Victor Schinnerer & Company, Inc.

Published Bimonthly by Victor O. Schinnerer & Company, Inc. o www.Schinnerer.com o 301⁄961-9800 o Copyright 2005 o All Rights Reserved

September⁄October 2005

 

Remodeling Your Firm Through Digital Practice

At the AIA's National Convention in May, one of the general sessions featured a distinguished panel with a singular message: one change appears to be inevitable in the design and construction industry, and that change is the increased use of building information modeling (BIM). Building information modeling, or virtual modeling, could transform the workflow of project stakeholders and vastly improve overall project efficiency by allowing the integration of information, data, images, and time in a comprehensive 4-D model. Pushing the Practice Envelope

According to William Tibbett, a client representative from Johnson & Johnson, clients are leading the charge in demanding the use of BIM. According to Tibbett, clients feel that the traditional method of practice is inefficient, where paper transmittals are shuttled back-and forth between project team members and such documents are outdated the moment they are created. One of the more persuasive arguments for change is the difficulty project team members have in sharing information. According to a study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the inability to properly share information cost project stakeholders 4.25 percent of the total construction put in place in 2002, or $45.8 billion. One of the main drivers behind BIM software packages is the ability to seamlessly share digital project team members to provide better professional services and to potentially better manage their risks.

 

Changing an Industry

While design-build project delivery has altered the design and construction landscape, it appears as though BIM could have a greater impact. "Building information modeling will completely and totally change the way architects think about architecture," said Thom Mayne, principal of Morphosis. "They need to evolve and embrace change." Earlier this year, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced that firms providing  services to GSA would have to include a building information model as part of their design services. This will begin in the 2006 fiscal year. The changes have already begun. Joseph Burns, vice president of Thornton-Thomasetti Engineers, spoke of his company's use of BIM on the Adaptive Reuse of Soldier Field,  particularly the steel fabrication. Thornton- Thomasetti performed all shop drawing reviews entirely within the 3-D model, which some believe assisted in allowing a large and complex project to be completed on time and budget. Firms may want to consider the benefit of making at least one member of their firm responsible for becoming fluent in one BIM software package during the coming years. Many of the major software companies, such as Autodesk, Revit, Archi-CAD, and Bentley, offer BIM products.

 

BIM Could Spur Designer-Led Design-Build

The use of building information modeling (BIM) to encapsulate the design and construction elements may be the key to design firms taking the lead on design-build projects. BIM is especially attractive for integrated project delivery where the project team members are unified contractually but not merged functionally.  The use of electronic communication tools is basic to the integrated project delivery system.  Because BIM encompasses the creation and use of coordinated, internally consistent, and computable information about a project in design and construction, it is particularly appealing. For design-build, the use of project information contained in a model that is accessible to the entire project team enhances the ability of the team to function efficiently.  Using a model also means that the party creating and controlling the model is best positioned to take the lead in the process.

Addressing Client Needs

Use of BIM means that the lead designer on the design-build team can better probe the client's needs and translate those needs into a design that meets the client's criteria and the challenges of constructability, cost estimating, and project scheduling.  A building information model already contains a complete description of the project, including accurate and reliable schedules and material takeoffs that are launched by the underlying project databases. BIM should allow design-build teams to accurately gauge the impact of project changes and their effect on the project price and schedule. It should also minimize the number of change orders.

Streamlining Communication

Although much of the information in design-bid-build is produced in digital form, this project delivery system relies on project information being exchanged in paper form. This cumbersome process is often duplicated when a design-build project is handled through a team of separate design and construction entities. This can lead to increased costs, inadequate communication, and, often, disputes within the team.  There can be information exchange problems even with the use of BIM, however. When the design-build effort involves a team of separate entities, there may be difficulties with interoperability. The incompatibility of computer systems can hinder the advantage BIM provides. BIM's capacity to automatically coordinate changes made to the model against the entire set of project documents allows the quick and accurate provision of up-to-date building documents to estimators and the construction team, but only if all team members can share the same information.  With the continued growth of design-build, the adoption of BIM solutions will become increasingly attractive. Its use provides a coordinated, internally consistent, and computable building information model capable of satisfying the complex needs of all the design-build participants.

Reading the Fine Print of BIM

There are some issues that design professionals should be aware of before converting their systems to BIM. Below are some of the more important issues as identified by H. Edward Goldberg, Principal of HEGRA, at the AIA's National Convention.

- Step learning curve-These software packages are complicated and require a great deal of time to master.  It is best to train small groups of employees at a time, rather than to attempt to convert an entire company at once.

- Few advanced users-Most advanced users appear to be younger architects that lack extensive design experience, while older architects have extensive design experience, but lack the required technological ability to use BIM software.  A solution may be to establish a mentor program where an advanced BIM user is paired with a senior designer lacking software experience, creating a two-way learning experience.

- Duplication of content-If a component has been accidentally duplicated-i.e., a window on top of a window-and this is not corrected before the job is sent out to bid, this can affect the contractor's price.

- Details done in 2-D-Details must still be done in 2-D and are not necessarily linked to the virtual model.

- No guarantee of more money-Just because there is a wealth of information easily extractable from the virtual model, this does not mean that design professionals will be compensated for this information.

- Confusion over copyrights-With the architect, engineer, contractor, and client all being able to share project information and add details to the project model, who ultimately owns the copyright to this information?  Once it's all been combined, the copyright bright line will be blurred, which can lead to disputes over who owns the copyright should any of the design elements attempt to be used on future projects.