B3: Possible Future Advantages of BIM/Revit

     Building Information Modeling (BIM) has allowed for so many advancements to be made when it comes to the design, construction, and maintenance of a building. It plays very distinct roles for the various trades like engineers, contractors, and architects, as well as the stakeholders and facility managers. BIM allows for cost to be minimized and time to be maximized in several ways, such as mitigating issues and areas of possible RFIs and COs throughout the construction processes, monitoring energy usage and the equipment to be installed so that the most economical options are being used, and the building is maintained properly to extend and maximize its life. When giving her presentation, Dr. Fiori mentioned several advantages of BIM, such as its ability to allow for better communication and collaboration between trades and throughout the design and construction process, cost estimation based on the designed model to ensure savings when necessary, and increased productivity and prefabrication of pieces used in construction because of how accurate the designs are thanks to BIM. These are all important ways to ways to maximize the overall efficiency of the project.

     Dr. Fiori also mentioned the use of BIM in the field, which allows for the connection of the office and on-site work. She mentioned that Bluebeam is one of the most used BIM programs because of this ability to be used in multiple settings and well beyond the office. I used Bluebeam a lot at my past Co-Op at a structural engineering firm, most notably for quantity takeoffs when going into the field with the restoration department. The capabilities of Bluebeam allowed for the team to bring tablets into the field and mark where any façade issues, like spalling and cracking, are located in order to ensure the safety and proper maintenance of the building. This use of the program lets the team ensure accurate representation and organization of the types, sizes, locations, and severity of the problems observed on site that might not be as accurate by just taking pictures and hand drawing the size onto a set of drawings, once again contributing to the minimizing of cost and maximizing of time spent on a project.

     The last thing that really stuck with me was Dr. Fiori’s mention of the use of drones for construction. She talked how this type of technology can be used to detect issues on construction sites before projects are completed, such as with the twisting of the elevator shaft at a project in Center City. I think the use of drones to take pictures, especially of specific locations, can be beneficial for the restoration work I’ve been involved in. I’ve never seen nor heard of drones being used to analyze façade and structural issues that might be beyond reach. I know it’s important, for this type of work specifically, to see the problems up-close to note severity. At my Co-Op, I was able to ride a lift that was extended over 100 ft. to inspect a smoke stack, but there was still a portion of the structure that was just beyond our reach given the capabilities of the lift. In this instance, where most of the structure was observed up close, I think a drone would be useful and could lead to further uses and advancements in the field. This is just one of the possible future benefits BIM technologies can have on our field, and I'm excited to see what's to come.

Comments:

Mika,

I completely agree that the technology we use in our field is evolving at such a fast pace and that it sometimes makes it difficult to keep up. There are always going to be new developments, and they have the potential to benefit the way our industry is moving, but with that comes the need for proper training. I know my Co-Op held a course for newer employees in the office that entailed Revit training so that everyone was at least familiar with the program and had the capabilities to advance and continue learning once new features became available. I definitely think that this practice should be implemented across the industry and kept up with so everyone is able to utilize the capabilities of the program as it advances.

Jake,

The advantage that stuck out to me was “no paper documentation”. This is something that was implemented at my previous Co-Op, as we tried to keep everything organized through BIM models, scanned and program generated calculations, and revisions made through Bluebeam. Obviously, this is difficult to implement completely and hand calculations and physical drawing sets are inevitably going to be produced at some point throughout a project, working towards a paperless job allows for better organization, easier changes and revisions through the use of various BIM programs, and, of course, an attempt to make our industry green.

Ina,

I like how you talked about the learning curve and process of mastering any sort of BIM program. It’s so important for people to work together within the firm, and sharing knowledge about a BIM interface like Revit is something that requires communication and a flow of teaching and learning. Effectively utilizing time is such an important part of our industry, but there are certain instances like with the learning of a program where investing some time now will prove to be beneficial for the firm later.