September, 2013
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High-Profile: Facilities Development News
How BIM is Changing the Construction Industry by Marcia Kellogg BIM is about unlocking the power of information. Building information modeling (or BIM), is becoming more widely recognized in the construction industry. This technology provides a digital, 3D representation of the building process used to facilitate exchange of information in digital format for the entire project team. BIM facilitates a cultural shift toward collaboration. This technology is Kellogg cutting edge in the industry; however, the most important thing to consider about BIM is that there must be an internal culture that supports collaboration and the practical use of these tools. BIM facilitates a much higher level of coordination among the clients, and design and construction team. However, there must be a cultural shift from the traditional design-bid build methodology which typically leads to adversarial relationships between the architect and the contractor, to a spirit of total team collaboration which is inherent in the process. The value of the relationships among team members should not be underestimated. BIM provides both tangible and intangible cost savings. Adding the power of virtual design coordination provides tangible examples of enhanced constructability and value management, as well as
the efficiency for prefabricated assemblies. Time and space clashes between various disciplines are much more readily identified in 3D; identifying and fixing these issues ahead of time has been one of the most utilized aspects of BIM technology and easily saves a project thousands of dollars and weeks of wasted time waiting for components to be fabricated. 3D visualization supports the design and construction industry with these aforementioned “direct” (or tangible) savings and “indirect” (or intangible) savings resulting from minimized deBecton Center for Engineering: 3D model, under construction and completed project sign and on-site construction time and associated administrative and general analyses and calculating project staffing reThe BIM empowered A/E/C profesconditions costs. quirements. sion will invariably be composed of indiBIM is much more than creating a 3D With BIM there is still somewhat of viduals with ranges of technical skills and model. Adding 4D (time) and 5D (cost) pro- a fear of the unknown. Many profession- professional experiences from different vides the ability to demonstrate how rede- als within the industry have not embraced generations. This multi-generational, ad hoc sign impacts the program and budget. This the full potential of the technology and are team depicts how the Gen Xer is a likely fit technology is becoming more prevalent be- only using 3D to provide an enhanced proj- for this revolution, how the Baby Boomer cause it maximizes BIM’s potential in the ect rendering. The barriers of data owner- has to adapt to survive, and how the Mildesign and construction process, particu- ship and intellectual property still remain. lennials are poised to transform BIM from a larly in the preconstruction phase of a proj- However, the careful selection of partners novel process to an industry norm. Designect. 4D helps to answer the question: What will ensure that it works because all have a ers and builders at all levels of the profesimpact will this change have on the sched- similar collaborative philosophy – that they sion have been impacted by the emergence ule? More importantly, what will the impact will reap long-term benefits by creating sus- of BIM. be on the end users and project stakehold- tainable relationships with each other and This shift, with a heavy reliance on ers? 5D integrates the estimate model with their clients. Based on where the construc- technology and input from builders during Timberline Estimating and MS Excel and tion industry is headed, there will eventually the design process, will empower a new provides a visual quantity take off. 5D iden- be a transformational change as the trend to- generation of A/E/C professionals and adtifies design changes and updates quanti- ward integration across the entire life span vance them into leadership positions very ties in real time. Put another way, 5D is a of a project becomes greater from concept, early in their careers. visual estimator with a Timberline database. to construction, to operation, and ultimately Marcia Kellogg is marketing man5D also assists with developing cash flow decommissioning. ager at Standard Builders.
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