B3 - Group C - Sean Coffey

What are the possible future advantages of Revit/BIM?

I found that there are various ways in which BIM is likely to improve in the future. In many ways the future advantages have been implemented but they are not in standard use but are foreseen to become standard, while there are other potential interoperability and unutilized capabilities of BIM that may exist in the future depending on how technology advances, the level of adoption and the economic support for those advances to become mainstream.

The currently existing advantages that are under utilized are the development and use of as built models for the future operation, maintenance, renovation and eventual demolition of the building, full interoperability of BIM with other specialty design programs, support of the complete design of a building in single BIM programs, provide quicker analysis of building systems, support modular and lean construction through prefabrication, track construction components on the site and have a real time updating schedule based on feedback from site sensors , the viewability of all building systems at the same time in a “stitched together” model, the direct use of a BIM model to fabricate the components needed, the use of virtual or augmented reality to facilitate building construction, Integrated Project Development will become standard.

As all of these capabilities that have been developed during the construction of building and other structures or products become mainstream. These future advantages of BIM in development will endow construction savings, efficiency, optimization, learning, quality, speed, safety and accuracy benefits. These will be realized by optimizing the construction process to reduce waste, minimize errors in components and schedule, limit the number of onsite activities and crew interferences, better record data about the construction process, streamline delivery, and require less work on site to assemble modular components. These will mostly occur due to leveraging what is learned from collected data and process automation through more advanced software to design a comprehensive and well informed concept to design to construction to operation work flow and feedback strategy.

Future advantages that may be possible with BIM but questionably feasible due to economics, lack of adoption or physical limitations such as computing power are the use of 3D printing to perform custom construction, use of drones or robots for construction, the automation of building systems design,

These plausible next generation advantages of BIM could increase the ability of BIM to develop custom and unique building features, automate the design, construction and operation process, use collected data and resulting performance information to optimize future construction and design, and reduce the need for human labor to construct a building.

Drones could be used to monitor construction progress through monitoring the proper installation of components and support the development of as built models. Robots could be used to help construct the structure, removing the need for human labor and performing hazardous tasks. Both the drones robots could increase the accuracy and speed and reduce the cost with which the structure is constructed.

Automated and comprehensive analyses of an entire building throughout its lifecycle could identify potential problems in the design that will unnecessarily shorten the life of the building or are non optimum. These analyses could show the designer where to pay attention to improve a building design and present the data needed to make the decision. They would effectively remove all of the tedious task that result from designing a building and leave the complex, intuitive decision making up to the engineer. If programs eventually gain the capability to make those tough decisions then programs could automatically design entire buildings or building systems so that only a check by an experienced and capable engineer is required to determine the functionality of the design.

Lastly, the digitization of codes that automatically modify families into components that meet the standards and requirements for location the model will be built. For instance the Canadian and US International Building codes have slight differences in how far out the handrails in stairwells should extend past the end of the stairs. Canada requires 11.75 inches and the US uses 12 inches. Based on the location the model is set to be built in, only stairwell handrails designs that meet the requirements would be importable into the model or the handrail family could be programmed to modify the handrail extension length to meet the requirements. This seems entirely possible, but because of the huge variety of building codes and their differences, the process to to understand the code would have to be automatic, taking advantage of text recognition software, language understanding artificial intelligence, and .link the output to the BIM code parameter input regions. This technology is already possible but is not fully reliable and expensive to produce.

References

Volk, Rebekha, Julian Stengel, and Frank Schultman. "Building Information Modeling (BIM) for Existing Buildings — Literature Review and Future Needs." Building Information Modeling (BIM) for Existing Buildings. Automation in Construction, Mar. 2014. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.

Yoders, Jeff. "5 Tech Trends Transforming BIM/VDC." Building Design + Construction. N.p., 23 Dec. 2014. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.

