California Polytechnic University adds BIM in their curriculum

California Polytechnic University (Cal Poly) has added BIM as a required course in their curriculum. All students who wish to graduate with a degree in Construction Management must take the course over two quarters. Instructor, Elbert Speidel works to provide comprehensive exposure to the various types of software in the industry today.

“Part of the strategy in being able to teach them BIM is giving them an opportunity to see what is out there. We aren’t exclusively teaching one type of software, since that does not reflect how firms operate. Each firm has its preference and for that reason, there is no one BIM software exclusive to the market.”

When push comes to shove, Speidel admits he does have his opinions about which software is the most efficient in managing BIM – having had experience working with such a wide variety of options.

“So often we hear certain brand names of software used interchangeably to mean BIM. It is unfortunate, since BIM is a process – never a software. In my experience what you want to power your BIM process is a nimble, easy to operate program that does not add to your bottom line in terms of adding hardware. For me, ARCHICAD is that ideal software.”

Industry trends factor in to Speidel’s estimation of ARCHICAD as well.

“ARCHICAD has an advantage in that it is very IFC friendly. The industry is relying on that more and more to transfer information from program to program and share with others. ARCHICAD converts and works with IFC very well.”

Taking on such a wide range of products, that all handle BIM in different ways and presenting them in a non-endorsing manner, Speidel relies on a strategy to present unbiased information. In his class, students receive a good bit of freedom to really explore and determine which method works best for them.

“It would be impossible to teach so many methods and be able to achieve proficiency in any one. For that reason, we encourage the students to really dig in and get immersed in the ones they feel most comfortable operating.”

The students not only complete assignments for a course grade, during the fall/spring quarters students gear up for a BIM competition in Reno, NV. Students build models and create quantity takeoffs, comparing various versions of software with the same model. CalPoly consistently finishes in the top four spots at the competition. Speidel prefers to focus on how quickly students find employment upon graduation.

“Students do well at the competition and we are very proud of that achievement. What is most rewarding to me is recognizing how accomplished they are when they leave here. Firms snap them up because through the course, they have a holistic view of BIM and have been allowed to become as proficient as possible in the one they list best.”

Out of the Inbox: reality capture & 3D printing stalls?, BIM grows, VARs do too

A couple of things caught my eye recently, but I’ve been too wrapped up in other projects to write about them in any detail. So rather than continuing to wait until I have time, in no particular order …

Reality computing seems to be taking a beating right now — well, at least a couple of the bigger, publicly-traded suppliers are. FARO said that Q1 revenue would fall short of expectations because of foreign exchange and weakness in Japan and Brazil then, last week, 3D Systems said that it saw a sharp drop-off in activity by aerospace, automotive and healthcare customers as they slowed spending because of exchange rates and the fallout from the low price of oil. 3D Systems also had internal issues, as “certain metal and nylon applications and performance issues delayed the company’s ability to sell additional printers during the quarter”. Coming on the heels of Stratasys‘ announcement of problems with the Makerbot business, 3D printing shares are taking a beating on Wall Street. Does this mean reality computing is a non-starter? Of course not. We’ll all keep capturing more and more of the world around us; one hiccup won’t affect that in the long run. We will also increasingly rely on additive manufacturing technology, so postponing purchases from one quarter to another is also not a category-killer. But these reports do show that perhaps printer companies may be trying to push too hard with technology that’s not quite ready for customers whose internal processes may not be quite ready, either, to let go of decades of additive manufacturing practices.

Speaking of reality computing, the popularity of handheld scanners seems to be skyrocketing. Since they’re so much cheaper, at under $10,000 per unit as compared to $50,000 and up for a traditional model, easy to use and can reach places traditional scanners often can’t, they’re a great way to collect “as is” data.Trimble and DotProduct recently announced that DotProduct’s DPI-8 would be distributed by Trimble and its distribution partners. That’s big — a little startup getting such a global partner on board. It’s a clear sign that the cost of reality capture can only come down even as ease of use goes up.

Nemetschek gave more details results a few weeks ago for Q4 and full year 2014. You can read them here but, in summary, revenue was up 18% to €219 million in 2014, above the company’s last forecast with a big year-end, as Q4 revenue was €65 million, up 26%. What led to such good growth? License revenue was up 21% overall, with the Design segment again leading the way, led by Vectorworks and Graphicsoft. Design is still the largest segment, with total revenue of €175 million, up 17%; on an organic basis, revenue was up 11%. The Build segment reported revenue of €20 million, up 30.4%, including a €5 million contribution from Bluebeam, consolidated since October 31, 2014. Revenue from the Manage segment was up 5% to €5 million and the Media & Entertainment segment reported revenue up 12% to €18 million. For 2015, Nemetschek expects group revenue to grow organically by 6% to 9% but that acquisitions will boost total revenue to around€265 million. What does it all mean? That BIM is catching on for more and more project types and sizes — and that for those too small to support a BIM environment, the use of design and collaboration technologies is still growing in importance.

