SECTION 1
At VIATechnik, we’re always aiming to stay ahead of trends in the construction industry, not just keep up with them. It’s true that trends come and go, yet some have staying power that become the new standards of doing business for decades into the future.
The current status of the growing economy, the shortage of qualified workers, and public-sector financing are transforming the way that construction professionals approach jobs. Beth Ann Bovino, chief U.S. Economist for Standard & Poor’s Rating Services, has said that the economy is nearing a state of normalcy because of lower unemployment rates, growing worker confidence, and the growth of construction projects.
As we look ahead, here are a few construction industry trends that may very well carry on through the next three decades.
Take a look around the world and you’ll see buildings getting taller and taller by the year. This is a trend that shows no signs of slowing down. Super tall and mega tall buildings are trending towards becoming mini-cities that include residential space, shopping, restaurants, theaters, and offices. Also, architects will need to stand out in a crowded marketplace by designing oddly-shaped buildings that entice our imaginations.
Dr. Ian Pearson of the UK equipment rental firm, Hewden, created a report to predict what the construction industry will look like in 2045. In a review of the report on Construction Junkie, Shane Hedmond notes that these materials go beyond structural elements and glass.
In order to accommodate buildings that are taller, stronger, and more versatile, the construction industry is starting to respond with improved building materials that maximize efficiency. Many of the materials that will be used in 30 years don’t even exist today. For example, Pearson has predicted the emergence of special coatings to make solar panels more aesthetically pleasing.
The effects of climate change have created an increased demand for resilient buildings that can withstand whatever Mother Nature throws at them. Innovations in materials will likely drive the industry towards lighter and stronger versions of old standards.
Another trend that we expect to see more of in the decades ahead is an increase in prefab and offsite construction methods. These alternative practices reduce construction time, waste, and unnecessary expenditures. They’re already becoming popular in certain industries, like the healthcare sector, but are expected to expand in the years ahead.
“(Prefab) is up-and-coming. That’s a way to save costs and speed up the time,” said Dominic Thasarathar, Autodesk’s senior industry program manager for construction and natural resources. “Some of the larger owners out there are starting to realize there are efficiencies there, but you have to be doing a certain amount of volume for these kinds of strategies to pay off.”
BIM technology is incredibly important now in 2016, but that importance will only grow in the future. Small and mid-sized construction firms are already starting to embrace this trend that was once reserved for the big companies. Over the next 30 years, BIM will become essential and a valuable means to acquire and analyze key data. This is why at VIATechnik, we have invested heavily in BIM, both in expertise and technology. To stay on top of what’s happening in BIM for our industry, you may want to follow the BIMForum.
The purpose of BIMForum is “to explore technological and delivery innovation and performance improvement through building information modeling and new means of collaboration, to improve the design and construction industry through education and the development of best practices for these innovations, and to help implement these innovations into the broad AEC industry.”
There’s a lot of hype that surrounds 3D printing technology, but once it is seamlessly integrated into our everyday construction practices, it can finally be allowed to live up to that hype. We have big expectations and high hopes for 3D printing to make detail work easier and buildings more intricate and artistic.
Given the state of our planet today, green building practices will only become more of a standard in the upcoming decades. According to a report by Dodge Data & Analytics, green building makes up about 26-33 percent of the residential market today and has helped the building market recover after the recession.
This trend will likely continue to grow in the commercial and residential sectors, and LEED certification will become even more important. With each year that passes, more building owners and residential tenants are learning about the benefits of green building construction and renovations to boost energy efficiency and reduce energy costs.
Marla McIntyre, editor of Construction Executive Tech Trends, recently posed the question of whether the construction industry will adopt AR and VR technologies, asking readers to consider the sheer number–several millions–of AR/VR headsets being sold and shipped globally.
Marla McIntyre, editor of Construction Executive Tech Trends, recently posed the question of whether the construction industry will adopt AR and VR technologies, asking readers to consider the sheer number–several millions–of AR/VR headsets being sold and shipped globally. The article acknowledges the intuitive and immersive attributes of headsets for construction purposes, while also looking ahead to mixed reality as the possible next frontier. It’s undeniable that more and more people are embracing this new technology and discovering new applications for the AEC industry. The possibilities are virtually endless.
BIM is emerging as a new best practice for the construction industry — here’s why.
30 years ago, architects and engineers were still struggling to give up hand-drawn plans, even as it became abundantly clear that computers and AutoCAD would be the future of structural design. Today, a new design revolution is unfolding before our eyes: Building Information Modeling (BIM) is changing not only the way designs are generated, but our fundamental approach to construction in general. Here’s what you need to know.
