Instead of taking days to generate thousands of fully coordinated drawing sets, as when using 2D CAD, 3D models produced that quantity of sheet sets in mere minutes! As a result, the firm\u2019s bespoke document control process, developed for 2D modes of production, needed revamping or replacing to avoid becoming a bottleneck.<\/p>\n
In the words of the firm\u2019s senior partner and head of technology, \u201cWe buried our QA\/QC process in data.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s one challenge related to BIM outputs. There are more.<\/p>\n
Once all those sheets are generated from the model, how do you make them available on electronic tablets? Because more and more, tablets are how people like to access information at the job site.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, there is technology that flows data seamlessly from the model to the tablet.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s akin to a magic act to see information flow from the 3D model to document control software to a plans app. And it\u2019s an assurance of quality to know teams in the field have ready access to the latest plans.<\/p>\n
These are a few of the challenges to managing BIM outputs. But that\u2019s just half of it. For BIM\u2019s success also hinges on stepped-up collaboration at the outset of a project. To collaborate on that scale, you\u2019ll need to get a better handle on BIM\u2019s inputs as well. An example will help.<\/p>\n
As many have noted, to make BIM really successful, you need the input of all project stakeholders as early as possible in the design process. Before ground is broken in real life, the project is built digitally, and to do so, you need input from the people who will build it.<\/p>\n
As a result, with BIM, much of the coordination that traditionally transpired in the course of construction is compressed into preconstruction. Representatives of the client, the contractor, the consultants and subcontractors \u2013 civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection \u2013 and other team members all contribute ideas to optimize form, function and the construction process.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an intense period of collaboration. While it\u2019s best done face-to-face, decisions are largely settled and documented via email. Lots of email.<\/p>\n
For example, Dave Moyes, information management partner at SimpsonHaugh and Partners, recently noted that, halfway through their design of phase one of the iconic Battersea Power Station Redevelopment in London, his staff had saved over 150,000 project-related emails to the shared folder on their email server.<\/p>\n
In addition to email, their file servers had over 2.25 terabytes of project data, including PDFs and BIM models to shop drawings, specs, reports, meeting minutes, site photos, and other images.<\/p>\n
\u201cInformation and collaboration have reached scales not seen before,\u201d said Moyes. \u201cHaving project information management software dedicated to managing this explosion of digital data goes far in reducing risk, meeting schedules, and pleasing clients.\u201d<\/p>\n
Common data environments and input\u2013output management BDP, one of the UK\u2019s largest design firms, has deployed project information management software to maintain what BRE, the Building Research Establishment, calls a \u201ccommon data environment,\u201d or CDE. The CDE comprises the graphical model, non-graphical data, and documentation \u2013 in other words, more than just the model.<\/p>\n
BDP\u2019s CDE is more than just an information warehouse. It manages and monitors project controls, as well.<\/p>\n
For example, the software applies a standard set of action items as part of each project\u2019s BIM execution plan. The BIM-related tasks and documents can be accessed by all team members via a Project Handbook dashboard. For executives, a cross-project dashboard provides firm wide reporting of BIM Execution plan compliance.<\/p>\n
The system fulfils BRE mandates to be able to \u201ccommunicate, re-use and share data efficiently without loss, contradiction or misinterpretation,\u201d as well as be able to \u201carchive information transfers, models, documents, contract documents, and operational and maintenance information.\u201d<\/p>\n
Project information management software ensures high quality and consistency in the professional services that BDP delivers, which is key to its ISO 9001, 14001, 27001 and BIM Level 2 compliance. The system is flexible and adaptable to the company\u2019s processes.<\/p>\n
The success is evident. In November of 2014, BDP became the first company to achieve BIM Level 2 certification by the independent BRE auditors. According to IT Director Alistair Kell, the project information management system \u201cwas key to enabling us to achieve BIM Level 2 certification.\u201d<\/p>\n
By slashing the time it takes to research past decisions and locate authoritative versions of documents, project information management software eliminates wasteful activity and mitigates the risk or working from outdated information.<\/p>\n
In the case of Simpson Haugh and Partners and the firm\u2019s 150,000 project emails and 2.25TB of project files, that abundance of information has become a resource the firm now uses to improve project delivery and client responsiveness, not just on active projects, but on others to come.<\/p>\n
According to David Moyes, \u201cIf properly implemented, BIM will reduce physical waste in construction as well as a building\u2019s operating costs in the long run; but only if the stakeholders effectively manage the resulting digital waste produced during the design and build stages.\u201d By managing inputs to and outputs from the model, waste is going by the wayside.<\/p>\n
About the author<\/b><\/p>\n
Allen Preger is a co-founder of Newforma, a developer of software to manage building and infrastructure project information. He is the company\u2019s vice president of global strategy.<\/p>\n