Comments

@Samuel Boyce

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/01/b3-samuel-boyce-group-a.html?showComment=1453876670088#c3445327528887797374

I think you are right about most of the future pitfalls of BIM modeling. Many of them exist today and will only get worse such as trusting that the computer program has done the correct thing and increasing complexity of the programs and creations of the programs. Somewhere there is likely to be an error that has been missed since class detections have not been reduced to zero. If were stop questioning whether or not the design has been done right then we will need to rethink how we design buildings. Many firms push the software to make profit and may not perform all the checks necessary and end up under designing building components. It gets scary when those building components that are faultily designed are crucial to making the building safe or keeping it standing. Another one of my fears is that the program operations will become so complicated that the usual engineer's check stops working. This could lead to a failure and there would not be easy way to check for an error so fewer companies would bother to put in the effort to do the check.

@Christian A in Alexis Akins Post

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/01/b3-group-c-alexis.html?showComment=1453877679281#c7001707379768372946

I am very excited to hear that this technology is becoming a reality due to its abilities to enhance communication. It can perform all the tasks that you mentioned and maybe more depending on how the program becomes integrated with other functionalities. Like was show during the presentation the owner, architect, or engineer could go to the site even before construction starts and have the building model augment reality so that they can get a feel for what the building will actually be like. The communication from an offsite location could be upgrade with translation abilities so that language barriers wont get in the way of real time communication and decision making. Additionally, the owner could don a VR headset and take a virtual tour of the building which allows them to inspect the building model in a way that they are more familiar with. There are so many uses. I think this will be the next big game changer that will really push forward collaboration and communication of construction project stakeholders.

B3 - Group E - Swartz

Since its invention, computer aided drafting has continued to evolve in itself, and it has helped completely revolutionize the entire construction and design industry. In the beginning, cad programs were revolutionary because they allowed a user with virtually no drawing experience to create construction drawings to the same quality as an expert drafter. Today, computer aided drafting with programs like AutoCad has evolved into building information modeling with programs like Revit. Just like cad before it, BIM is in the process of revolutionizing the construction industry to make processes more efficient.

While they may seem the same to an untrained user, AutoCad and Revit are very different programs. Their similarities include the fact that they are both forms of computer aided drafting, and can both be used to plans, elevations, and 3D views, but at different levels of ease. AutoCad is base on lines and points that when put together, create the picture of a building or product. Revit is different in that it uses different virtual building components to create a building model with information associated to its different systems. In my experience, AutoCad has been used to produce 2D drawings and Revit has been used to produce 3D drawings and elevations. This is due to their current ease of use for those respective tasks, but as time goes on, it seems that the industry is moving towards using Revit universally. An additional feature of Revit that is limited in AutoCad is rendering. The ability to visualize a building or object in a close-to-real-life view is a major feature of Revit that AutoCad lacks. This is an invaluable tool that has allowed designers to present multiple visual representations of interior, or exterior views.

While Revit may seem more complicated and in turn a worse program than AutoCad, it has much more functionality than the drafting program and is becoming a more and more widely used tool in design firms. Even though it may be difficult to transition from the use of AutoCad to Revit, as it was to transition from paper and pencil drafting to computer aided design, the result in the end will be a more efficient and intelligent industry.

References:

[1] http://www.autodesk.com/solutions/building-information-modeling/overview

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autodesk_Revit

[3] http://blog.digitaltutors.com/autocad-revit-draw-line/

Comments:

Hamad Al-Hajri:

Hamad- 
Good post. You did a nice job of highlighting the similarities and differences between AutoCad and Revit. I also liked the connections you drew to Solidworks. It was interesting to read about the similarities and differences between an additional program to those required in the rubric. I also agree with what you said about Revit being the superior product to AutoCad, even though it may be more confusing to people to learn at first.

Maria Ayon:

Maria-
It was interesting in your post to read about the various applications and functionality of BIM. I agree that it is invaluable to have a virtual building model with information about insulating materials within a building in order to conduct in-depth analyses of a building. Something that was interesting in your post that I did not know was that you can combine construction schedules with BIM models to further the depth of the building analysis. Good post.