By now, most people are familiar with the basic concept of 3D modeling software, but because the technology is still relatively new, many fail to realize its full potential in construction applications. Using BIM to create 3D, virtualized renderings of an architectural design is, of course, a core capability; however, most are surprised when they learn what BIM’s real value is: a communication and information sharing platform.
BIM isn’t a product itself — rather, it’s a family of solutions, meaning there are many different BIM developers with their own offerings, each with a unique set of pros and cons. That said, one thing that defines all BIM platforms is the blending of age-old design strategies with phenomenal new data and communication capabilities. The end result is a tool that is arguably more about overall project management than it is about design.
At its core, BIM is dedicated to systems-based thinking and connecting disparate parties in the construction process in innovative and intuitive ways. BIM facilitates coordination between building professionals at all stages of a project. It’s a platform on which architects, engineers, construction workers, and project managers can share information, collaboratively identify problems, and work out solutions. And because all this can be done for all aspects of a project, it’s introducing efficiencies that are changing entire industries.
BIM has been aptly described as a multi-dimensional design, construction, and building operations tool. In addition to 3D rendering capabilities, BIM uses data sets to factor in time considerations (the “fourth dimension”), financial parameters (the “fifth dimension”), and asset management (the “sixth dimension”). BIM can also be used to account for important environmental considerations in architectural projects, such as light and air flow. Most impressive is the fact that all of these dimensions can be processed and analyzed in real-time.
Contrast that concept with the linear execution model that construction projects have relied on for decades: first, an architect comes up with a 2D drawing and a 3D model of a building. The architect’s drawings are sent to a structural engineer, whose job it is to come up with a structural design that will allow the architect’s model to stand. Then you have to factor MEP engineers into the equation, who have to figure out how to incorporate all of the necessary mechanical, electrical, and plumbing infrastructure into the design as well. Keep in mind that in the past, all of these plans were drafted by hand, and when potential issues were identified, designs would have to bounce around between all of the stakeholders until resolved at every level.
Once the design stage is complete, a set of plans is sent to a construction crew. A project manager reviews the plans and creates a construction timetable and estimates project costs. Inevitably, as building gets underway, the construction team identifies problems with the engineered plans and has to halt the process, prompting yet another round of redesigns.
BIM not only streamlines the communication and redesign process — it mitigates risk in the initial design phase, reducing the likelihood that on-site problems will arise at all. Consequently, weeks or even months are often saved, resulting in shorter project timelines and increased ROI.
Beyond simple inefficiency, another common problem with the traditional process outlined above was that constant miscommunications resulted in finger pointing and disharmony. The engineer would fault the architect for creating a structurally unsound or unexecutable design; the construction crew would fault the engineer for not knowing how things worked in the “real world.” Meanwhile, everyone would fault the project manager for setting unrealistic timelines and cost goals.
BIM bolsters teamwork and increases transparency throughout a project’s lifespan, making each individual stakeholder in the process more accountable for their own tasks. Much of the time and energy spent identifying and fixing mistakes is spent instead on cross-team coordination and collaboration.
With so much value to bring to the table, it’s no surprise that many owners, municipalities and commercial real estate developers included are now insisting that BIM be used in the projects they commission. Construction’s growth and productivity rates have been stagnant for years now; if the industry wants to work towards a brighter future, embracing innovation and forward-thinking technologies is clearly the only path forward.
It might be tempting to write 3D Building Information Modeling (BIM) off as a little more than 3D animation, 3D design, or 3D CAD. But unlike some other model-based processes, BIM has the promising potential to guide businesses by evaluation through every step of the construction process and even after construction is complete.
According to the US. National Building Information Model Standard Project Committee, BIM is a “digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility. A BIM is a shared knowledge resource for information about a facility forming a reliable basis for decisions during its life-cycle; defined as existing from earliest conception to demolition.”
Although BIM is a hot topic in construction today, the concept behind it has been around since the 1970s. The term, “building information modeling”, was first referenced in a 1992 paper written by G.A. van Nederveen and F. P. Tolman, and Graphisoft’s ArchiCAD debuted the first “virtual building” around 1987.
BIM is used to ease the transition between design and construction, helping engineers and construction professionals choose materials, plumbing features, sustainability options, and more. It’s a useful tool in construction management and reduces uncertainty about safety, cost effectiveness, and future damage. Even after construction is complete, BIM allows building owners to consult previous BIM models to solve common problems, like leaks and weather damage.
