BIM Project Execution Planning Guide by Penn State University.

There is a legend indicating the minimum level of each core competency achieved by a BIM Coordinator.

Level 1:   General appreciation of the subject and an understanding of how the subject may affect, or integrate with other subjects.

Level 2:   Knowledge and understanding of the subject and its application.

Level 3:   Ability to perform the subject independently or under supervision.

Level 4:   Ability to perform the subject without supervision and advise others.

To be eligible for Certification as a BIM Coordinator, you must meet the following requirements:

1. Qualification – A diploma (or equivalent) in Qualifications Framework (QF) Level 4 or above qualification accredited or recognised by a CIC-recognised professional body^[1] in architecture, engineering, surveying, building or construction, or equivalent, as recognised by CIC, plus proof of 3 years of full-time relevant work experience (with at least 6 months stationed in HK);
2. Has gained at least 1 year full-time relevant BIM experience in BIM projects, in latest five years (with at least 6 months stationed in Hong Kong), that able to demonstrate the applicant possessing the required levels of the Core Competencies as stipulated in the Certification of BIM Coordinators. Examples of BIM project coordination and related task such as implementation of BIM Execution Plan on a BIM project, BIM modelling production and collaborate information exchange amongst related stakeholders, maintain a Task Information delivery plan, performing BIM-related coordination (internally or externally) with the stakeholders, administration and maintenance of data exchange to the project Common Data Environment, assist in holding or facilitating various BIM related meeting internally or externally, performing BIM data quality control/checking or assurance in BIM projects, etc.. ; Or please refer to Annex A of Application Guide for more examples.
3. Successful completion of:
   1. BIM Coordinator course(s) accredited by CIC. (A grace period of one year is allowed before new applicants are required to submit a completion certificate of a CIC-Accredited BIM Coordinator Course in support of their applications. This grace period will end on 31 March 2021.) PLUS;
   2. at least one BIM software/platform training course in operation level as recognised by CIC, OR possession of any certification of BIM software in operation level issued by respective software developers.
4. Client[2] and Employer[3] evaluation forms – submission of at least one set of evaluation forms from both client and employer sides. Standardised evaluation forms for client and employer sides will be provided by CIC. The applicant should ask his/her client and employer to fill in the standardised evaluation forms and return by the client and employer directly to CIC separately. The forms will be used to verify the applicant's BIM experience as stated in (b) and to evaluate the applicant's BIM capability obtained from the BIM experience stated in (b).

A ‘grandfathering’ consideration is applied for applicants who may not have the required academic qualification, but possess at least six years of full-time work experience in the industry (stationed in Hong Kong for at least 2 years) and at least two years of full-time experience in BIM project coordination and related tasks (stationed in Hong Kong for at least 1 year) on or before 31 December 2019. This special consideration will lapse on 31 March 2021, after which it will not be applicable in the assessment of applications.

[1] List of CIC-recognised professional body is available on website of Construction Digitalisation Department of CIC (http://www.bim.cic.hk/).

[2] Client is the owner of the project. Client Side Evaluator must be the employee of the Client or third party directly employed by the Client* (e.g. main contractor, lead consultant, etc.) but not at the same organisation with the applicant. *(For applicant who is the employee of the Client, the Client Side Evaluator must be the employee of Client organisation). AND the Client Side Evaluator should be Professional (i.e. MHKIA, MHKIE, MHKIS, or above), CIC-Certified BIM Manager (CCBM), Project Manager, Assistant Project Manager, BIM Manager or Facility Manager of the project team and in a supervisory level but not the direct supervisor in the same company/organisation of the applicant.

[3] Employer could be direct manager or supervisor of the project team.

Working experience is counted on an accumulative basis.