B3 - Group E: Adrian Kuzniarowicz

In today’s construction design process, there are many different CAD and BIM software technologies being utilized. Two of the most commonly used programs include AutoCAD and Revit, both of which are programmed and designed by a company called Autodesk. By initially releasing AutoCAD in December of 1982, Autodesk provided its users with the capability of creating, saving, and editing two-dimensional and three-dimensional CAD drawings which were drawn using a single line tool. Autodesk took it one step further when in 2000, they released their first version of REVIT software. The REVIT software allowed users to create a new type of file that consisted of a digital, 3-dimensional model that implemented the design of a building’s infrastructure, architectural plans, and utility design. New advances in REVIT software has allowed for the integration of construction schedules and budgets into its BIM modeling software to allow for more efficient building planning and budgeting.

As technology has advanced over the last decade, the ways which it is applied and the amount of different professionals that use it has grown tremendously. In the past, architects and engineers were the main professions which utilized software such as AutoCAD. Since then, professionals in trades such as Fire Protection or HVAC, and even Construction Managers, have begun utilizing AutoCAD software as well as BIM modeling technologies, like REVIT, to creating and analyze highly integrated and organized construction projects. The advancements in the development of REVIT software has even allowed for users to plan and track various stages in the building’s life-cycle, from the planning of the design to the post-life demolition of the structure.

Unlike AutoCAD, which limits it’s users capabilities to drawing extensively detailed two-dimensional plans using a single “line” tool, REVIT allows its users to simply create floor plans using “Wall”, “Door”, and “Window” tools. The program allows the user to specify material types, thicknesses, and other material properties, which are preloaded into the program, much more simply than AutoCAD, in order to create a highly integrated 3-D model of a building.

In addition to these programs, Autodesk has created a number of drafting programs to assist professionals in drawing of discipline-specific plans or drawings. AutoCAD Architecture, formerly known as Architectural Desktop, was initially released by Autodesk in 1998. Similarly to REVIT, the program allowed for architects to create 2-D and 3-D CAD drawings using architectural tools such as “Wall” and “Window” tools. Unlike REVIT, the AutoCAD Architecture software does not allow for the life-cycle analysis of a building, but it does allow for simpler drawing capabilities than AutoCAD.

I believe that REVIT software is one of the most valuable BIM technologies available on the market today. It is capable of creating simple 2-D and 3-D drawings while also being capable of much more. I feel that in order to create a fully functional and efficient REVIT model for a building project, it is up to all parties, including the construction managers, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineers to be highly collaborative throughout the entire planning and construction process.

Comments:

Danielle Schroeder

Danielle,

I strongly agree with you when you say that for a civil engineering firm to adopt REVIT software, it would be very time consuming and costly. During one of my co-ops, although I had already known how to draft using AutoCAD and REVIT, I had to learn how to use Microstation well. It took me nearly 4 straight, 8-hour-days of watching online tutorial videos to simply get the basics down. Consider this: if it took me, who is fairly good with computers, that long to learn the basics of Microstation, imagine the time and money it would take an entire firm to be trained to become proficient with the program.

Allison Lock

Allison,

I like that you chose to write about Google’s Sketchup software as another form of drawing software. I have had limited experience with the program but I found it quite challenging to try to accurately model a building’s systems. I found it fairly useless for practical uses, unless one is trying to present a rendering of a proposed building. Although it is fairly simple to use, the capabilities of Sketchup are far inferior to those of AutoCAD, and especially those of REVIT.

