Retro Friday: BIM Execution How-to-

I'm bringing this to the top because I hear people talking about it almost daily.

BIM Execution Plans (BxP)are the foundation of you successful use of BIM. I'm given pause by how regularly they are just slapped together because they were "required on the project."

This is your roadmap folks. This is what you will point back to when the going gets tough.

• When you have physical conflicts in the field, you will point to the model.
• When you have conflicts in the model, you will point to the matrix that show what trade takes precedent in that situation.
• When you have conflicts of interest and personality, you will point to your BxP. Or at least you should. You won't be able to if you didn't take the time to assemble it in a meaningful manner.

The document mentioned in the post below isn't about how to fill out your Modeling matrix, or who should do what task when. It's about how to have a conversation about these things. Consider it the form work for your projects foundation.

BIM Execution How-to  April 10, 2012

Your map to sucessful BIM projects

What kind of Collaborator are you?

CADSoft Consulting brought some great representatives from Autodesk together to talk about Emerging Technology for Building Professionals, and I was invited.  :)

Tim Douglas reminded us of the importance of DATA in our models.
Scott Davis talked about the power of visualization (and NOT just the photo-realistic type.)
Ken STowe talked about the ROI of BIM and a Workshop series he has facilitated on the subject. If you ever have an opportunity to participate in that workshop  I highly recommend it (even from the short description we had today.)
And Chuck Mies talked about how Owners can use BIM and what we all have to do to make it happen.

Thanks to all of you.

In relation to the Post title, Chuck Mies brought up a great point about the buzzword Collaboration, their are two definitions:

col·lab·o·rate

intr.v. col·lab·o·rat·ed, col·lab·o·rat·ing, col·lab·o·rates

1. To work together, especially in a joint intellectual effort.

 2. To cooperate treasonably, as with an enemy occupation force in one's country.

How are you collaborating on your current projects?

Autodesk and Vela systems...

...it just makes sense.

Autodesk aquires mobile construction management solution provider Vela Systems today.

With Vela's cloud sourced, list based project management and issue tracking solutions and Autodesk's BIM authouring capabilities we will start to see a more seamless integration of BIM use on the construction site.  Interesting things to come for sure....

See the press release here.

BIM Execution How-to

Follow this link to a document that is intended to spark the conversation necessary to plan the Level of Development (LOD) requirements on a BIM enabled job (i.e. filling out that LOD matrix on your BEP).  It is not a form to fill out (there are plenty of those) nor is it a template to apply to your projects,  It's more a compass than a road-map.

Note: Licensed through Creative Commons


Model Level of Develop (LOD) Planning by Erik Lewis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

If anyone would like a .pdf copy let me know through the "Contact" page re: BIM LOD Planning. There's no rocket science here though.  Just good, old fashioned communication and planning.

Don't let that blank BIM Execution Plan (BEP) make you afraid of the Big Bad BIM.

Edit: Added Creative Commons licensing 4/12/2012
Edit: Made document publicly shared and search visible 4/16/2012
 

Time to step up your game...

R W SMITH (Commercial Kitchen designer and supplier) has a published a BIM Services book to highlight how they can benefit projects using BIM.

Kitchen supplier, folks!!  What was your excuse again?

Thanks to Steve Stafford at Revit OpED for bringing this to light.

Open publication - Free publishing - More architecture

The Glue that holds it all together…

The glue that holds all relationships together -- including the relationship between the leader and the led is trust, and trust is based on integrity.” –Brian Tracy (Self-Help Author)

At AU 2011 Autodesk announced it’s intent to acquire Horizontal Systems (developers of Horizontal Glue.) The deal is expected to close before the end of Autodesk’s fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, which ends Jan. 31, 2012.

What is Glue?

… Glue brings BIM to the cloud with technology that supports multi-discipline model collaboration and intelligent object data exchange for the building and infrastructure industries. This approach enables architects, engineers, owners and builders across the globe to collaborate in real time in over 40 different 3D formats, while providing a solution to distribute BIM data into external business systems.

So?
I saw a demo of this a couple of months ago.  Horizontal Glue provides for one… web-accessible… model for all players on a project.  One source of truth… One database…  Shared across the web by countless users. 

That alone is worth looking into.  Add to that integral “Clash Detection,” (I prefer the terms Spatial Coordination or Trade Coordination, but to each their own) Quantity Take-off, (QTO (there’s a TLA, they’ve been hiding for awhile) and 4-D scheduling and you’ve got a Cloud based BIM Coordination application.