Finally, a bit of VAR catch-up. VARs, value added resellers, make the PLMish world go round. They represent the software vendor for both sales and support and are often the “face” of a product to local users. They are also, often, small businesses that struggle to keep the cash flow in balance and struggle to grow when they’re dependent on their OEM partners for new products. A couple of large, publicly-traded PLM VARs give us periodic glimpses into the health of that part of our universe:

• CENIT, reselling Dassault Systemes, IBM, SAP and other partner products as well as add-on services,reported that revenue for 2014 was €123 million, up 4%. Within that total, revenue from third party software was up 12% to €56 million; proprietary software was unchanged at €13 million, and revenue from consulting and services was €54 million, down 3%. Revenue from the PLM segment was up 7.5% to €98 million.
• Mensch und Maschine, MuM, is an Autodesk reseller that is growing its own portfolio in CAM and AEC. MuM reported that Q1 was a “sparking start” to 2015, as revenue grew 14% to €43. The company’s own software revenue grew 14% to €10 million while the VAR business contributed €33 million, up 16%. MuM said that “nearly one third of the VAR Business growth was due to the Swiss Franc increase against the Euro, the remainder – still double digit – was purely organic.” CEO Adi Drotleff is optimistic about 2015 as a whole: ‘The higher than expected business development in Q1 makes us confident that the targets for fiscal year 2015 are achievable: Sales should clearly exceed €150 million.”

In both cases, the PLM VAR revenue was up over 10% –a little more in the Autodesk space, a little less in the DS– which bodes well for the greater VAR universe and for the OEM suppliers as well. We’ve heard from DS, with total revenue up 30%, constant currency growth of 17%, organic software revenue up 9% in constant currencies. Next up are PTC and Trimble and then we take off with ANSYS, Hexagon and a host of others. It’s going to be a bumpy, currency vs expectation-laden ride.

BIM in The Middle East - Complete Survey Report

This report was commissioned to enable buildingSMART Middle East to gain a better understanding of the Middle East construction sector and subsequently to disseminate
that knowledge to key industry participants. Building Information Modelling (including understanding of, capability and barriers to adoption), being the

Published 10th May 2015 16:12 
Source: https://thebimhub.com/member/profile/#.VU808_mqqko

‘Geo-IT: The ‘Enabler’ Ingredient in the Infrastructure Construction Project Life Cycle Mix’

25-29 May 2015lisbon congress center, portugal

Construction industry faces unique challenges not only with the design, construction and operations of new infrastructure, but, also, maintenance of existing assets. Whether it is about vertical or, horizontal construction that not includes over the ground infrastructure, but, also underground assets, the infrastructure construction eco-system is dynamic to the core.

Traditionally, the construction industry is organized in a segregated way, which unfortunately acts as a bane rather than being a boon when it comes to information handover from one phase to another in a typical project life cycle. To combat this lapse, many developed countries across the world are now making Building Information Modelling (BIM), a modern business process for construction as a policy mandate.

BIM is a process that involves creating and using an intelligent 3D model to inform and communicate project decisions. Design, visualization, simulation, and collaboration enabled by BIM solutions provide greater clarity for all stakeholders across the project lifecycle. BIM makes it easier to achieve project and business goals. This process of analysis gains its optimal potency when it gets integrated with Geospatial Information and Technology which facilitates the development and maintenance of infrastructure assets by eliminating data redundancy, miscommunication, and costly conversion when moving through the entire project life cycle of infrastructure construction process that follows - planning, design, construction, and operation. This integration gets further steam when allied technologies like mobile, cloud computing, etc., are thrown into the mix.

Through this exclusive track on modern infrastructure construction processes titled - ‘Geo-IT: The ‘Enabler’ Ingredient in the Infrastructure Construction Project Life Cycle Mix’, we will trace the enabler role of geospatial information and technology combining with supporting ICT tools and techniques that is integrated with BIM to create sustainable infrastructural assets with a greater control on the project life cycle of not only new projects, but, also, existing ones that demand renovation and re-modelling.

BIM and Prefabrication: The new revolution

For many years now prefabrication has been seen as integral to greater efficiency in building construction. Earlier manual 2D CAD systems relied on a product of specified fixed characteristics, mass produced to reduce unit cost; however, this approach never satisfied design flexibility or innovation of product and led, in its worse outcomes of the post-war housing boom, to using concrete panels of small range and adaptability. An ugly truth.