An applicant applying for Certification of BIM Coordinators must submit the following documents to the Construction Digitalisation Department of CIC for assessment:

1. completed Application Form for Certification of BIM Coordinators (Form PN03-F-01);
2. application fee (HK$300);
3. certified true copies of academic qualification certificates related to a diploma (or equivalent) in Qualifications Framework (QF) Level 4 or above qualification accredited or recognised by a CIC-recognised professional body in architecture, engineering, surveying, building or construction, or equivalent, as recognised by CIC, plus proof of 3 years of full-time relevant work experience (with at least 6 months stationed in Hong Kong));
4. submission of at least one set of evaluation forms from both client and employer sides that prove the applicant has in the past 5 years gained at least 1 year full-time relevant practical experience in BIM project coordination and related tasks (with at least 6 months stationed in Hong Kong). Standardised evaluation forms for client and employer sides will be provided by CIC. The applicant should ask his/her client and employer to fill in the standardised evaluation forms and return to CIC separately. (Annex of Form PN03-F-01);
5. evidence of completing
   1. A CIC-Accredited BIM Coordinator Course (e.g. completion certificate) (see Section 5.2 on the alternative arrangement during the grace period of 31 March 2020 to 31 March 2021); AND
   2. Evidence of completing at least one BIM software/platform training course in operation level as recognised by CIC OR possession of any certification of BIM software in operation level issued by respective software developers; (Refer to Section 7 of Application Guide);
6. A curriculum vitae; and
7. A portfolio of BIM work examples (for the selected project(s)).

The submission of these forms is to facilitate assessment of the applicant. Unlike the Certification of BIM Managers where Interview Assessment is mandatory, if the assessors found the submission satisfactory then the applicant could be recommended as a CIC-Certified BIM Coordinator without attending Interview Assessment.

Yes, the government officers are willing to provide evaluation as we received applications with government officers being the Client Side Evaluator.
Please note that the Client Side Evaluator must be the employee of the Client (e.g. government department); or third party directly employed by the Client* (e.g. main contractor, lead consultant, etc.) but not at the same organisation with the applicant. If it is hard to find the government department officer to be the Client Side Evaluator, please consider to find the employee of third party directly employed by the Client.
Or according to the situation that the BIM coordinators may not reach the clients when they contributed to the BIM projects, their employers/supervisors may assist them to get clients' feedback on the BIM coordinators deliverables. We believe that the client side may have specific professionals who have reviewed the deliverables by the BIM coordinators.

If you are applying through Grandfathering Route, and you completed 3 projects in 2 years (e.g. Project A: 6 months, Project B: 6 months, Project C: 12 months), you need to submit 3 client evaluation forms to prove that you have 2 years of full-time work experience in BIM project coordination.
If you are applying through Normal Route, then you could choose to (i) submit 2 client evaluation forms (one for Project A and one for Project B) or (ii) submit 1 client evaluation form for Project C to prove that you have 1 year of full-time work experience in BIM project coordination.

If you do not submit the Client Evaluation Form or the submitted Client Evaluation Form cannot cover the required period of your practical experience in BIM coordination and related tasks, your application will only be assessed based on the available details. The submission of full Client Evaluation Form will have an edge in your application as the BIM Assessment Panel (BIMAP) can have a more thorough understanding of your experience and capability in BIM coordination works.

Yes, MHKIA but not a project manager from Client side can be asked to complete the form. However, applicant should (to the best of his/her knowledge) find the most appropriate person to be the Client side evaluator that able to evaluate his/her competencies in his/her past projects.

Yes, as long as the evaluator(s) are from the Client side and involved in the project(s) written in the evaluation form(s).

Yes. The Client / Employer side evaluator can choose one of the following methods to return the Client / Employer Evaluation Form below:
1. Directly send to the CIC Construction Digitalisation Department with the email address: bimcas@cic.hk (Please make sure to include Application No. given by the CIC Construction Digitalisation Department.)
2. Seal the Client / Employer Evaluation Form in a closed envelope and give it back to the applicant. The applicant could submit all his/her application documents (including the sealed envelope with the Client Evaluation Form) to the CIC Construction Digitalisation Department.
3. Directly send to the CIC Construction Digitalisation Department by post to the Construction Digitalisation Department of CIC at the following address:
Construction Digitalisation Department - Construction Industry Council
38/F, COS Centre
56 Tsun Yip Street
Kwun Tong, Kowloon

Please refer to the list of Construction Innovation and Technology Fund (CITF) pre-approved BIM Training Course available on website of CITF (http://www.citf.cic.hk/?route=search).

