The relatively interesting section of this chapter I found is section 4.4 - how owners build, where it introduces the three main facility delivery processes: design-bid-build, design-build, and collaboratives. Figure 1 and 2 below shows the comparison of the three main process. Design-bid-build is more like a traditional way which involves a different competition that involves various organizations at each of the phase without integration process. Design-build involves overlapping process as shown in figure 2. Some of the design and build processes are happening at the same time to shorten the project time. The collaborative is similar to design-build but with a much earlier overlapping process of the involvement of all the key participants in the project.
Figure 1 - Design-bid-build process (traditional Process)
Figure 2 - Diagram of three different main delivery processes
Since the communication of BIM-based project is related to exchange the BIM data instead of exchange the traditional paper-based information, it was interesting to learn the different ways to exchange the BIM data among the owner and project teams. Four types of exchanges were introduced in Chapter 4: published snapshots, published BIM views and meta-data, published files of the BIM, and direct database. Compare to the published methods, the direct database is still less common in BIM practice. A followed example scenario shows that the project uses a central repository and the owner, architects, and engineers have the access to the central model. Architects published the model for owners and snapshot for interested parties to review while exchanging model file with engineers such as .rvt, .dwg, and .dgn files. And contractors could pull out the model views in PDF and give the data to their subcontractors. This process seems much easier, transparent and efficient compared to the traditional paper-based documents.
For sure there are many benefits that BIM can bring to a project, but as mentioned in the BIM handbook, there are also some risks associated with the exchanges in the work process. There are issues such as the project is already financed and therefore "it's not worth it to implement BIM", the high cost of training and learning curve, difficult to ensure everyone associated with the project has the willingness to learn and adopt BIM, and issues of model ownership. I believe that BIM is a very important collaborative process and it is much needed as a communication tool between not only owners and architects, engineers and constructors but also the relationship among all the people who are involved with the design. I think choosing to use BIM is not the main issue nowadays but the issue of which BIM method can bring the most values to the project could be something the owner and facility managers to consider about.
Sources:
C. M. Eastman, “Chapter 4: BIM for Owners and Facility Managers,” in BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers, and Contractors, 2nd ed., Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2012, pp. 93–147.
Comments:
Hi Jordan! I found your comments on Chapter 4 pretty interesting especially your point of view on the benefits that BIM can bring to the owners and the project. I think BIM is for sure a collaborative process that helps the project maintain in a 3D world and I am surprised to know that although with the efficiency and accuracy, BIM is still not yet being accepted by some project owners yet due to the risks it can potentially bring such as the high cost of training and the issues of model ownership. And I agree with you that a project becomes a lot simpler with using BIM process.
Hi Kerry! I enjoyed reading your post a lot because I like how you summarized the long chapter into very clear and understandable sentences. I agree with you that it could take a long time for the users to learn the BIM process and I have a few examples from past coops that I think might help with the efficiency of learning. There was a "BIM person" at my last coop and he is more like a technical expert on BIM, so he was in charge of teaching the engineers on how to use the BIM model or central file accurately and efficiently. I also know some architecture firms would schedule lessons with their BIM software provider such as AutoDesk and Bentley System to learn the efficient way to implement their design into BIM.
Hi Cody! I found your post very interesting about discussing how we can walk through a 3D model with VR new technologies nowadays. I did not know that the VR has been this advanced now and has been adopted into the building design. I agree with you that it will help owners have a better understanding of the space arrangement and let users experience the space before it gets to the construction phase with the VR headset technology, which should be able to save the project budget and shorten the project timeline.
I liked your exploration of the benefits of BIM applications for all types of building owners and facility managers. I particularly like how you highlighted the possible delivery processes that are use. You did a good comparison of design-bid-build, design-build, and collaboratives. The use of images from text is very helpful in portraying your view. You also highlighted the issues with implementation for the view of the owner, I hadn’t thought of negative impacts of implementing BIM in construction.
ReplyDeleteSherry,
ReplyDeleteThe interaction between Architect, Engineer, etc that you highlighted seems to be a pretty common theme throughout these few chapters. You talked about how firms may be less likely to use a simple central repository for the building design documents as the learning curve may be too steep and training would cost too much. I am curious though if this will continue to be an issue for companies, since this kind of skill-set is rapidly becoming more commonplace in the industry. Will firms always be so hesitant, and when will the break-even point be where such a central design method will start to become the only economically feasible option? Personally, I think we are rapidly approaching this time, and we may see this centralized design process become common within the next five years.
I have only ever been on the design-bid-build process for projects over co-op. I think it is very interesting to think about the advantages a BIM platform serves for a design-build firm. I generally am reserved about involving the contractor in pre-construction phases of the model. I worked for a structural design firm for both of my co-ops, and there was one instance where a contractor requested to see the 95% CD progress set of our drawings - from which he took the liberty to have his steel subcontractor develop the shops for all the column base plates. However - between 95% CDs and 100% CDs, the architect made some alterations that significantly changed the loading through the structure and changed all of the base plate sizes. My point is that the exchange of information with ALL affiliated parties throughout the entire design process can have its drawbacks as well. In my little story, the contractor wasted time and money to develop a wave of base plate shop drawings from incomplete drawings. Regardless, I believe the industry is learning and gaining efficiency with the use of BIM, and as our generation of engineers enters the work force, I think it will only continue to become more prevalent.
ReplyDeleteSherry, I agree with you on the drawbacks associated with using BIM. You are right if a project is already financed it wouldn't always make sense to implement BIM especially if the team is not well versed in its processes. I think using BIM from a financial stand point is a decision a boss should make before a project goes out. Have staff members be educated in it during low business times so that when the work picks up they are capable of completing the job efficiently with use of BIM, then they will also have the knowledge to use BIM for the long hold.
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