BIM and Integrated Design (a book review)

It's time for a loooong overdue review of a book that we all need to read and reread:

BIM and Integrated Design;

Strategies for Archetectural Practice
By Randy Deutsch, AIA, LEED-AP

A while back I posted about the fact that their are no road maps to successful BIM and that we need more BIM explorers (as opposed to BIM navigators.) I stated that you should use the BIM compasses available to guide you in that journey.  Well, this book will teach you to build your own compass. You'll find the real substance you need to plan, execute, and  measure BIM implementation in your office.

Are you thinking about implementing BIM, but don't know where to begin?  Buy this book.

Has your firm implemented BIM, but you feel like you've hit a wall, or maybe BIM isn't all it's cracked up to be?  Buy this book.

Are you struggling with the fact that you have invested time, money and effort in BIM software, but have failed to see a return on investment? Buy this book.

In BIM and Integrated Design, the author (Randy Deutsch http://bimandintegrateddesign.com/) talks about the one thing that is consistently missing from most conversation about BIM... people. The social impact of adopting BIM, VDC, IPD, etc far outweighs the cost of software, hardware and training. Arguments about what a software can and can't do leave out the one thing we can actually do something about. How people handle change. Prepping your team to handle this change is what makes the difference between "wanna do" BIM and leaders in our industry.

In his own words:

"BIM and Integrated Design is an implementation book from a firm-culture standpoint, addressing Building Information Modeling as a cultural process with a focus on technology's impact and transformative effect - both potentially disruptive and liberating - on the social, psychological, and practical aspects of the workplace."

 The first part of the book is titled "BIM as Though People Mattered." And that about sums it up. Teach people about change and how to accomplish it, give them new and exciting tools to work with, map out short and long term goals to focus that change, and get out of their way.  Then you'll see some magic happen.  Throw some technology at people who don't really agree that anything is wrong in the first place, and you have a recipe for heartache. Applying technology alone to an issue rarely makes it better.

Some key points you'll learn:

• What you're really adopting when you adopt BIM. 
• The difference between adopting BIM and implementing BIM. (that difference is very important.)
• What are the real social implications of BIM?
• What strategies you should employ based on company culture.
• Who should really be working with BIM (in the industry and in your company.)
• How to work with others in a BIM environment
• Education and training tactics.

Mr Deutsch does a great job of laying this all out in language that just about anyone can understand. His experience as an architect and educator combine to make this an essential resource for those of us struggling with change in our industry. He wisely states;

"What design professionals do - what they produce - is neither facilities nor documents but change. Yet, ironically, when it comes time for them to confront it they seem to have such a hard time swallowing change themselves."

 So, in case you missed it, my opinion is that you should... BUY this BOOK! (click the picture above or go directly to Amazon and search for it)

I'd loan you mine, but I use it everyday. See.

Randy Deutsch- helping people everywhere to not fear the Big Bad BIM.

Edit: Added image of my copy. 8/24/12

BIG BIM, little bim - a book review

BIG BIM, little bim by Finith E. Jernigan, AIA. The tag line states " The practical approach to building information modeling. Integrated Practice done the right way!"

A glance at the Table of Contents shows a logical list of chapters that layout a plan to implement BIM and Integrated Practice, such as Are you ready to Change?, Framework for Success,and The Process Day to Day. I thought that the chapter that touched on what the author calls "The four phases of integration" namely the Initiation, Design, Construction and Management Phases, explains very well how BIM can support Integrated Practice and the full life cycle management of the built environment.

Jernigan's references to the Toyota Production System a.k.a TPS (and NO it' s NOT the TPS referred to in Office Space's TPS reports, although they do exist) opened my eyes to this almost painfully logical system of managing the supply of a product (in our case the product is information.) TPS says that you don't create a part for a product until the next process down the line calls for it. That way you never have a surplus of parts lying around and you haven't expended resources on something that may or may not be used. This concept extends all the way out to the end user.

Cars aren't assembled till they are ordered (I don't know if that's ordered by dealers, customers or distributors, let's just leave it at "ordered" for now.) Assemblies aren't made till they are called for by the assembly line. Parts aren't made till new ones are needed to create assemblies to replace the ones just used on the assembly line. I'm not sure that I am doing the process justice by explaining it here. You should go straight to the creators for more info.

Anyway, for our purposes, replace "part" with "information." Deliver the right information to the right person at the right time, no more, no less. Easier said than done, sure, but something to shoot for.

All that being said, I was lost at points when the acronyms started to come out. DRM (Data Repository Model), CVM (Concept Visualization Model), DPM (Design Prototype Model) which, admitedly, are all names that he uses in his practice for models at different stages in the process. I also get lost at one point when the numbers start to come out. The 80/20 principle (got it,) The Power of Sixteen Concept (Umm, ok), and the 400% rule (hmmm, uhhh... ?)

I think that one of the strongest concepts I came away with is "fail-quickly." When you are trying something new and it doesn't work, recognize it, analyze what went wrong and move on. Words to live by.

Anyway, all in all I think it is packed with useful information, diagrams and some interesting analogies used to explain BIM and IP. However, it might fall slightly short in being a step by step plan for implementing BIM and IP in your office.