Skill Level: 2 to 3 is expected (except for accredited BIM Coordinator Course in the list).

For courses that out of the list of CITF pre-approved BIM Training Courses, they will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please note that applicants may be required to submit supplementary information about the course for our vetting as below:

(a)    Proof of participation and completion of the course (For course such as company internal training or subjects/modules in academic programme)

(b)    Course information such as course start/completion date, course duration, course outline, course learning outcome, course content, course assignment, name of instructor/tutor/lecturer, etc..

(c)    School information such as name, address or website of the school/teaching premises, etc...

Applicant can submit any Certification of BIM software/platform in operation level officially issued by respective software developers. Such as Autodesk Certified User, Autodesk Certified Professional, Certified ARCHICAD User, Tekla's Professional Certification, etc... Plugin, add-on and non-BIM related software would not be considered.

For courses that are not on the list of CITF pre-approved BIM Training Courses, they will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please note that applicants may be required to submit supplementary information about the course for our assessment as below:
(a) Proof of participation and completion of the course (For course such as company internal training or subjects/modules in academic programme)
(b) Course information such as course start/completion date, course duration, course outline, course learning outcome, course content, course assignment, name of instructor/tutor/lecturer, etc...
(c) School information such as name, address or website of the school/teaching premises, etc...

Upon receipt of an application, the Construction Digitalisation Department of CIC will assess the completeness of the documents submitted and will request the applicant to provide further details to substantiate the application, if needed.

The application process consists of 3 stages:

1. documents vetting by Construction Digitalisation Department of CIC.
2. assessment interview performed by the CIC BIM Assessment Panel (BIMAP) after reviewing the submitted documents.
3. approval/disapproval by the CIC BIM Certification and Accreditation Board (BIMCAB).

Applicants will be notified of the result by mail.

It is expected that the application process would take, after receiving all necessary documents, around 4 to 6 months in a normal circumstance.

Yes, multiple projects running within the same year say 1 year can only be counted as 1 year. Overlapping duration will not be double-counted.

Yes, you can.

Applicants for grandfathering route possess as at least six years of full-time work experience in the industry (stationed in Hong Kong for at least 2 years) and at least two years of full-time experience in BIM project coordination and related tasks (stationed in Hong Kong for at least 1 year) on or before 31 December 2019. This special consideration will lapse on 31 March 2021, after which it will not be applicable in the assessment of applications.

Yes, there is a Grandfathering route for Certification of BIM Coordinators where academic qualification is not needed. Please note, however, Grandfathering route requires more years of work experience as well as practical experience in BIM. Please refer to the Application Guide for details.

This requirement is the same for Grandfathering route or Normal route. However, there is a Grace Period where applications submitted before 31 March 2021 do not need to submit a completion certificate of a CIC-Accredited BIM coordinator course.

If you apply for Certification of BIM Coordinators within the Grace Period, then you do not need to complete a CIC-Accredited BIM Coordinator Course. The Grace Period will end on 31 March 2021. After that, you will need to complete a CIC-Accredited BIM Coordinator Course as one of the requirement for Certification of BIM Coordinator.

Apart from years of experience in BIM, there are other requirements such as possess of a construction-related degree for the certification of BIM manager. If you can fulfill all other requirements then you can consider applying for certification of BIM manager.

Work experience are counted on an accumulative basis. Overlapping duration will not be double-counted.

A ‘grandfathering’ consideration is applied for applicants who may not have the required academic qualification, but possess at least six years of full-time work experience in the industry (stationed in Hong Kong for at least 2 years) and at least two years of full-time experience in BIM project coordination and related tasks (stationed in Hong Kong for at least 1 year) on or before 31 December 2019. This special consideration will lapse on 31 March 2021, after which it will not be applicable in the assessment of applications.

For this category of applicants, submission of the following items are needed:

1. completed Application Form for Certification of BIM Coordinators (Form PN03-F-01);
2. application fee (HK$300); and
3. relevant documents listed in the document checklist in the application form.