Sources:

http://www.autodesk.com/solutions/building-information-modeling/overview

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AutoCAD

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autodesk_Revit

B3: Group B - Schroeder

BIM And Revit - Disadvantages

In the interdisciplinary world that we live in today, various programs are used by Civil Engineering firms depending on their respective design work. Revit is a software application created by Autodesk for architects and building professionals alike designed to support building information modeling (BIM) workflows [1]. Because of the nature of Revit, it is also able to leverage dynamic information into intelligent models which allows for a complex building structure to be stored in a single database file. As already mentioned in a previous post, because of the one file system, complex buildings can be massive files to keep on your hard drive.  Although Revit is a superb and common design tool, there are several disadvantages.  

From an engineering firm’s perspective, Revit requires an investment in both time and money [2]. Time, as it will require hours of training for the current architects to get accustomed to switching to a new program. The monetary effort would be the purchase of all the licenses for the Revit software (which isn’t cheap when compared to other similar programs on the market). Both investments may be combined if there are additional costs associated with training. As most of my fellow groupmates have already posted about the main current problems of Revit, I chose to redirect my focus and compare it to a similar program called ArchiCAD.

ArchiCAD, created by Graphisoft, is an architectural CAD software that can be used on both Macintosh and Windows. When comparing the two programs, ArchiCAD has much more intuitive user interface than Revit, unless you are familiar with other Autodesk products. Graphisoft also created the first real-time BIM collaboration environment so that workflow between members of the design team can work on the project simultaneously [3]. A fellow blogspot user who works for Stantec chimed in on this discussion and how ArchiCAD is superior to Revit when it comes to 2D/3D Modification and Image Management. 

Using the Modify tools in Revit is no simple task, as you can only split one element at a time and cannot select the item first before invoking the command [4]. Using the Trim/Extend tool requires separate multiple cursor clicks while in ArchiCAD, you can extend multiple items at the same time. Revit also has a huge disadvantage when it comes to Non-CAD/BIM File Image management. Although insertion is approximately the same in both programs, the image in Revit is now embedded and static where you cannot change the linked path. ArchiCAD had handle a plethora of File Formats of inserted images; however, Revit is only able to handle BMP, JPG, JPEG, PNG, and TIF. 

In conclusion, when compared to Revit, ArchiCAD is superior in terms of modifications of elements. Despite all of this, Revit is widely used in engineering firms across the nation.

References:
[1] http://www.edulearn.com/article/what_is_revit_architecture.html [2] http://www.trustitllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Trust_Autodesk-Revit1.pdf [3] http://www.graphisoft.com/archicad/archicad/overview/ [4] http://scotthmackenzie.blogspot.com/2013/03/archicad-vs-revit-2d-3d-modification.html

EDIT: Comments left on Mark's and  Cathlene's original posts. 

B3: Dianna Vogel - Group B

This post is about the current problems people face with Revit/BIM. Resulting from the introduction to the depth of Bentley software in class last week, the focus is generally going to be centered on the capabilities and advances that Revit currently lacks.

A key issue that many people have hit with Revit, and eventually turns them to Bentley, is the limited size of the model that Revit can handle. This occurs with mid-rise buildings, around 100,000 sq. ft. and when more than five people are attempting to collaborate on one model. [1] These numbers make sense; personally I have never known Revit to be used for more than a 2-3 story building. On my last co-op, at an engineering design firm, Revit was mainly utilized for the Patco stations that were being redesigned. These were not overly large stations by any means, so Revit had no problem. However, it is understandable that Revit would begin to have issues as the file became larger, because all the information is stored on one database. However, Bentley enables the use of many databases, so the information storage capacity almost seems limitless. This allows massive projects, such as re-creating an entire city, to be modeled within Bentley products.

