|
|
Have the BIM Truth Talk with Your Boss, Part 4
13 Jul, 2011 By: Robert GreenThe final installment in this series discusses reader experiences with training personnel, IT obstacles, and other aspects of implementation.
In the last three editions of the CAD Manager's Newsletter, I've encouraged you to have "truth talks" with your management and users about the realities of implementing BIM (building information modeling) in your company. Based on the reader feedback I've received, I see that many of you have had experiences similar to mine, and have found the advice I've given useful.
In this edition, I'll finish the series by sharing some reader feedback and my recommendations for progressing through the test project phase to implementation.
Reader Feedback
I received a great letter from a reader who teaches Revit MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) software to a variety of corporate clients. T.K. touched on many facets of executing a test BIM project, which I'll present in sections, along with my responses. I think you'll find T.K. has a firm grip on the situation, and provides a fresh perspective as an educator. (Note that although T.K. is a Revit instructor, his advice is applicable to other BIM products as well.)
Test Project Personnel
Regarding my assertion that you should select the most motivated and computer-savvy users for your BIM test project, T.K. says:
"When it comes to the 'perfect test project,' it almost never happens that way. When I teach Revit MEP, most of my students are in class because they already have a project on the table that's due on Monday and are told by management that they have to learn Revit. Almost all of my students are 'chosen' because they aren't busy or are the only ones knowledgeable of MEP at the firm. They get thrown into the mix whether they like it or not, and management rarely thinks about your criteria for selecting the staff. In my opinion the reason is that management has no idea what it's getting into."
Like T.K., I've seen these issues play out as well. The primary reason these types of training sessions happen is lack of planning on the part of senior management, which almost always means that the CAD manager wasn't pushing hard enough for the right BIM staffing in the first place, or that management simply wasn't listening.
If you, as CAD manager, don't fight for the personnel best suited to the task and the test project goes poorly, you'll catch some of the blame — and rightly so. However, if you make your case and management doesn't comply, you earn the "I told you so" card, which you can use to make management listen to you in the future.
Conclusion: Tell senior management what you need to make BIM go well! Build backup documentation by writing down your recommendations, then do your best to make your managers listen.
IT Roadblocks
With respect to IT issues, I've advocated beefing up server storage space and adopting quad-core processors, 64-bit operating systems, and robust wide-area network (WAN) speeds so users can get their BIM work done. To amplify this point, reader G.S. wrote:
"Our test project pounded our network system to the limit, and it slowed us down to a crawl until someone was able to come in and tweak things enough to get us by until we could upgrade the whole network. We have also upgraded all the computers this year to get them working toward meeting the recommended system standards."
Sadly, I hear this all the time. The desire to make that old 32-bit XP computer squeak by for one more year dooms more BIM implementations to a slow death than you'd ever believe — especially in architects' offices.
CAD managers should be prepared to go to their management teams and IT departments with a hardware specification and cost estimate for BIM machines in hand. With Xeon dual quad-core machines equipped with 12 GB of RAM and a mid-level graphics accelerator running at about $2,700 each, you can now make the following business case to your management team:
"Right now, we're paying our architectural designers a lot of money to work on a machine that can't run our BIM software without locking up. If each architect costs us $50/hour (in wages, benefits, and overhead) and loses two hours per week due to computer problems, then it costs us $4,800 per year ($50/hr x 2 hr/wk x 48 wk/yr) to have him or her work on an old workstation because we 'can't afford' to spend $2,700 on a capable machine."
Conclusion: Use this financial argument and watch the lightbulb go on as the IT and senior management staffs start to understand how much it really costs to "save money" by running BIM on an old doorstop of a computer.
1 2
|
|
AutoCAD Tips!
Autodesk Technical Evangelist Lynn Allen guides you through a different AutoCAD feature in every edition of her popular "Circles and Lines" tutorial series. For even more AutoCAD how-to, check out Lynn's quick tips in the Cadalyst Video Gallery. Subscribe to Cadalyst's Tips & Tricks Tuesdays free e-newsletter and we'll notify you every time a new video tip is available. All exclusively from Cadalyst! |
|
