Is Practitioner Worth It For openBIM Specialists? Anil Bhattarai | The openBIM Practitioner 3

This is the third episode of The openBIM Practitioner.

In this series, I talk with people who have passed the buildingSMART Practitioner certification and ask them what the process was really like, what changed for them, and what others should understand before going for it.

My guest in this episode is Anil Bhattarai from Finland.

Anil works as an application specialist at Solibri, where his work sits at the intersection of openBIM workflows and model quality. He helps customers validate, coordinate, and deliver information correctly using openBIM standards.

He also recently completed a master’s degree in computing in construction, where his thesis focused on IFC schema visualization, labeled property graphs, and integration with the buildingSMART validation service.

In this conversation, we talk about why buildingSMART Practitioner felt like a natural next step for someone already working with IFC, BCF, IDS, bSDD, model validation, and openBIM standards every day.

Anil explains that Practitioner is not only about knowing theory. It checks whether you can reason through real openBIM delivery problems under time pressure.

We also talk about the Finnish context, where IFC based building permits are becoming part of the market reality, and why openBIM competence will likely become more important for BIM professionals, consultants, coordinators, and managers.

The main message is clear.

Practitioner is not the end point.

It is a starting point.

You still need real project experience.

You still need to stay close to the standards.

You still need to understand IFC, BCF, IDS, information delivery, validation, and how openBIM workflows work in practice.

And because the standards keep evolving, the professionals who stay close to them will be the ones who can navigate what comes next.

What we discuss:

Why Anil took Practitioner.

What his work at Solibri involves.

How his master’s thesis connects to IFC schema visualization.

Why Practitioner felt like a natural next step.

What surprised him about the exam.

Why time pressure matters.

Why practical tool confidence helps.

Why ISO 19650 and CDE questions required more thinking.

How certification adds credibility.

Where Practitioner skills matter most on a project.

Who should consider Practitioner.

Why hands-on openBIM experience matters.

Why BIM professionals should study buildingSMART standards directly.

How IFC based building permits are changing the Finnish market.

Why Practitioner can help demonstrate real openBIM competence.

Why Practitioner is only the beginning.

If you are working with IFC models, model checking, BIM coordination, information delivery, or openBIM standards, this conversation will help you understand what buildingSMART Practitioner can actually mean for your work.

Find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petruconduraru/

Questions: petru@bimvoice.com