These days, CAD drawings are frequently transferred to 3D BIM for use in design planning and construction tasks. For example, researchers at Fraunhofer FIT have recently been experimenting with car-mounted hardware and software to generate digital building model views controlled by the angle of the car. The data collected by these car-mounted displays can be replayed back later to test variations and improvements.
“The virtual image of the building is superimposed with a centimeter precision. Architects, developers or future residents thus get a much better, realistic impression of the planned building in situ,” explained Dr. Leif Oppermann, head of the group Mixed and Augmented Reality Solutions of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT.
BIM can be used for a wide variety of construction projects for engineers, general contractors and developers, VIATechnik’s experience ranges from government facilities to oil & gas, commercial establishments, and infrastructure. Our experienced BIM modelers can turn blueprints and PDFs into accurate BIM models with rich details, clean layers, and references.
We’ve actually taken BIM one step further to utilize Synchro’s advanced 4D BIM software and CPM engine. Scheduling and BIM go hand-in-hand, and this software provides advanced scheduling simulation for entire projects before even breaking ground. In short, 4D BIM technology has the potential to save your company time, money, conflicts, and plenty of unnecessary headaches.
Photo credit: atelier PRO and Matija Grguric via Flickr
7 Money-Saving Benefits of BIM
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a challenge to fully grasp for a surprisingly simple reason: At its core, it’s a form of systems thinking. A full system designed to facilitate interactions between architects, engineers, customers, and construction firms, BIM uses a set of common standards and shared information.
Ask anyone who has worked on a construction siteor manufacturing process; they’ll tell you how difficult it is to imagine a complex system as a whole. Managing the system of a company or process presents its own challenges, often leading to huge inefficiencies. Managers need more perspective to be able to see these issues.
What makes BIM such a game-changer for the construction industry is that, if implemented well, it’s an integrated and open system. While BIM may seem daunting at first, it’s changing construction.
Here are seven key ways that BIM can save your firm money.
Collaboration may be a major buzzword, but its benefits are pretty clear, particularly in the construction industry. One of the key goals of BIM is to promote collaboration by creating consistent information models throughout the design and construction process, along with greater standardization. The result is less waste and fewer costly revisions on projects.
This is because the building information models allow members of various teams to check in with each other at regular intervals and ensure that designs, systems, and structures are coordinated. This makes it easier to know what other people are working on and also how much progress they have made on their work. This collaborative process ties into the time-saving aspects of BIM.
Keeping various companies on the same page can be a huge headache, even on smaller to medium-sized projects. By ensuring everyone has consistent access to the same detailed models, BIM cuts down on time spent checking in with various companies, making it a huge time saver.
These same aspects mentioned above also have a tremendous impact on transparency – not just within a single construction firm, but between architects, suppliers and clients. Instead of having to spend time responding to queries from each party about what everyone else is doing, this information is freely accessible to every party, that is of course once the parties sign off on all the liability waivers.
BIM is not simply about sharing information, but also about the quality of that information. This is another area where BIM is set to change things. The level of detail available on BIM models far surpasses what the construction industry has been working with. Those details include information on the exact make, model, specifications, quantities, and material of everything used in the construction.
Integrated within BIM software is the ability to manage the collaborative process by setting ownership of models. This specific accountability built into the system makes it easier for teams to work together without interfering in each other’s work. In addition, it ensures ultimate responsibility is kept clear, reducing potential points of conflict between teams.
For firms working on complex projects with workers on site, in the office, or even at other job locations, having data easily accessible can be an enormous benefit. Cloud integration ensures full accessibility in order to ensure information is available on all devices at all times to authorized parties. Once again, this is decreasing the time it takes for any team member to access information they need, leading to time and cost savings across the board.
The process of BIM aims to maintain detailed version histories of files, along with noting who made which changes. If two employees disagree over who altered a particular detail, that information is easily available, or if data gets corrupted, you can always return to the most recent version. This allows for built-in transparency and reliability.
Added together, all of these features of BIM allow your company to increase its agility, transparency and efficiency. On the scale of an entire firm, seeing even small improvements in these areas can lead to large savings when applied over time. Of course, this is only a small sampling of what BIM offers and supports the notion that system improvement requires people, process, and technology to work together to achieve results on your project.
If you want to be able to recognize the industry in 10 years, you’ll want to learn more about how BIM is changing the construction industry.
SECTION 2
When it comes to building design, architects and engineers don’t always see eye-to-eye.
Cody Tharpe, Principal of Tharpe Engineering Group, recently asked a very simple, yet poignant question: why can’t architects and engineers just get along?
