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Builders' Information Modeling (AEC Insight Column)
1 Mar, 2008 By: Jerry LaiserinBIM flows downstream to construction.
Recently, a small but growing percentage of architects and engineers have embraced building information modeling (BIM). However, opportunities for process improvement through BIM automation extend downstream into construction, where construction managers, general contractors, and trade subcontractors all can derive even greater benefits on both projectwide and firm-specific bases.
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Architects and engineers focus on buildings as products — physical objects to be brought into being by others. Constructors focus on building as process — sequences of activities to assemble the physical objects/products envisioned by designers. This difference between building as product versus building as process (noun versus verb) represents differing emphases on space versus time. It also reflects the differing business models and risk-to-reward profiles of architects and engineers versus constructors. Therefore, builders' information modeling differs enough from the rest of BIM to deserve separate analysis.
BIM for Builders
The prehistory of BIM contained seeds of usage for builders' information modeling. In the March 1975 issue of the now-defunct AIA Journal, Charles M. Eastman, then at Carnegie-Mellon University, included among the benefits of his prototype building design system the following:
. . . cost estimating or material quantities could be easily generated . . . providing a single integrated database for visual and quantitative analyses . . . Contractors of large projects may find this representation advantageous for scheduling and materials ordering.
Thirty-three years later, I see this playing out in four categories of applications:
Modeling and remodeling. Builders must create computer models if they are not provided by architects and engineers. Even with architect/engineer–provided models, many builders prefer to remodel projects to more accurately and confidently reflect construction practices. Some builders choose architecture/engineering (A/E) modeling tools such as ArchiCAD, Autodesk Revit, Bentley Architecture, Gehry Digital Project, or VectorWorks Architect; others rely on construction-specific modelers from Beck Technologies, Tekla, or Vico Software.
Estimating and procurement. From quantity takeoff (QTO) to submittals and from pricing to ordering, builders must streamline their material supply chain. Applications in this category include Autodesk QTO, Beck, Gehry, Tekla, and Vico, as well as Design2Cost from Nemetschek, a Revit add-on from Innovaya, and specification-related programs from 1stPricing and e-Specs.
Scheduling and coordination. Sequencing, phasing, staging, potential interference among trades, laydown areas, and site access are among the time-critical elements that constructors must understand before they start to build. Software serving these needs comes from Autodesk (Navisworks), Bentley (Project Navigator), Common Point (Project4D), Gehry (via a Primavera plug-in), Innovaya, Tekla, and Vico.
Workflow and collaboration. Model-based processes offer new modes of interactive and visual collaboration while demanding new kinds of workflow for multidimensional, data-rich project documentation. Offerings in this area range from Adobe Acrobat 3D and Adobe Share to project collaboration networks (PCNs [see "AEC Insight," Cadalyst, December 2007]) such as Autodesk Buzzsaw, Autodesk Constructware, ctSpace, and OpenText LiveLink. Vico 5D Presenter is a construction-specific solution that integrates with the rest of Vico's suite of tools, but Bentley (ProjectWise), Gehry, and Innovaya also play in this space.
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About the Author: Jerry Laiserin
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