BIM for Interiors, Land Surveyors and Sub-contractors

There are 3 new practice papers available from the joint AIA (Australia) / Consult Australia BIM Steering Group. They are an extension to the 7 Outreach papers that were published last year:
O1 Educating Clients - What to ask for when requesting “BIM”
O2 BIM for Architects and Building Designers
O3 Engineers: What does BIM mean to my business?
O4 Possible uses of BIM for Construction
O5 Quantity Surveyors and Cost Planners: How can BIM improve my business?
O6 Facilities Managers: What benefits are there for me in engaging with a BIM process?
O7 Manufacturers and Suppliers: What can BIM do for my products?

As chair of the BIM & IPD Steering group of the Australian AIA and Consult Australia I had the pleasure to launch 23 Practice Papers back in August 2012.

National BIM Seminar by the AIA Australia

After traveling the continent for the AIA National BIM Seminar for two years in a row, I've handed over the baton to Dan Jürgens, the National BIM Manager at Cox who will start his 'tour' on Wednesday, 23 November in Perth. The AIA will run the seminar in a slightly different format this year: A networking lunch with an expert panel session.

10 Things a Client Should Know about BIM

Written by Dominik Holzer 

download as PDF

As a client on any medium to large scale construction project you would have come across the acronym BIM (standing for Building Information modelling) one way or another over the past 1-2 years. BIM is an industry buzzword that can relate to many things. It is often misunderstood or at times even deliberately misused in order to promote the goals of individual parties.

This essay provides clients with a straightforward summary of 10 things that are useful to know about BIM. In putting these points together, the author draws on extensive industry knowledge as well as exposure to some of the most prominent BIM projects that have been delivered in Australia. 

Dominik Holzer of AEC Connect appointed as Senior Lecturer at The University of Melbourne

As of early February 2013 AEC Connect’s Dominik Holzer occupies a half time position as Senior Lecturer in Digital Architectural Design at The University of Melbourne where he complements his activities as a consultant with an 'academic edge' at this highly regarded University.

As one of the leading academic institutions in Australia, The University of Melbourne provides a fertile ground for critical reflection on contemporary architectural and construction practice.

Dominik looks forward to a rich discourse with his colleagues at the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, as well as expanding his horizon through research, teaching and learning with potential partners across the entire university.

How full is your BIM? (Part 2)

The urgent need to clearly define BIM ‘Scope of Services’

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

The dangers of a ‘Full BIM’ scope

I was recently approached by a lawyer during an industry function where I presented the (amongst others) four documents discussing ‘Legal and Procurement’ aspects of BIM. The lawyer was pleased to see that the construction industry is now increasingly considering the legal aspects of BIM.  “We are currently having a lot on our plate”, he said “…lots of disputes between consultants, contractors and clients who collaborate on projects using BIM; there seem to be large discrepancies between the clients’ expectations and what ultimately gets delivered by the consultants and contractors – More work for us lawyers!”.

How full is your BIM? (Part 1)

Or: How the ambiguous definition of BIM deliverables keeps holding us back!

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

Preamble

Ambiguous interpretation of deliverables is one of the main hindering factors for progress in the uptake of innovative technology and the adoption of BIM in the construction industry. I have been debating the dangers of ill-defined services and in particular the notion of ‘Full BIM’ for a while now across the industry. The feedback I receive about my ‘Full BIM’ criticism reflects on the struggle our industry  is going through: Collaborating parties too often experience a mismatch between their initial expectations and the benefits they ultimately receive when requesting BIM. Others have commented on the ‘hype factor’ when inflated expectations about BIM don’t match up in practice. The point I’m making is slightly different though:  I argue that there exists a lack of differentiation of what constitutes BIM among those offering it as part of their services as well as those requesting it as part of their deliverables.

Meeting the Vasari developers

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

A large number of architecture and engineering firms currently undergo a major change in their tool infrastructure. BIM software is continuously gaining ground on traditional CAD tools as means for documentation. BIM software developers are not satisfied with limiting their tools to the documentation aspect of design and they aim at introducing options for conceptual modeling within their suite of software.  A prime example these developments is the approach Autodesk has taken for offering tools that assist their clients in early environmental checks. With several (partly complementary) products on the market, the frontrunner in that niche seemed to have been Ecotect  (acquired by ADSK in mid 2008).  When considering the lack of development after its purchase, ADSK rather seemed interested in extracting some of its features than retaining it as a standalone product. A strong indicator for this to be true is the current development of Vasari that is slowly making its way out of the Autodesk Labs.

BIM’s Seven deadly sins (IJAC)

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

After nearly a decade since BIM started on its path to transform the building industry, I some thoughts to expose seven prevailing problems that emerged as part of its industry wide uptake. My paper about these sins was published in the ‘International Journal of architectural Computing (IJAC)’, where I provide the reader with a reality check between an idealistic view on BIM and the way it is currently applied in daily use.

AIA (Aus) Seminar Series, BIM – beyond Software

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

I’ve been invited by the Australian Institute of Architects to run an Australia wide (see locations and dates below) seminar series on BIM. Titled: BIM, beyond software, I chose to focus on informing participants about the process and changes they are likely to experience when running projects using Building Information Modeling (BIM).

Learning outcomes:

The seminar participant will learn the difference between traditional deliverables and specific BIM requests in project briefs.  The seminar will then explain the impact of BIM deliverables on the work-flow and the design/documentation approach. Attendees will learn to respond to client BIM requests by aligning the services requested with responding in-house activities and ultimately with responding fees for the provision of those services.

