Venue: Chartered Accountants House, Pearse Street, Dublin
Date: 5th April 2023
Event: Three
Title: Eliminating information silos and poor information practices
ESB Headquarters in Dublin. On occasions it is necessary to bring in external support However, in more recent times the company has increased in-house expertise to manage the digital information requirements on projects.
Reference was made to the importance of embracing information management standards/certificationlikeISO19650,whichis an information management standard for managinginformationoverthewholelifecycle of a built asset using building information modelling(BIM).
Specifically Sarah referred to the eight stage information management process within ISO19650-2 which applies to all formally “Appointed Parties” who are exchanging BIM data on a project. It is important that companies like Walls integrate ISO19650 processeswithintheproject work flows.
Speaker: Sarah Ryan, Digital Project Delivery Lead – Walls Construction Ltd
Title: The Importance of Good Information Management
Sarah is currently Digital Project Delivery Lead in Walls Construction Limited, with over 5 yearsintheAECindustry.Sheisresponsiblefor providing leadership and direction of certain BIM technologies to project teams and has experience using a range of application platforms andcomplexsystems.
Sarah began her presentation by focusing on whatgoodinformationmanagementlookslike in construction. She spoke about the array of data exchanged between stakeholders on a typical construction project. It covers data created from multiple sources during the design and construction phases of a project. This inevitably will involve a variety of information formats. This challenge is more acuteonprojectswhereBIMdataisgenerated in multiple proprietary software formats that are not interoperable.
Walls’ digital journey was outlined with reference to signature projects like Boland’s Quay, EXO Building, DCU Future Campus and
Sarah spoke of the three key ingredients required to achieve good information management practice i.e. People, Process and Tools (Technology). It is important that staff receive the correct level of training on informationmanagementtoolsandprocesses, andinformationmanagementstandards.Train the trainer is a good process to follow by allowing those specially trained to trainothers withinyourorganisation.Itisalsoimportantto recruit people within specific information management roles or BIM roles and of course to identify potential digital leaders in your business.
Sarah spoke about the obstacles and the need to identify the right tools for the job and the needtohaveaplanbeforeyouneedaplan.“If youfailtoplan,youplantofail”.
Speaker: Liam Willoughby, Senior Architectural Technologist, ALTU Architects.
Title: BIM Led Communication in Practice
Liam Willoughby is currently a Senior Architectural Technologist in ALTU Architects, with over 11 years in the AEC industry. He has a strong interest in design and construction with technical and design experience working onhigh-endresidentialprojects.
ALTU Architects were established in 1997 (formally Lafferty Architects). They have approx. 34 architects and technologists in the Dublin office. They work in commercial, retail, housingandhealthcare sectors.
Liam spoke of the recognised benefits of BIM to ALTU in terms of time savings, increased quality, and reduced risk. He recognised the realitythatthereisajourneyto adoptingafull BIM workflow and this will not be achieved overnight.
Hisadvicewastodevelopinareasthatpresent the most value and build from there. Liam
provided below a short overview of the ALTU BIM journey. ALTU Architects achieved their 19650 certificationin2021.
Liam divided his presentation into four sections.
1. Early designandplanning
2. Detaildesignandtender
3. Constructionphase
4. Completeasset
Early design and planning – here he spoke of the danger that 2D and 3D design packages maynot be coordinated. ALTUseethe benefit of utilising 3D renderings and BIMx drawing packageviewers.
All renders and drawings are referenced back to the model. This enhanced overall communication, in particular with planners andwider stakeholder communication.
This ensures quicker client approvals and reduced planning risk. In addition, BIM increases accessibility by reducing barriers to understanding, in particular client understanding and the ability to communicate designproposals upthefundingchain.
Detail design and tender – The importance of OpenBIM was emphasised by Liam, in
particularIndustryFoundationClasses(IFCs)to facilitate the interoperability of data between different proprietary designsoftware.
This phase also involves bringing together different design team models into federated BIM models and identification of clashes and coordination issues early. This ensures clear andusefulpresentationofdesigninformation.
Reference was made to very complex coordination challenges that could have been achievedthroughthe useof BIM.
Liam spoke at length about “Open Collaboration”. The importance of the OpenBIM format of BIM Collaboration Format (BCF)toraiseandtrackissuesandclashes BCF manager plugins help in communicating elements of model location data across different design packages and negates the elimination of information lost in email inboxes. Reference was also made to Automated model validation and clash detectionsoftware.
Liamspoketoagiledevelopmentsinrespectto designsolutionsthathaveanabilitytorespond automatically to designchanges.
Developments in construction validation included assessing new methods of construction like modular construction. This enables pproductive discussion on solutions and quick assessment of impact of modular design.
Constructionphase – TheuseofCommonData Environments is a key innovation in ensuring
good information management practice. This includes drawing management, RFIs, submittals and general notification management. Utilisation of model viewers onsite for quick access to drawings aid productive discussion.
Liam concluded by speaking of the key challenge of client appetite/awareness to approachFacilitiesManagement(FM)via BIM TheFMfocusisoflowvaluetothedesignteam in isolation; thus the clients need to buy into BIM from the start to realise downstream benefits. Increasing client awareness and interest in FM applications will ensure a willingness to invest.
The EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy aims to increasing auditability and reducing ability to greenwash buildings. BIM model workflows are a naturalenablerofthis.
Speaker: Jonathan Reinhardt, Diatec Technical Consultant
Title: Good Information Practice with Autodesk Construction Cloud
Jonathan Reinhardt is currently a Senior ConsultantinDiatecGroup, withover16years in the AEC industry. He is responsible for supporting AEC businesses in adopting BIM technologies for the design and construction of Ireland’s mostexcitingbuilding projects.
Jonathanspokeontwo keytopics:
1. Micro andSME research.
2. What’s New in Revit 2024 and AutodeskConstructionCloud
Jonathan referred to the 111k design firms in Europe with 80% made up of between one to twostaffmembers.
“For a sole practitioner or SME envisaging BIM adoption, it is not practical to seek the implementation of the ISO 19650 standard from the start, as it can quickly lead to being overwhelmedbytheprocessandnomenclature involved, which risks reverting back to 2D CAD”
Jonathan called for the need for the development of a BIM solution for smaller sized enterprises. He spoke of the obstacles of the costof software,lackof skillsin-houseand the loss of time in the learning curve required to adopt toBIM.
He referred to the RIAI BIM Pack 2022 and in particularthe referencetosmallerfirms.
Smaller Projects are non-collaborative with less issues with exchange of information and interoperability challenges. An sBIM can focus on gaining business efficiency rather than collaborative effectiveness These are all benefits for smallerfirms.
Reference was made to Diatec launching Revit LT for small projects with accompanying selfpaced video content created specifically for small design firms. This solution ensures maximising service quality and business efficiency for smaller firms.
Jonathan concluded his presentation by providinganupdateonAutodeskConstruction Cloud.
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