Meanwhile, in advanced manufacturing sectors such as automotive and aerospace, techniques for mass production and robotic procedures have had a revolutionary impact, and now, with the advent of BIM, that revolution is extending into building and construction.

The advent of BIM has produced a reliable method to prototype in 3D objects and its adoption is on the increase, particularly in HVAC system disciplines and supply chains with the work carried out by BIM-MEP AUS. Its advantages are a relaxation of constrained product design, leading to better performing buildings enabled by optimised products with significant off-site industrialised pre-assembly and prefabrication systems. There’s no doubt prefab is on the move.

BSA Prefabricated Riser Modules for the nRAH, Hansen Yuncken Leighton Contractors Joint Venture

Examples of the successes of this new approach are the new Royal Adelaide Hospital and the Sunshine Hospital Development on Queensland’s Gold Coast where BIM and prefabrication combine to improve design solutions, bring greater consistency in building and manufacturing processes, reduce on-site errors, enhance a smarter and quicker facility development process, employ a more skilled workforce and add to increased safety.

So what are the key technical challenges to further advancing this integration and continuing the prefabrication revolution?

It’s buildingSMART’s central vision to have an Australasian building and construction industry that collaboratively shares and maintains information about facilities and infrastructure in a manner that optimises the quality and economy of regulatory approval, design, construction and operation of the built environment.

We encourage greater industry collaboration, communication and coordination to properly secure openBIM standards endorsed by government agencies – like transport, health and schools – as well as private sector owners to ensure universal acceptance and applicability. 

NATSPEC, with support from groups like buildingSMART Australasia, AMCA (Air Conditioning and Mechanical Contractors’ Association of Australia), Construction Information Limited New Zealand, APCC (Australian Procurement and Construction Council Inc.) and
ACIF (Australian Construction Industry Forum), are preparing proposals to address this issue including the development of a National – Australasian – BIM Object library.  Excitingly, we had a real breakthrough on the 2ndDecember, 2014 for ‘whole industry’ collaboration when a national response resource was allocated to realise the adoption of a new Project Team Integration (PTI) and BIM framework across the Australian building and construction industry with “The Framework for the Adoption of Project Team Integration and Building Information Modelling”, a national first. The hope is this is but the first step in achieving the cooperation required to further advance the building and construction industries in Australasia.

The extension of BIM into the full suite of networks and infrastructure adds to this task, as well as providing new resources and the possibility to set up a truly Australasian process of implementation.

Implementing 4D BIM Construction Management Midway through The Project

4D Building information modeling, is being used increasingly across the AEC industry. The adoption rate of BIM 4D scheduling/construction sequencing is at its peak and has gained widespread acceptance across the globe. And why not will it get popular, AEC industry has experienced huge potentials working with 4D BIM; and benefits it provides in form of better management and articulating better outcomes.

Benefits that make adoption of BIM 4D so popular and a high value proposition:

• Understand Building Process and Make Work Flow Improvements
• Improve Coordination and Clash Detection Capabilities
• Enable Lean Construction

Our team at Hi-Tech has successfully completed several such projects where BIM came into picture after the construction work started.  Although it is very challenging to implement BIM at later stages, it still does offer considerable amount of benefits and returns on investment.  One project I remember we executed was developing BIM for a university hospital in Saudi Arabia.

When this project was offered to us, construction for the building had already started.  However at this stage, the project was going way behind schedule, the client wanted to gain better control over the construction process and make it streamlined.

We were briefed about the requirements, - BIM with LOD 500 and adherence to AIA standards. Information rich model with details for MEP, structural and Architectural disciplines was prepared and further interdisciplinary clashes were identified and mitigated. Changes were amended and construction schedules were set.

Clearly, introducing BIM midway through the construction was challenging, however it was fruitful. The university hospital construction project was running late, but after BIM intervention client managed to streamline the processes and complete the project on time. Further client also integrated BIM documentation and as built information with O&M for facility management. As risks reduced - liabilities also reduced, and as clashes were mitigated rework reduced - hence time and cost efficiencies increased. As a result, for the client it turned out to be a highly profitable investment.

How BIM improves safety and reduces operating costs

Civil engineers who are regularly engaged with architects or structural engineers may already be familiar with BIM, but for those who are involved in designing roads and highways, the process is a whole new world, but one that is highly relevant now and will continue to grow in importance.

BIM helps not just in constructing ‘buildings’ but also in building any sort of infrastructure.  It is an integrated process built on coordinated and reliable information about a project from design through construction and operations.