Throw in RFI generation and tracking, Versioning control, and the ability to handle Submittals and Procurement right in the Model environment and you have a BIM based Project Management solution!!!

Hooray!!!

With Horizontal System’s innovative, cloud-based technology, and Autodesk’s vast range of BIM applications (not to mention their deep, deep pockets) look for good things to come
.
Keep an eye out for more Buzz about Autodesk 360.
Autodesk and Horizontal Systems- sticking to the Big Bad BIM

PS: You can find a copy of the full press release here (amongst other places.)

BIM Texas 2010

My man on the scene reports that BIM Texas 2010 is well attended by representatives from all sectors of the AECO (Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Owners) industry.

This year’s theme is “Understanding the Gap: What Owners want v. what Contractors can deliver.”

I have a feeling that good things will come from this event and it will inspire at least a few posts on this blog.

Thank you to Texas A&M and TEXO for sponsoring this event to get Contractors and Owners talking about what BIM means to them.

Gig ‘em!

AU afterglow… aftermath…

I suppose it depends on your viewpoint, but no matter who you are, another AU is in the bag…  While I haven’t heard any hard numbers yet, the estimates I heard run from 5900-6800, but I think that those are all hearsay.  Even as a newcomer, I can tell that it had been scaled back.  From stories of hotel suites with sunken living rooms and free top-shelf booze last year to the reality of this year’s standard King or Double rooms and no “hard stuff” at all at the exhibit hall or parties.  Add to that the “technical difficulties” the sound tech was having during the string concert at the AU Bash and the slightly (ok, seriously) cheesy Karaoke, and you have a formula for some disappointed AU-ers.  That said, in this down economy I think Autodesk did a wonderful job.  I think they kept quality classes and a reasonable price.

As far as I’m concerned, I thought the whole event was great.  I feel so lucky to have been able to meet some of the hardest hitters in the industry face-to-face in an environment of sharing and collaboration.  Isn’t that the point?  Folks at AU freely share content, templates, ideas, processes, etc.  It’s so exciting to be part of our industry right now. 

I don’t think it was the glitz and glam of Vegas (it has more to do with the weekend spent with my family after the fact) but I am re-charged and re-energized by great conversations and information exchange with awesome people.  The weather over the next few days looks promising for a couple of in-depth blog posts. Gotta love blizzards!!!

Still Alive and Well in AU

Contrary to what my wife may think, I AM alive and doing well here in the vast Nevada desert.

Today is shaping up to be quite busy and full of information, but I wanted to take a moment and give some quick props to Laura Handler (Tocci Building Corp) and David Epps (Holder Construction) for there presentation of the different ways Contractors can arrive at a BIM. They talked about the pros and cons of doing 2D conversions in house, outsourcing the creation of the model and receiving the model directly from the designer. Very well done and worth checking out at AU online when available. CR118-1 (I will provide a link when it becomes available on AU Online.) Be sure to check out Laura's Blog for more about using BIM from a contractor's point-of-view.

I'd also like to congratulate Heapy Engineering of Dayton Ohio for having an Upper Management that totally "gets" what BIM, VDC and IPD are all about. They are technologically savvy and looking to stay on the forefront of the industry even in a down economy (rumor has it they may even be hiring, unheard of right now.). They understand (at every level in the organization, it would seem) that VDC/BIM is not a software implementation , but rather, a complete reorganization of the current project delivery process. Using the new BIM authoring tools (namely Revit) to deliver the same old deliverables with the same tired process is a recipe for disaster. Their successes should serve as an inspiration to anyone making their first steps down the road to BIM and integration. Check out their class MP122-2 (link to come.)

Is Revit faster than…

I’m SO tired of the questions/observations/comments on the speed of Revit in delivering a project. Is Revit faster than <insert drafting software here> (AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture, etc., etc.?) I thought Revit was supposed to be faster than CAD… It takes forever to <insert modeling task here> compared to CAD.

Seriously? Which is faster?

This?

Or this?

Don’t get the connection? Me neither.

Both of the items pictured are (debatably) the fastest at what the do.

How fast does a SR-71 Blackbird transfer data? Depends on how far away the transfer points are and how much and what is the format of the data.

How fast does a Seagate Savvio 15K drive fly? Depends on who throws it.

Revit and CAD are as similar as a Super Sonic Jet and a Hyper-fast Hard drive. They do (or produce) different things.

Let’s compare apples to apples, or at least to fruit to fruit.

