Ch 5 - BIM for
Architects and Engineers
Building Information
Modeling now impacts a wide range of activities in the construction world. From Conceptual Design, workflow, to modeling
in the construction phase. It has also proven vital to strengthening the link
between designing & building. The construction industry, as a whole, needs
to improve its workflow and increase its efficiency. An increase in technology
use, specifically BIM, has already decreased the time needed to produce
contract documents. Figure 5-1 demonstrates how time and effort were previously
exerted over the lifespan of a project. Line 4 shows how an increase in
technologies can alter the timeline to make it more efficient and less costly
for all parties. BIM should be used significantly in the pre-design and design
phases to make the best use of time and resources.
Conceptual Design
BIM is especially important
to the early phases of construction because of its ability to show project cash
flow, estimate costs, and create a schedule. Every project is different and BIM
is flexible enough to accommodate any type of project. Many important decisions
are made during this phase and BIM can help people make better decisions.
Performance of building
systems directly impact energy use and user comfort. BIM allows users to make
changes easily and see how that impacts the future inhabitants of the building.
The user can experiment with different components of the structure, MEPs, and
even construction methods to determine what would be best for that project. It
is also a business savvy decision for design firms to be well versed in BIM to
make them more desirable to Owners.
Workflow
BIM would not be successful
without collaboration and communication among all parties involved in the
design and construction. BIM required input from the designers, tradesmen,
construction manager, and building owner.
BIM is used for modeling in the construction phase to
find ways to improve quality while accelerating the schedule. Different
building methods can be explored in a software program to find the best
solution, without wasting time and money.
As explained above, the Design/Build process is expedited if
BIM is used from the very beginning. This chapter explained the possibility for
BIM in the future to serve as the on-site documents and to include As-Built
data as well.
In my co-op experiences I
have only seen BIM used on a very large-scale project (CHOP’s new $500 million ambulatory
care center). The biggest issue I have seen with Architects and Engineers using
BIM is to get the tradesmen and foremen to get on board. Smaller
sub-contractors may not have the finances or time to train their employees in
BIM, but they would be the most knowledgeable about what would work best in the
building. The MEP subs would be able to offer valuable input during designing
and planning because they are the ones who will be installing the materials.
References:
Eastman, Charles M. BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers, and Contractors. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley, 2008. Web.
Eastman, Charles M. BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers, and Contractors. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley, 2008. Web.
Comments:
Alexis wrote on a different chapter than I did
but many of the topics were similar. Something unique she covered was the
construction method Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). Chapter 5 discussed BIM
to improve the Design/Build process.
BIM is a vital component for successful and efficient Design/Build and IPD projects. Typical construction
methods use a separate designer and construction manager. The problem with this
practice is that both parties have separate priorities and responsibilities so
communication and even legal issues can arise, slowing down the building
process. Design/Build construction uses the same company to do the designing
and building of the project. Since all parties are on the same page, this
streamlines many processes and allows the builders to have a better
understanding of the design than they would if they were just handed a stack of
drawings. In a Design/Build project, BIM is used to find clashes and other
issues early on in the construction timeline, which saves a lot of money.
Integrated Project Delivery integrates all components of the process and
creates a more collaborative environment. IPD improves the schedule, cost, and
quality of a building project. BIM is an excellent example of all the important
contributors coming together to use this technology to improve a project.
James,
James,
You bring up a great point about structural
engineers and BIM. Structural Engineers already have their own software and
practices and understandably want to be separate from the other trades
beginning to use BIM. The structure of a building, in regards to safety and the
lifetime of a building, is the most important and difficult to replace. I think it could only be beneficial for structural design to become more realistic by utilizing BIM. But to realistically implement BIM in the
industry, engineering firms must recognize that it will cost them time and
money upfront to have a more efficient, technologically advanced team. And to be realistic, it would be pretty difficult to use BIM to its full potential with out the structural component.
Kate,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blogpost it was very informative. I believe that the design/construction industry is seeing an increase in the utilization and proper use of BIM. The engineering firm I worked for during my coop had both large and small projects and all of them used proper BIM. My employer was telling me how the proper use of BIM has changed the industry and how it actually made things a lot easier than it was before. This in return gave way for more energy to be spent on thinking of ways to improve the building, giving time for everyone involved to further improve their input.
BIM certainly encourages different workflows from previous systems. I would be interested to see what effect giving sub-contractors access to the model will have on building design. Giving contractors access to the model has made their estimates more accurate and increased constructability. I have to imagine that giving subs access will have a similar effect. I wonder when the subs should be able to access the model as well. In the projects I am familiar the subs only ask for changes when they run into a problem in the field. Giving subs access to the model earlier could lead to the issues being rectified sooner. I think there would be some resistance among subs to that responsibility however. Many that I know just want to build the building, they do not want to be responsible for the design. Designers also want to keep the design under their control. I’ll be interested to see how the industry changes now that more individuals could have access to the model.
ReplyDeleteKate, you bring up a good point that not all sub-contractors, especially smaller ones, will be able to afford the cost or time to have their employees learn BIM. Some of the smaller companies may not have as many people who are good with technology to be able to teach the others. On top of that, some people take a lot longer to learn a program than others, especially if they already are not too familiar with computers. Additionally, some companies may not want to spend the money to install the programs for their employees or spend the extra money to have their employees trained.
ReplyDelete