BIM can be considered a thought process that governs work through various stages of the project in the shape of information that stays digital, consistent and coordinated.  Hence, the chief benefits of BIM are that there is no duplication of information.  It is a constantly updated centralised database model and streamlined flow of information from field (survey) to design and finally to construction and maintenance/operations.

BIM and civil engineers

Implementing a BIM process for road and highway design starts with the creation of coordinated, reliable design information about the project, resulting in an intelligent 3-D model of the roadway.  The elements of the design are related to each other dynamically, not just points, surfaces, and alignments, but a rich set of information and the attributes associated with it.

For example, halfway through a roadway design project the profile may need adjustments to a vertical curve and the grades. By adjusting the profile, all of the related design elements update automatically, allowing the designer to instantly see the impact.

In this way, BIM facilitates evaluation of many more design alternatives. As part of the design process, civil engineers can leverage the information model to conduct simulation and analysis to optimise the design for constructability, sustainability and road safety. Finally, with a BIM process, design deliverables can be created directly from the information model. Deliverables include not only 2D construction documentation, but also the model itself and all the rich information it contains, which can be leveraged for quantity take-off, construction sequencing, construction stake-out,  as-built comparisons and even operations and maintenance.

In the case of construction stake-out, digital points are added in the office to the information model and can be sent directly to total station equipment on site. This equipment has the ability, once coordinated to stake-out numerous points robotically removing the need to generate stake-out points from 2D CAD or paper drawings. This process allows a more efficient and accurate way to link the office to the site and through verification of the as-constructed, links the site back to the office.

The use of modelling, 3-D visualisation and analysis is nothing new for road and highway design professionals, but with traditional drafting-centric approaches, design, analysis and documentation become disconnected processes, making evaluation of what-if scenarios inefficient and cost prohibitive.

By dynamically connecting design, analysis, and documentation in a BIM workflow, most of the effort in a roadway design project is shifted back into the detailed design phase when the ability to impact project performance is high and the cost of making design changes is low. This allows engineers to spend more time evaluating what-if scenarios to optimise the design and less time generating construction documentation.

Machine guidance applications can benefit significantly from a BIM model, an object based model supports attribute meta data associated to work packages for specific machine types. High accuracy paving machines require parametric models, while earthmoving machinery can work will with surfaces, string-lines as well as parametric models.

How BIM Will Change Professional Demand and Development

Given the rapidly increasing importance of BIM to the design and development of the built environment, proficiency in the new technology is fast becoming indispensable to AEC sector professionals.

It now appears all but inevitable that BIM will eventually become a standard, need-to-have technology for industries involved in the creation of the built environment. This is a global trend, with major economies such as the UK and Singapore already taking the lead in mandating the usage of the technology for key infrastructure projects.

Given the apparent inevitability and rapid progression of this trend, the implications for AEC sector professionals and their employers are set to be profound and far-reaching.

As with many other career skills, acquiring high levels of expertise and proficiency in BIM is best achieved via learning on the job, as opposed to through instruction in classroom environments.

Should BIM proficiency become one of the most pivotal considerations for members of industry, it could significantly skew employment patterns in favour of those companies that possess the most extensive and sophisticated BIM systems and provide the best opportunities for on-the-job training.

This could even further raise the appeal of leading and established engineering firms such as AECOM and Downer for new entrants to the work force.

In addition to the lustre that working at such prestige companies can confer upon the CVs of budding professionals, it’s also these large-scale concerns that provide the best means of rapidly acquiring high levels of expertise in BIM usage, thus putting them in good stead for their upcoming carers.

This heightened access to much-coveted talent that marquee companies will enjoy may profoundly alter employment trends among fresh workforce entrants.

It could even lead to a situation among civil and structural engineers similar to that for their peers in the IT sector at the highest echelons, where the best talent is monopolized by a few blue chip firms due to the extent to which positions at such companies are coveted.

Another major issue that the spread of BIM in the AEC sector industry raises is the need to constantly maintain and upgrade the proficiency levels of professionals, particularly given that one of the chief advantages conferred by BIM is the ability to facilitate coordination and collaboration between the multiple parties to complex construction projects,

The ability of BIM to enhance project cooperation could be severely hampered should participants in work projects fail to remain fully abreast of the latest advances in the technology.

According to Ben Mallinson of Sydney-based p3 BIM Consulting, a lack of sufficient BIM understanding and expertise is the reason why many companies see their initial forays into usage of the technology flounder.

“Implementation of any technology requires confidence, knowledge and foresight,” said Mallinson. “Businesses flop and ‘get burnt’ with BIM when these are not present.”

