<p> This paper aims to reveal the usefulness of nursing travel distance simulation using Building Information Modeling (BIM). A nursing travel distance survey was conducted to grasp the actual conditions of the nursing behavior and to extract the elements that affect nursing travel distance. Following the analysis, the simulation was carried out using BIM to make predictions by changing the positions of the nursing base and changing the placements of patients. Firstly, the paper provides the development method and outline of nursing travel distance simulation using BIM. This simulation is a program that visually express the number of nurse’s movements on the nursing routes. Also, in this simulation a total nursing travel distance is calculated as an overall evaluation index.</p><p> The nursing travel distance survey was conducted at two medical nursing units placed in a nursing base dispersedly placed type ward plan. The initial ward design concept was having three nursing units on one floor consisting one nursing administration unit. However, at the time of the survey two nursing units consisted on the floor where one unit, W_Ward, used a staff station (SS) as the main nursing base and the other, E_Ward, used a nursing corner (NC) as the main nursing base. Also, W_Ward used the conventional team nursing system, however, E_Ward has started a Partnership Nursing System (PNS) where a pair of nurses looked after a certain group of patients.</p><p> Thus secondly, the paper clarifies the method of nursing behavior survey and analysis of influential factors of nursing travel distance. The average of nursing travel time in E_Ward, which used NC as the main nursing base, was significantly shorter than that in W_Ward, which used SS as the main nursing base. The nurses visited bed rooms where patients with higher degree of Nursing Necessity Index were placed. From these results, it was found that the nursing travel distances varied depending on the positions of the nursing base and the placements of patients with higher degree of Nursing Necessity Index.</p><p> Finally, by changing the above positioning features, nursing travel distance simulations were carried out on BIM system.</p><p> Obtained results are as shown below:</p><p> 1) By improving the use method of nursing base, it was possible to reduce 27% of nursing travel distance.</p><p> 2) As to the conditions of patient placements, two extreme conditions were considered. One was where all patients with higher Nursing Necessity Index were placed near to the nursing base resulting in shorter nursing travel distance. While the other was where all these patients were placed far from the nursing base resulting in longer nursing travel distance. From the simulation result, the difference in increase of nursing travel distance was about 30%. Therefore, it could be concluded that there exist a suitable patient placement influencing the nursing travel distance in the nursing base dispersedly placed type ward plan.</p><p> As a result, by using BIM simulation, the simulation process and results can be visualized, so that the BIM user can easily try out various factors affecting the simulation and understand the causations. Because BIM is changing the architectural delivery process, the proposed simulation system may enhance the process by giving the BIM user an opportunity to carry out the building performance evaluation even during the planning, programming and design stages.</p>