Informa BIM Summit, Sydney

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

The inaugural two day BIM Summit in Sydney defied the usual trend of consultants gathering to update each other on their BIM progress. Instead, the event attracted a large number of contractors as well as some clients and government bodies in addition to the ‘usual suspects’. The level of presentations was high with both top national as well as international speakers from architecture, engineering, contractor, PM and legal background.

Built Environment Industry Innovation Council (BEIIC), Industry Speaks Workshop

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

Australia’s Built Environment Industry Innovation Council (BEIIC) was established in September 2008. BEIIC acts as an advisory body to the Minister and as an innovation advocate for the Australian industry. The Council considers industry innovation challenges like climate change, sustainability and industry competitiveness as well as issues such as regulatory reform, workforce capability, skills needs and uptake new technologies.

Design, analysis and the Cloud

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

In collaborative design practice, computational tools are becoming ever more utilised to help bridge the gaps between designers, consultants and contractors who search for streamlined exchange of information. Despite early promises of BIM software developers to provide us with tools that assist collaborative design practice, most BIM authoring tools facilitate tasks of individual professions such as architects, structural consultants, MEP consultants or quantity surveyors.

BIM in a Legal Context

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

In a recent meeting with construction lawyers it became apparent to me how important the legal profession is about to become in assisting the construction industry to escape from the impasse we witness in the adoption of BIM. Whereas technical issues related to the implementation of BIM undergo ever greater resolution, there are manifold contractual, IP and legal issues that are as yet little resolved.

Optioneering

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

If one investigates the information-flow of traditional architect - engineer collaboration over the last century one will most likely encounter a process where engineers are asked to join a design project at a certain stage to help realize the architect’s ideas. The shortfall of such a work-method is the relative disconnectedness between performance feedback and design morphology.  Those architects and engineers who aim for more integrated design-practice are in search for ways that allow them to design more concurrently and to exchange information bi-directionally.  Such a process requires a high level of skill, trust and confidence in those involved. It forces architects to let go of their role as sole-authors to admit outside involvement from consultants. It requires engineers to become more proactively engaged in the design process and it prompts them to consider the bigger picture of how their input affects the overall design, both technically and aesthetically.

Humble Parametrics

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

Design computation and in recent years particularly parametrics and scripting have opened up a vast array of possibilities for creative minds to approach design problems in unprecedented ways. Taking advantage of the rule based approach computational design offers, many architects have done what they do best: exploring the possibilities of new tools at hand by testing the grounds in a playful and investigatory manner.

INNOVATE NOW?

Yes. Precisely now. Although the building industry is currently undergoing a massive contraction due to the effects of the global economic downturn, opportunities are available for those with the foresight and courage to pursue them.

While it is true that many projects are being suspended or cancelled, new commissions are rare, and significant numbers of jobs are being lost in architecture, engineering and construction as well as real estate development, all is not lost.

Some of the weakest firms - and these are not necessarily the smallest - will not survive the financial pressures now being felt, but those with sufficient ongoing work and solid contacts for new projects can and will weather the storm, as has been the case in previous recessions as well.

The more interesting question is: which firms will not only survive, but thrive? Will it be the most well established big players? Will it be small, agile firms able to turn on a dime? (And are there new markets or products, workflows or services for the AEC industry which will change the existing balance?) Although there is no clear answer yet to which type or size of company will best succeed in the coming few years, it is clear that many factors are converging which will alter the playing field and perhaps even change the rules of the game. In fact, it is those firms which are still solvent but no longer buried in an avalanche of work which may now be most favorably positioned to take stock of the new circumstances, think about how to improve on their past performance, and act accordingly.

New markets include those developing countries whose recent upswing in wealth resulted from globalization but which also have robust domestic markets. New products include prefabricated yet customized buildings including hotels and housing whose relatively recent introduction and acceptance is being further fuelled by reductions in income of prospective owners. New opportunities range from government-funded construction program(me)s aimed at economic stimulus, to sustainability-related challenges such as low- and zero-energy buildings and settlements, to crisis-response measures such as the Small Island Developing States' urgent needs to adapt to rising sea levels and storms of increasing frequency and strength.

Fortunately, new technologies also are available to help address these and other challenges faced by building owners, designers and constructors. Among these are building information modeling (BIM), decision-support tools, and ever more sophisticated CAD, CAE, CAM and PLM packages for applications from planning and design through analysis, simulation, fabrication, construction, commissioning and operation of building facilities. These and others can help, but we at AEC Connect have found that while software and other appropriate technology can be invaluable in supporting best practice efforts, it is not sufficient to apply them without significant attention to human and organizational factors including existing company cultures and basic communication and negotiation skills. So while technologies are part of the answer, they are not the whole answer to today's challenges.

More information is available from AEC Connect (http://www.aecconnect.com/) about strategies which building owners, architects, engineers and contractors can implement to not only face and survive their industry's current and future challenges, but also benefit from the current and future opportunities of the building sector.

[AEC_Connect consulting offers building owners, designers and builders advice regarding Integrated Project Delivery and other AEC business practices requiring and promoting high levels of collaborative work. Our main areas of consultancy are BIM-readiness, Optioneering, and Sense-Making which together address most of the data management, decision making and communication needs faced by our clients. Additional information about our services is available at www.aecconnect.com]