First on the individual “task” level.

Ex: Placing a wall in Revit vs drawing a wall in CAD.

Now I would argue that it actually IS faster for me to model a wall in Revit than it is for someone to draw to lines and a place hatch pattern in AutoCAD (maybe you could keep up if you had a tool that placed all that at the same time, hmmmmmmm, isn’t that AutoCAD Architecture (I won’t go there.)) But let’s just say for arguments sake, that it WAS faster in CAD (a stretch I know.)

OK, now show me an elevation of that wall.

Revit: DONE!

CAD: Draw rectangle>fill with hatch>DONE! (HA, not so bad.)

How about a section?

Revit: Click, Click>Done.

CAD: Rectangle, Fill with hatch (Sounds familiar.)

OK,OK. Now a building made out of those walls. Keep it simple. Single story, flat roof, “office park” building.

Time Elapse, everyone’s done.

Doors.

Revit: Select type>place>place>place>etc., etc.

CAD: Place block (even a “smart” block)>Trim wall>Trim Wall>Repeat.

Wait, move that last door 6”?

Revit: Sure. Move.

CAD: You bet. Move>Trim>Extend>Fix Hatch

Ummmm, 10’ walls won’t cut it, change them to 12’.

Revit: Change elevation of Top Constraint level.

CAD: Redraw 4 elevations (for a box shaped building) oh wait, almost forgot the section.

You know it would be great if I could see that in an Isometric.

Revit: No problem. Click

CAD: Why? We never did that before… I mean, sure. Give me a couple of minutes.

You know, it looks kinda dumpy with that flat roof, how about a simple Hip?

Revit: Got it, like this? Sketch 4 lines>Define Slope>Finish (Section, infinite elevations, 3d/ISOs) Done

CAD: Umm, yeah, I just gotta get the is ISO done. Then I can update all the elevations, the sections, oh geesh and that ISO. Come back tomorrow? (Faster huh?)

Could you guys do an energy analysis on that?

Revit: My Mech tech an export that to Ecotect or Green Building Studio and get you something in a few minutes.

CAD: Ehhh? on… lines…? Hmmm, Ummmm…. What the heck is that Revit guy doing over there? Walkthrough? What? C’mon…

Ok,OK, enough of this. The point is, if you are using CAD to produce Construction Documents and you want to replace drafting with 3D modeling in Revit CAD may (debatably) be faster.

If you want a tool that allows you to investigate and communicate design intent (sometimes, with an Ace user,) in real time. If you want a tool that you can then leverage that model to do energy analysis, Sustainability analysis (based on materials in the model,) Visual and Location based construction sequencing (4d,) Model based Quantity Take Off (QTO) then Revit (or, admittedly, some other BIM authoring tool) is faster. In some cases it’s the ONLY way.

Stop comparing your old, worn out tools and processes to my cutting edge, efficient project delivery method.

And stop trying to use my new tools the way you use your old one. If I buy a new table saw to speed up building my house, and you pick it up, turn it over, and try to run it across a sheet of plywood… at best, it’s slower and less efficient… at worst, somebody’s gonna get hurt. And nobody’s to blame but you.

This BIM thing is more analogous to Building a structure than Drawing it. Evolve, or become extinct.

Remember, "It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory." - William Edwards Deming

A new Custom Revit API search engine...

Rod, over at Rod.net has created a custom google search that will narrow down the information returned from google when you're only interested in Revit API (Application Programming Interface.)



Anyone looking for that kind of info should try it @ Revit API Search Engine



From Rod's site:

"Searches through Revit API information sources, predominantly blogs. Email me at rodhowarth257 at gmail (dot)com (sic) with any suggestions! "

Folks like this helps us all. Thanks ROD!!

Revit MEP to Fabrication

Technical Sales International, LLC (TSI) seems to be one of the first (if not THE first) to develop an interface to translate a Revit model to fabrication programs such as their CAD-Duct, CAM-Duct, etc. etc.



From the video description:

"we have bridged the gap between Design BIM and Manufacturing BIM by providing a direct path from design files created with AutoCAD Revit MEP 2010 HVAC, Pipe, and Plumbing to truly integrated database solutions CAM-Duct, CAD-Duct, EST-Duct, CAD-Mech, EST-Mech using new FAB-Duct and FAB-Mech software provide by Technical Sales International "

I'd love to get my hands on a demo. Has anyone used this? Thoughts? Comments?

BIMwash, the new snake oil?

