Building Information Modeling - 11

knows where it is and when it has been installed and communicates that back to the construction model • RFI s - when ther e ar en't an y o f the t ypical c oordination problems • CHANGE MANAGEMENT - when field changes are rare • D OCUMENT MAN AGEMENT - when the model is “the truth” and paper is minimized • CONTRA CT MAN AGEMENT - when e very int elligent object in the model knows what contract it is associated with • BUDGETING - when models ar e connected to the mar ket from the start • ESTIMATING - when quantities ar e in the model and int egrate directly into cost databases • SCHEDULING/SITE L OGISTICS - when y ou can sim ulate virtually in advance to optimize before mobilization • PROCUREMENT - when you have visibility to suppliers and can do just-in-time deliveries. External • Talk with the firms you regularly work with to determine where they are in the pr ocess. Some may want t o work with you on a BIM initiati ve onc e the y kno w y ou ar e int erested. Most companies are willing to share their experiences and can help you to jump start your initiative. • Talk with clients who ar e interested in BIM or who ha ve had experience with it on their projects learn about the benefits and challenges from their perspective. • See what r esources and infor mation is a vailable through the indust ry organizations y ou belong t o. For e xample, the AGC has an active BIM Forum with regular meetings and an informative website (www.bimforum.org). • There are a growing number of print and online r esources as well as industry events that address the many aspects of BIM. Conclusion Although it can be said that w e ar e stil l in “The Wonder Years” of this industry transformation, one thing is clear , we are n ot g oing b ack. Your c areer a nd t he p rosperity o f your company depend on bec oming familiar w ith the t ools, processes and value pr opositions of BIM, and adapting them to the particular markets you serve. The BIM r evolution is happening fr om the bott om-up, driven b y indi viduals and c ompanies who see the pot ential and de vote their energ ies t owards building the br ight new future of design and construction. If you have already begun the jour ney, congratulations, you have more fellow t ravelers every da y. And if you ar e still waiting t o tak e the first st ep, don't wait too much longer, your competition isn't. What Should Your Company Do Relative to BIM? If your firm has not yet become engaged with BIM, there are both internal and external steps you can take to start the process. Internal • Det ermine the le vel of motivation your company has t o make this c hange. It w ill be impor tant t o desig nate a BIM Champion and give that person the support needed to lead the change process. • Determine the level of senior management suppor t within your company. The transition will require commitment of funding (both for software and probably more powerful hardware as w ell as for t raining) and time for staff to lear n new tools and pr ocesses. Some companies report positive ROI on their first and every subsequent experience with BIM, but others report it can take two or three projects before they see net positives. The t ransition r equires patienc e and senior management needs to stay committed. • Build momentum b y starting small if possible with pilot projects. Some fir ms model pr ojects i n parallel w ith t raditional projects. Others model projects they have already completed to determine what the benefits would have been. • Determine ahead of time what y ou want t o achieve, and establish met rics t o gauge y our suc cess. This benc hmarking will be the best driver for wider adoption and more comprehensive implementation. Resources To learn more about BIM technology visit these sites: • Archicad: Graphisoft.com • Autodesk/Revit: Autodesk.com/PowerofBIM • Bentley Systems: Bentley.com/BIM • Digitalproject: www.gehrytechnologies.com • Solibri: Solibri.com • Tekla Structures: Tekla.com • Vectorworks: www.nemetschek.net/architect • Vico Software: www.vico.com About the Author Stephen Jones leads McGraw-Hill's initiatives in BIM. He can be contacted at steve_jones@mcgraw-hill.com 11 BIM

Building Information Modeling

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Building Information Modeling