Noting that structural engineers are often seen as a “necessary evil” in the grand scheme of a project, Tharpe observes, “Sure, architects, builders, developers, and owners understand that they have to have our seal and signature on their drawings in order to comply with building code requirements and ultimately to get their building permits. But I don’t believe the value of what we have to offer is realized.”
Engineers tend to be concerned about architects’ lack of structural understanding, their tendency to delay asking for structural advice until it’s too late, and their perceived disregard for design collaboration. Conversely, architects are consistently frustrated by what they view as engineers’ lack of innovation and unwillingness to engage with architectural design ideas.
These tensions notwithstanding, as Tharpe sees it, the two groups “have more in common than they don’t,” as “architectural design and structural design are meaningless without each other.” In light of the promise of the cutting-edge technologies emerging from the virtual design and construction (VDC) movement, Tharpe’s optimism is not without foundation.
One thing to bear in mind here is that 3D design software itself is not to blame. As much as the technology is abused, 3D visualization is an essential part of architectural illustration today. What needs to change is the focus of architects, and the clients and committees who purchase and reward their work.
As mentioned earlier, there’s the problem of the arms race. If one architecture firm starts to create realistic renderings, it may find competing difficult. Some get around this by only using stick models, but that’s simply not realistic for the entire industry.
Ultimately, what needs to happen is larger umbrella organizations like the American Institute of Architects lobbying for industry-wide changes. That means changes in how firms create their renderings, as well as how prize committees look at them.
In the meantime, however, the best we can do is work to ensure the worst excesses of rendering don’t enter the relatively new medium of virtual reality. This new technology is immersive enough that you shouldn’t need to rely on a lack of realism to make your project look fantastic. If the industry can make that happen, then the transition to virtual reality for architectural and construction rendering could be the best solution to these problems.
In its outline of what a collaborative design process should look like, a report by a consortium of New Zealander architects and engineers explains, “Collaboration involves the design disciplines working together, sharing knowledge, learning from each other, and, by that, designing a building that reflects a professional consensus.”
This kind of continuous knowledge-sharing has, until recently, been rather difficult. Considering how many parties are typically involved in a construction project — not only architects and engineers but contractors, subcontractors, developers, owners, and so on — ensuring that everyone is working with the same information can be nearly impossible.
It’s not unusual for dozens of versions of a design to be in circulation at any one moment, meaning even those eager to collaborate are stymied by inconsistent plans and incomplete information. This has become such a persistent problem that Construction Industry Council CEO Graham Watts believes that “the biggest enemy of the construction industry was the arrival of email. Two parties would make amendments to the drawings but they wouldn’t tell anyone else.”
This is why building information modeling (BIM) represents such an important shift in the AEC industry. By providing data-rich 3D models hosted in a common data environment, BIM solutions enable architects and engineers (and every other stakeholder) to access and share up-to-date designs from anywhere and at any time.
When paired with a virtual reality (VR) platform, a BIM model affords architects and engineers the ability to refine designs in real-time — even if they’re separated by thousands of miles — and literally show one another why any given detail needs to be included. It also allows engineers to work on a design in a virtual format that mimics the actual size of the structure, making it easier to explain why certain architectural features don’t align with engineering needs. This greatly increases the likelihood that a design will be the product of “professional consensus” as opposed to one party’s unwavering agenda.
BIM has been a buzzword for years now, but it’s more than just a tech pipe dream. Not only has it been proven to increase project efficiency, but it also allows for accurate cost estimating and virtual scheduling and sequencing. And who would say no to decreased costs, faster timelines, and better communication?
While robust BIM adoption in the U.S. is still somewhat behind the curve, encouragingly, many AEC firms are recognizing the communication gap inherent to AEC processes, and understanding that BIM offers a workable solution. According to a report from the Economist Intelligence Unit, when asked what factors constitute the biggest hurdle to improving productivity, 32% of AEC firms highlighted “poor communication and collaboration” among project partners. Only “lack of investment capital” was a more common answer.
When asked what technology or management strategy they believed would have the greatest impact on improving productivity in the AEC industry over the next three years, 36% of firms cited “virtual design and construction (VDC)/building information modeling (BIM),” making it the most frequently mentioned solution. This study strongly suggests that many AEC firms believe BIM will play a pivotal role in the future of the industry, and if this indeed comes to pass, Tharpe’s optimism will, in retrospect, seem particularly sagacious.
Getting architects and structural engineers to “play nice” is first and foremost an issue of improving communication and collaboration. BIM and other VDC technologies are specifically designed to foster these very principles, from pre-design all the way through final construction.