I'd like to take a moment and try and define a new term.

BIMwash.

A portmanteau (a word that contains two words and combines their meanings) of BIM (building information modeling) and whitewash ( a thin paint-like coating that washes away slowly in the rain.)



More and more projects are requiring BIM. Sometimes the Design firm is requiring BIM from the GC and subs. Sometimes the Owner is requiring that everyone use Building Information Modeling. This is GREAT! I mean this is what we have been preaching and railing about.

Here's the rub though. BIM has become a BUZZWORD. Not to the extent that "Green" has, but a buzzword still. Now that everyone's talking about this thing called BIM, folks are starting to sit up and take notice. Heck man, there's money to be made here. We can do this BIM thing. We already model in 3D (sorta.) This (insert any BIM authoring software) looks pretty similar. We can't get left behind on this. RFPs (requests for proposals) are coming in asking for BIM. Let's go!

So XYZ Design (or Engineering, Builders, etc etc.) gets a couple seats of software, spend some time learning how to use it, and get it set up so they can plot documents to their standards. Yahoooo, we're on the BIM-train. Let everyone know, WE DO BIM!

Whoa, hold the phone, Buster. What do you mean you "Do BIM?"

Ummm, we use "Brand A" Software and... produce a BIM.

What's your deliverable?

Duh, the industry standard 2D CD's. You can't get away from that. Oh, and we can show you exactly what your building looks like with renderings and walk-throughs.

So, since Contractors, Subs, Design firms, even Owners all have their own ideas of what is BIM, are they wrong?

Yeah, I think they are.

I'm not going to rant and rave about what is and isn't BIM. Just Google it, there is plenty of discussion. What I will say is, there are plenty of firms out there that have jumped "on board" and are "Doing the BIM."

Educate yourselves. Have a serious discussion at your firm. What is BIM to you?

Everyone wants to get something different out of this. The Designer wants to validate design and communicate design intent in a new and easy to understand way. The Contractor wants to query the model and take off accurate Quantity of Materials and investigate "Buildability," dealing with interferences early in the process. And the Owner wants a BIM that they can use throughout the lifecycle of the building. Let the world know what you do or exactly what you want. Define it internally before you put it out before the public.

If you are about to issue a RFP that requires BIM, do yourself a favor and SPELL IT OUT. Define exactly what you are looking for. That way you have a better chance of getting what you want. And please, if all you want is rendering and walkthroughs, say that. Don't even use the term BIM.

If you are a Design, Engineering, or Construction firm, know what your strong points are. Know what you can and cannot deliver. Don't oversell your abilities. It will only come back to bite you.

And if you're just using the term because "everyone is doing it," STOP.

Don't be a BIMwasher... it's all likely to wash away in the rain...

Open Source Building Information Model (BIM) Server

An interesting idea. I have to admit I found the site a little lacking in useful information. But then again, I have to plead complete ingnorance when it comes to servers.

Check it out here.

AIA Minnesota Bim Breakfast Club

The BIM Breakfast Club (BBC) meets once a month to discuss BIM, IPD, and the effect that they are having on the industry. Yesterday morning, (09/23/08) at 7:30 in the morning, this group of forward thinking Architects, Contractors, and other members of the construction industry got together to share what they had been doing over the summer and plan future meetings. Some of the topics discussed were:

A BIM Conference in Arizona this summer; There is talk that Arizona is putting language in it's public contracts that deal with BIM. The focus of the conference morphed from last year's "This is what BIM is" to "This is what we are doing."

The CIFE conference; Investigations in to metrics that quantify the benefits of BIM and IPD

The downstream use of models created in the design process; are current designer produced models (created to show design intent) useful for contractors (who use models to investigate constructability.)

My favorite fact from the meeting (from Mcgraw Hill I believe;) of the $2 trillion of business the US construction industry does, 54% is waste.

My favorite question of the meeting (in regard to Automated Code Compliance:) Do "Smart" resources make for "less smart" designers? How do intelligent BIM objects effect the design?
This reminds me of a Kurt Vonnegut book (Player Piano I believe) that speaks about automated design and it's effects on designers. Hmmmmm...

The plan for the next meeting is to discuss either legal issues and BIM or laser scanning. I encourage anyone who is interested in attending to contact one of the Co-Chairs;

David A. Jordani, FAIA
Jordani Consulting Group
djordani@jordani.com

or

Karie L. Johnson, AIA
Adolfson & Peterson Construction
ConstructionKarieJohnson@a-p.com