Last week the topic of interoperability was researched. This is a function that is necessary in all BIM products. As mentioned before, on my last co-op I helped with the Revit drawings for the redesign of Patco stations. Before then I did not know that Revit had more than just architectural models. Suddenly I was trying to deal with an architectural model linked to a structural model, linked again to a MEP model. This became very confusing. I want to be able to master this skill, which is why my team’s term project is to create a fully outfitted house (architectural, structural, and MEP) within Revit. However, shouldn’t it be easier? As Professor Mitchell mentioned in class, Revit has its reasons for doing this. All disciplines care about different dimensions and portions of the model. However, it would still be much simpler for everyone if all the systems were in one drawing, and you didn’t have to wait until the end to see what conflicts may exist between plumbing and structural drawings. [2]

A problem for Revit and many BIM systems is the functionality with the construction world. Firstly, many clients prefer different systems. [3] Therefore, it is very difficult for companies to make a final decision on what system to implement. This is where a common drawing format, such as IFC, should be adopted by all packages. This would allow companies to pick the system that best fits their needs, and not worry about the format the client will need. Currently, Revit is used as a way to visualize how all the building will look in the future. It would be very useful if detail drawings or shop drawings could be pulled directly off the model for the designer to give to the contractor, client, etc.     
 

Thus, Revit and BIM still have a long way to go before they are perfect.

Sources:

[1] https://bentleybim.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/bentleys-bim-preferred-58-to-revit-38-executive-briefing/

[2] http://communities.bentley.com/products/building/building_analysis___design/f/5917/t/74090

[3] http://www.augiuk.co.uk/index.php/articles/17-articles/31-the-problem-with-revit

Comments:

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/01/b3-group-b-cummings.html?showComment=1453587802245#c6112152377819263815
 

Comment to Bryan Cummings,

I used Tekla during my last co-op as well. I agree that it can be both helpful and frustrating in the same breath. Tekla was used by the contractors to model the building, but very rarely were the information fields for the individual parts filled out. I believe this stems from companies seeing the usefulness of BIM, so they want to use it. However, these companies do not fully commit to using BIM and continue a complicated half and half lifestyle. If they were to harness BIM at its full capacity, it would be difficult at the beginning to transfer everything over, but the end product would be very beneficial. Unfortunately, many companies are not willing to put in this initial investment of time, so the incorporation process is a slow one.

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/01/b3-group-b-alex-palma.html?showComment=1453683323281#c8460230483111422526

Comment to Alex Palma,

I agree with the point you made about the disadvantage of the training time that goes into implementing a 3D modeling BIM program, such as Revit, into a company. Many managers struggle with the decision on whether or not to pull employees off projects to dedicate up to a week of training to a new system. Obviously, the end result would be very beneficial; however, when a company is trying to meet week-by-week deadlines it becomes hard to let the employees go. Thus, the training generally comes in stages, with each individual employee completing the training once they have a free week. While this helps the company keep on schedule, it delays the full implementation of the hardware for the company. Thus, the decision to adopt a BIM program, or upgrade, generally comes with a great deal of frustration.

 

B2 - BIM Handbook Chapter 2 - Derek Zacheo

This chapter goes through a brief history of 3D BIM modeling and how it has developed from and is different from 2D CAD models. It says that the BIM modeling is different because it forms 3 dimensional relationships with other objects. This is great for creating reinforcement bar schedules or materials lists that can be updated real time while the designer is changing their design. It also differs from CAD because it gives both a 2D and 3D representation of the structure with the designer having the ability to determine how much 3D depth they want to go into. The chapter also goes into how BIM modeling can utilize preexisting objects to increase how quickly the designer can create a working model,

The chapter goes on to talk about how parametric object modeling has revolutionize editing and that without it modeling would be tedious and difficult with a lot of opportunities to make errors. In general parametric modeling can provide generalities of the object dimensions and how they relate to each other. These objects can be constrained in a way that will provide the designer with a lot of opportunities to see very quickly if what they propose will work and how it will interact with the rest of the environment. Essentially parametric modeling is what makes editing 3D objects geometry possible and usable.

I personally think that BIM modeling has and will continue to revolutionize design and construction in general. It can almost let you actually build and see the structure you are designing in real time. It is similar to building it so you can easily see any design conflicts that might be easily missed in the interpretation of a standard 2D CAD drawing. Though civil engineers lag behind technologies often I think that BIM modeling will continue to grow and strongly influence the field.

