BIM for Contractors –
In the particular chapter, the topic that is covered is how
the contractors use BIM. BIM is used by contractors in various ways, some of
them being –
·
Constructability analysis and clash detection
·
Cost estimation
·
Quantity take offs
·
Construction analysis and planning
In particular the contractors who work for larger firms use
BIM to obtain – construction planning and scheduling, cost control, accounting,
procurement, marketing and so on. BIM is not too user friendly for contractors
as even if the architect uses 2D or 3D systems for design, the contractors
still have to manually perform the cost estimation and quantity take offs to
produce a accurate estimate and schedule, the entire process for estimation
could be very time consuming and an expensive process.
Contractors have seen BIM evolve into a more user friendly
and time saving tool as the newer versions of BIM and the process involve tools
such as –
·
Detailed Building Information – A list that
provides all the components of the building, thus saving time for the
contractor to go back and forth the list to check and perform estimates and
quantity take offs.
·
Temporary Components – This provides information
regarding equipment and other temporary components that are essential for
scheduling, sequence and planning.
·
Design and construction status – This tracks the
progress of components that are relative to design, installation and testing.
The above BIM flowchart depicts where the contractor builds
the model from 2D drawings and uses it for cost estimates and etc.
Comments:
Allison – I can totally relate to your co-op example. While
I was working with contractors, they also heavily relied on the use of ipads
and tablets to look at the model and plans for specific projects. Also, they
had a database which they could quickly pullout and view the cost estimates and
look at the scheduling and other data.
Gary Reiff (Group A) – I found your topic to be quite
interesting, specifically the part where the objects can modify their own
parameters based upon the context that the object is being used in. I feel that
this would reduce the margin of errors and would also be quite time consuming.
Eastman, Charles M. BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers, and Contractors. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley, 2008. Web.
Karan,
ReplyDeleteI read also read Chapter 6 of BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners by Chuck Eastman. I found the processes and wide range of technologies described fascinating. However I also think there is a market for a BIM system the can perform all of the types of processes, cost estimation, quantity take offs, scheduling, planning, etc., that you described. I think this type of system would be highly effective but also very difficult to program. It was be particularly effective if all aspects of design and modelling could be completed through one communication based system. I do not think this type of program will be available for a few more years but I could see the development process being expedited as more projects are completed with an integrated approach.
Karan-
ReplyDeleteThis post was a good summary of the key items described in chapter 6. You made a good point about how BIM has evolved from being a tool that only large firms utilized for large projects that would be nearly impossible without it, to being used on more and more projects and being accepted as an industry standard. This is a good point because it also presents how quickly an entire industry can evolve for the better when a revolutionary tool is introduced.