Upon receipt of an application, the Construction Digitalisation Department of CIC will assess the completeness of the documents submitted will request the applicant to provide further details to substantiate the application, if needed. An applicant may be invited to attend an interview.

The application process consists of 3 stages:

1. documents verified by Construction Digitalisation Department of CIC.
2. assessment interview performed by BIMAP after reviewing the submitted documents, if needed.
3. approval/disapproval by BIMCAB.

Applicants will be notified of the result by mail.

Application for this special consideration will lapse on 31 March 2021, after which it will not be applicable in the assessment of applications.

The Certification of BIM Coordinators is homogenous regardless of his/her application is made through grandfathering and normal route. The major difference lies in the academic qualification, length of full-time work experience and practical experience in BIM.

After submitting all required documents, applicants will be recommended for certification as a BIM Coordinator if the assessment are judged to be acceptable. Applicants will be informed of the result by mail. The names of the CIC-Certified BIM Coordinators will be placed on the CIC-Certified BIM Coordinators Register.

CCBM and CCBC are two different certification status. They canont be considered as equivalent to one another as the level of competency of some of the core competencies is different. For example the core competency 2 "BIM Software and Technologies" for CCBC requires level 3 but that of CCBM is level 2 only.

The names of the CIC-Certified BIM Coordinators will be placed on the CIC-Certified BIM Coordinators Register. The CIC-Certified BIM Coordinators Register is available on website of the Construction Digitalisation Department of CIC (https://www.bim.cic.hk).

A non-refundable application fee of HK$300 is required for each application. Applicants should pay the required fee by cheque, which should be made payable to “Construction Industry Council”. All payments received are non-refundable, non-endorsable and non-transferable.

The certification status of a CIC-Certified BIM Coordinator shall be valid from the date of granting the certification status up to the end of that calendar year, i.e. 31 December.

The Construction Digitalisation Department of CIC will send a renewal application form to the CIC-Certified BIM Coordinators on a yearly basis at least 3 months prior to the date of expiry of their existing certification/registration.

Upon receipt of the renewal application form, the CIC-Certified BIM Coordinators should submit the following to the Construction Digitalisation Department of CIC for renewal at least one month prior to the date of expiry of the existing certification:

1. signed renewal application form (Form PN03-F-02), confirming that they have undertaken at least 12 hours of BIM-related Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in the past year, and associated documents if applicable; and
2. renewal fee (HK$150).

The CIC-Certified BIM Coordinators should keep records of the BIM-related CPD undertaken during the year (including attendance at any CIC-recognised courses, conferences or seminars, documented self-study, etc.). They may be requested to provide evidence of the BIM-related CPD completed in the past 3 years, without which the renewal application may not be considered.

A person, whose name has been removed from the CIC-Certified BIM Coordinators Register may, within 2 years of the date of expiry of the last certification, apply for reinstatement of the certification. Following the procedure for renewal of registration. The applicant is required to pay any other outstanding subscription since the date of expiry of the certification and/or registration, and submit associated documents, if requested.

A person, whose name has been removed from the CIC-Certified BIM Coordinators Register for more than 2 years from the date of expiry of the last certification/registration, will need to submit a fresh application for Certificate of BIM Coordinators.

An applicant for Certification of BIM Coordinators, including renewal/reinstatement of registration, who is dissatisfied with the decision of the CIC BIM Certification and Accreditation Board (BIMCAB), may appeal to the CIC BIM Appeal Board (BIMAB).

An applicant exercising the right of appeal should submit the following to the Construction Digitalisation Department, no later than 21 days after receiving notification of the decision of BIMCAB:

1. completed application form for appeal (Form PN03-F-03); and
2. application fee (HK$1,500).

Upon receipt of an appeal case, BIMAB will review the case upon receipt of all necessary documentation about the case. BIMAB’s decision is final. BIMAB will inform BIMCAB of its decision. The application fee will be refunded to the applicant if the appeal is found to be valid. Applicants will be notified of the result by mail.