Comments:
Comment on Gary Reiff's post
Comment on Laura Worley's post

References:
Eastman, Charles M. 2011. BIM Handbook : A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers and Contractors. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2011. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost (accessed January 18, 2016).

B2: Group C - Coffey BIM Used for Maintenance and Operation

         BIM is now a crucial part of the Architectural, Electrical and Construction industry, but the the large adoption of BIM was only a recent event and has not always been the basis on which the industry has worked. Before the clash detection, project scheduling, collaboration improvement capabilities and other cost savings benefits of BIM were recognized and proven as results of BIM’s use, the time and money investment required to change from CAD to BIM deterred industrial change (Lu). There was no way to prove whether creating a BIM model of an entire project before its construction would result in the advertised benefits. Even still BIM has not been fully adopted for every project to use the advertised benefits. (Eastman).

Multiple dimensions can be added to a BIM model. Common dimensions include 3D model, construction scheduling, project cost estimation, life cycle assessment / sustainability and maintenance and operation implementations. Of these, I would like to go into more discussion about facility management. This is a dimension where BIM’s capabilities are used to improve building maintenance and operation. Although there are proven benefits to performing this extra work its is often not performed unless required by the client. Even when this dimension is required by the client it does not receive the same amount of attention as other dimensions because it does not directly affect the profit of the designer and contractor. All the benefits are passed onto the client. Even nearing the end of a project the contractor and designer are more focused on finishing the project and not highly interested in investing the profit from the project completion in something that does not have a sure return on investment. While the return on investment for the owner is conservatively 64% over a payback period of 1.56 years (Teicholz). The development and use of the facilities management dimension is able to have this significant of an impact on building maintenance and operation because the as built model of the building can be drafted to include  parametric data about each piece of equipment in the building, its exact location behind a wall, the model number, fabricator’s contact information, and equipment maintenance manuals (Teicholz). The BIM model can also be integrated with a building monitoring program that helps to identify problems and provide maintenance reminders (Teicholz). This wealth of information will enable the maintenance workers to react more quickly, reduce maintenance errors, perform better repairs, and reduce the amount of work they have to perform. These improvements will reduce the cost to maintain the building and extend the life of the building. If the building were to require renovation or retrofit, then an accurate BIM model would prove invaluable at increasing the efficiency and ease with which the building is reused.

While the cost is a significant deterrence to the owner requiring the facilities management dimension, sometimes that dimension is not necessary due to how important the building being constructed is and the cost benefit to the implementation of a building monitoring system. The cost benefit limits may fall short for the implementation of this dimension in a small residential home due be crucial tools for large, complicated and important structures such as a nuclear power plant. For the later, it is necessary that a highly accurate BIM model and monitoring system be implemented to notify maintenance workers of a problem, to extend the life of the very expensive building, and to reduce the chances of maintenance errors. The economic loss related to a failure at a powerplant greatly outweighs the loss of a residential house. In this case the reduction of risk is the primary motivator and not the return on investment. Meanwhile the investment would only be worthwhile if it actually produces plausible benefit and mitigates or prevent economic losses due to a failure.

Comments

Alexis,

I liked how you mentioned that the use of BIM for IPD is a large benefit of BIM modeling. I believe that the use of BIM as a collaboration tool is its largest benefit. The ability for the owner, maintenance manager, and building design and construction disciplines to quickly and easily collaborate improve the quality of the design and empowers the collaborators to develop solutions to conflicts between systems, often leading to a better solution then otherwise possible. The other benefits support the usefulness of BIM as a collaboration tool, through better better visualization of the building so that problems can be identified and the information in the model is the same for everyone so they can more easily and accurately communicate despite the potential distance between them.