“The main insight is the need for consistency in BIM methods, understanding and usage, in order to put companies in a position to move in the same direction and achieve a unified outcome.

“Directors and project chasers sign contracts, yet have no real understanding of the work involved with regards to BIM and training their staff to meet its conditions.”

The challenge of ensuring that AEC professionals continually upgrade their BIM skills is further compounded by the fact that BIM technologies are currently undergoing extremely fast-paced changes.

Speaking at the Bentley CONNECTION event in Sydney last March, Bentley CEO Greg Bentley noted that the pace of change in BIM-related technologies is rapidly accelerating, with greater advances seen in just the past several years compared to the preceding decade.

These rapid changes, along with the increasing capabilities and sophistication of BIM technology, have already led to the emergence of a specialized industry of BIM consultants and advisers that cater to the needs of those companies hoping to stay on the cutting-edge of development.

Mallinson pointed out that in addition to enlisting the assistance of specialised consultants, one important means of enabling companies to keep their staff up-to-date on the latest BIM developments is to implement fundamental changes to their internal culture.

“Companies can create a curious culture in their offices by encouraging and accommodating existing staff to find and learn new ways to engage in design and documentation, as opposed to working them to the bone,” said Mallinson. “This is the age of working smarter, not harder.”

The Three Worlds of BIM

Do you understand it? That is, the world of Building Information Modelling (BIM)? Most don’t and yet it’s challenging owners and operators of hospitals, universities and commercial buildings to look at how they procure projects.

BIM is one of the most overhyped topics in the construction industry today. It appears in the media, at conferences and even in Government policy. There are as many definitions of what BIM is as there are national standards, guidelines and authors of discussions like this. My personal favourite is “The structured sharing of digital information within the built environment.”

Many owners who start looking at BIM get scared off by trying to understand how the various aspects of BIM directly benefit them. They have been sold on the picture portrayed by many of the software vendors that BIM is a ‘whole building lifecycle process’ or ‘to be doing BIM you need to be doing it all!’

In my view the whole process has been overcomplicated. While we should be thinking about operations and maintenance during design, we shouldn’t lose sight of the benefits that a BIM approach can make just to the design process. Likewise with construction and operations phases. This has led to promoting the process as the ‘Three Worlds of BIM’.

Within the design world, the benefits of working within a 3D modelled environment are now being realised by all disciplines. Improved coordination, integration with analysis better visualisation for client communications are all resulting a better no surprises design product.

Likewise within build world, creating a virtual construction model before doing it in steel and concrete is reducing rework and waste. Integrating models with cost and time schedules allows multiple options to be compared and provides a clear communication tool.

It is the operations world where there are the biggest challenges and biggest potential long term benefits. When facility owners and operators listen to all the BIM hype around modelling, clash detection, 4D and 5D they should rightly be thinking “How does this benefit me?” If it’s not delivering a cheaper, faster or better product (more on this in a later posting), why should they get excited?

The main benefit in operations world is harnessing the power of data relating to the asset. Most organisations use this data in multiple ways including planned maintenance schedules, asset depreciation calculations, space allocation and booking systems, upgrade planning and design. Whilst there will be separate systems needed for all of these functions, the source of the data for most of them is the same i.e. information about the physical asset.

Currently these systems are being populated by different people making differing interpretations either from walking around the asset or from paper drawings and schedules. If the owner can develop an information (the “I” in BIM) requirements plan before the building is handed over (the earlier the better!) then all of this data can be obtained seamlessly and consistently from an As Built Model.

So the key to success in an operations world is knowing what information you want and communicating it to the team that can best provide it. Construction projects involve a large number of designers, contractors and suppliers. There is a new information management role required to take all this data and audit, filter and translate it into what the owner really needs.

With BIM the success is to focus on how to maximise the benefits and value-add in the world you operate in. Communication between the worlds will get better over time, but until you really know what information you need, how can you expect someone else to provide it? BIM is not all about buildings or all about modelling it is all about Information.

How BIM in the field can improve your construction

In today's technology-driven world, construction managers no longer have to rely on multiple sets of physical blueprints to communicate with project teams. Building Information Models or BIM provide 3D representations of a structure, including elevations, floor plans, electrical systems and plumbing into one source. This allows for better anticipation of project issues and delays

Download this FREE whitepaper to learn how BIM in the field can improve your project efficiency. You'll also find answers to the following questions: 

• Who benefits from using BIM?
• What kind of issues does BIM help view and solve?
• How can BIM help project stakeholders collaborate more efficiently?
• What should you look for in an integrated solution to enable BIM in the field?