What’s in your VDC toolbox? These five BIM plugins will help take your productivity to the next level.
Leading AEC design software like Navisworks and Revit are, of course, incredibly powerful and robust platforms in their own right; however, any seasoned VDC designer or BIM engineer knows that it’s the plugins that unlock the full potential of these platforms and maximize productivity. While every project will have different needs and, as a result, require its own special blend of software and plugins to maintain efficiency, there are a handful of applications that are pretty much always useful — regardless of application or industry. Below, I’ve outlined some of my favorite plugins that I use to boost productivity and client satisfaction in all of my projects.
Flux is an application that aims to consolidate design and planning data into a single integrated platform. By compiling this information in a single database, it facilitates seamless collaboration between all stakeholders in a given project, speeds up workflows, and condenses information down to the essentials to make the models more practical — after all, there’s no need to share entire models with every stakeholder just so they can see the size of every toilet in the building.
Currently, Flux is integrated with a few platforms; however, the technology is backed by a number of major investors including DFJ and Andreessen Horowitz, so I’m sure we’ll see its compatibility increase in the near future. At the very least, I recommend downloading the free version of the software on the website and giving it a test drive!
Dynamo has been around for years, but the plugin has seen a recent uptick in adoption, not only by designers, but by engineers and builders as well. In the early days, Dynamo’s primary focus was to help architects and designers generate complex shapes and models — with a sense of logic — and to facilitate easier manipulation and changes to their design through Visual Scripting. We’re now seeing this tool being utilized more and more by BIM engineers who are trying to get their designs built in the real world.
In 2017, Dynamo became an official built-in tool in Revit — so technically, it’s no longer a bonafide “plugin.” That said, if you’re still using an earlier version of the software you’ll need to download the tool separately in order to reap its many benefits, which include greater control in data movement, better access to functions previously limited to programmers, and the ability to automate a wide variety of repetitive tasks to boost efficiency.
Even though Sherlock is relatively new (launched in 2017), its wide range of applications and capabilities are already turning a lot of heads in the the industry. This Navisworks Manage plugin from Flypaper Technologies allows you to group clashes in the Clash Detective and provides a number of basic (but very helpful) visualization tools for BIM coordinators.
Of course, there are plenty of clash grouping plugins for Navisworks already in the market; however, Sherlocks efficient algorithms and intuitive interface really sets it apart from its competitors. Using the software, our team was about to execute clash grouping tasks that, in the past, would’ve taken two to three hours in about two to three minutes! When we can run detections earlier on in the process with increased accuracy, this allows us to predict coordination schedules with a higher degree of precision. Other tools like HeatMap and Orient are also incredibly helpful in terms of their ability to improve communication and make coordination meetings more productive.
It’s still early days for Sherlock and I know the developers at Flypaper are extremely active in terms of adopting and implementing new ideas and functionalities. I’m excited about the prospect of this plugin getting even smarter in the years to come as they up the level of automation and organizational capabilities within the clash grouping tool.
MWF Pro is actually suite of plugins for Revit that automate the creation, clash detection, and fabrication of cold-formed steel and wood framing. You can download the entire suite, or one of the three individual modules — Wall, Floor, or Truss — depending on your specific needs and industry.
The plugin offers a wide variety of benefits, including highly efficient LOD 400 modeling of wall framing, which saves a significant amount of time during the design process; an extensive library of wood and metal stud brands, which fosters a higher degree of accuracy by incorporating real-world product information into the model; automated shop drawings for framing, which streamlines production and opens the door for prefabrication; an automated bill of materials, which makes on-site ordering faster and more accurate; and the Template Library, which enables users to create a template that can be reused in future projects.
Coins Auto Section Box certainly isn’t new, but it’s definitely something that pretty much every BIM user should have in their toolbox. This Revit plugin allows you to quickly create sectioned 3D views around selected objects, which in turn makes it easy to locate specific elements, isolate them, and view them in their most essential context. The latest Revit release has a native version of the tool, but it’s not even close to the original plugin in terms of power and capabilities.
Key benefits of the standalone plugin include, as already mentioned, the ability to quickly locate and isolate objects in a 3D view; select objects by their element ID, which allows you to rapidly identify specific objects within an extremely dense model; and customize the section box size to increase the precision when exporting in 3D — which is definitely one of Revit’s weaknesses. Anyone who spends a significant amount of time in Revit will benefit from this tool.
Of course, this list is by no means exhaustive — I’m curious to hear what your favorite BIM plugins are! Add your top picks to the comments or tweet them @VIATechnik.