Bryan,

I enjoyed the level of detail and explanation that you went into to describe the interoperability issues between BIM programs and supporting programs. Like you mentioned limitations on the interoperability of programs historically has been a problem that affected the effectiveness of using BIM programs and caused modeling errors. From what I have read, the interoperability has enabled BIM programs to accomplish tasks that no one program is capable of or is not as capable of when compared to supporting programs. Because there has been more focus on making the different BIM programs interoperable they are able to produce more complex buildings and perform more thorough analyses of building models. Just like you I think that there is still room for improvement and that the largest barrier to improvement is the collaboration between the software programmers developing the programs and the users of the programs. For instance, if an engineer is trying to produce an optimized building that requires the use of new technology or to perform a unique task to qualify a building that has a special use, BIM programs may not have the interoperability with the program that performs the required analysis. This interoperability will eventually be developed with enough need for BIM programs to perform that rare analysis because it was either not performed before or because the demand for that capability was outweighed by the demand for other more used capabilities.

References

Eastman, Charles M. BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers and Contractors. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2011. Print.

Lu, Weisheng, Ada Fung, Yi Peng, Cong Liang, and Steve Rowlinson. "Demystifying Construction Project Time–Effort Distribution Curves: BIM and Non-BIM Comparison." Journal of Management in Engineering J. Manage. Eng. 31.6 (2015): 04015010. Web. 

Teicholz, Paul M. BIM for Facility Managers. N.p.: Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2013. Print.

B2: Group C - Mridul

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is “An integrated digital process providing coordinated, reliable shareable data throughout all project phases, from design through construction and into operation.”[1] BIM applies to all aspects of the construction of a building, from the design, the estimating, the supply chain, the delivery of goods during the build, the build process, the resource allocation, the productivity requirements to meet targets. Unlike CAD, which uses software tools to generate digital 2D and/or 3D drawings, BIM facilitates a new way of working: creating designs with intelligent objects. Regardless of how many times the design change or who changes it, the data remains consistent and coordinated. Models created using software for BIM are intelligent‖ because of the relationships and information that are automatically built into the model. Components within the model know how to act and interact with one another.

Owners and facility managers can use information contained in the models to perform a variety of complementary tasks, including energy or environmental analysis, visualization, construction simulation, and improving the accuracy of documentation. In addition, BIM also helps to engage in innovative new project delivery strategies, such as Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). Early access to the rich information in the models helps owners gain more insight into their projects. As a result, they can make more informed decisions much earlier in the planning, design, or construction. [1]

BIM changes the way companies work both internally and externally. Projects have become more and more complex, requiring firms to manage and share immense amounts of data across diverse and distributed teams. By enabling greater insight into the project at any point in its lifecycle, BIM helps to improve accuracy, efficiency, and productivity, resulting in time and cost savings. Therefore, BIM can provide owners and facility managers benefits such as faster project approvals, more predictable outcomes, sustainable designs and analysis services. [2]

In conclusion, adapting to the advantages BIM offers requires investment in staff, processes, and technology which will definitely improve the quality and productivity of the projects for the owners and the facility managers.

References: 

1)      "BIM CASE STUDIES FOR ASSET AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT." BIFM. Bimacademy, 1 Sept. 2015.

2)      Chapter 4: Eastman, C. (2011). BIM handbook. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley


Comments:

    Mohammed Alqallaf, 

      I completely agree with you that BIM is the future of the building design/construction. It not only helps contractors with clash detection, quantity takeoff, cost estimation, construction analysis, planning, integration with cost and schedule control, but also help contractors with faster project approvals, more predictable outcomes and sustainable designs. Overall your post was concise and to the point. Also, I liked how you compared your personal experience with the topic. 

    Eduardo Borja,

      I really enjoyed reading your post. It was concise and provided with helpful information. There are many advantages of using BIM. I agree that BIM can lead to true integration between design and construction. For instance, it can help the contractors with faster project approvals, sustainable designs, cost estimation and construction analysis. All the statements you wrote make complete sense and the example makes it easier to understand the use of BIM in the construction industry.