So with our third blog post, we circle in on what this "new" technology will face in the future. Now personally, just reading the prompt this week, I was a little puzzled in what this innovation could possibly couldn't handle. But thinking about our guest speaker Chris Fiori who heads up Drexels Construction Management program quite plainly stated, is that the construction field as a whole is slow to accept change. She reiterates these innovations are indeed coming and are being accepted; all be it slowly are some skills that employers now are looking for in college graduates. Now stopping myself from straying from the point of this Blog and where this hesitation stems from, I'd like to envision what current companies view of BIM and whats their reservations. Now I stated that construction is slow to change, and as the archetypal firm owner is of an older generation, they hold to the ideology of "we've always done it this way and got by." which is hard to dissuade since if it ain't broke, don't fix is quite the compelling case. However, innovation doesn't spawn from complicity, and those who realize this are on the right track. So vaulting over this first problem that BIM will and is facing, we turn to the more financial roadblocks it shall face. First is finding work and projects that will have the necessary intricacies that will require the 'horsepower' of BIM and are not too simple that using it won't be a waste of time. This is more relevant to smaller companies, but these companies are the majority of what is being constructed around the world. The next barrier owners are facing is the infrastructure required to implement the system successfully. This will require costs for the software, having adequate computing power, and, of course, the personnel that can use it. These current problems are ones like the industry that is slow to change, and the people that are adopting this now are ahead of the curve.
Comments
Hey Dane,
Reading over your Blog raised some interest in the uncertainty of the future of AutoCAD. Now I'm a big advocate for using CAD, so seeing the pluses and minuses had me agreeing with every one of them. For one of my co-ops, I had to create install drawings for the construction team to assemble a facade on an apartment job in NYC, where I sent weekly paper ARCH E plans to the site for the team to use. Now with BIM coming to the forefront, I'm interested to see how my job would have changed if I used BIM instead of CAD, and would that change affect the site team positively?
Hey Abdul,
Your graphics explaining the depth of what BIM can achieve was pretty eye opening. Seeing that the key points of BIM are its ability to include so many different facets of the project, definitely shows the advantages it has over the standard AutoCAD approach. Now I pose the question that any owners are thinking in which do you think that perhaps these functionalities might be a little overkill and the time invested in it could find one lacking in its returns?
Hello Michael,
You raise many points that were brought up during last week's guest lecture, and they seem pretty valid. I am intrigued, however, in the ownership of the model and what problems will that incur. I definitely think this a valid point that owners might be wary of depending on the project. If I were to geek out on this point, I'd raise the question of what happens to projects that are "classified" in which contractors are tasked in designing an impenetrable bunker for the president and its design must be kept a secret. How do they ensure the model sharing is controlled and that nothing was leaked? I guess this is my fantastical side bleeding through but always did make me wonder. I guess that's where the legend comes from with Ivan the terrible blinded the designer of Saint Basil's Cathedral to prevent him from recreating it elsewhere... but who knows.
3 comments:
Your post seemed to bring up some interesting points. I found the point of BIM not being financially fitting for the smaller companies needs the most interesting. A lot of time technology nowadays either cater to the big corporations or to mass users. Which makes sense since everybody wants to be able to hit larger markets. Which leaves the middle size user without proper tools to complete their projects. And Revit/BIM products are unfortunately more feasible for larger companies.
Brian
I agree with your sentiment that Revit and other BIM software will likely take a while to catch on and become widely used in the construction and design industries. However, I would like to point out that owners and developers, who pay for design and construction projects are the ultimate arbiters of what will and will not be used in the industry. I believe the benefits of BIM software will push these stakeholders to require the use of BIM for their projects. As a result, i predict the rate at which firms will adopt the use of these kinds of programs will increase. Just as Fiori said, contractors exist to make money and leaving jobs on the table for lack of technical expertise is the same as leaving money on the table.
Hey Brian,
I thought your post was interesting because I agree that this is the most difficult part of what the future has in store for Revit/BIM. I've noticed in the company I work at which is rather large in comparison, is that we even have people refusing to change their workflow and adapt to the new programs simply because they don't want to have to relearn the process. And those that have HAD to adapt either complain constantly or only use it as a 2D drafting software which is not at all what it was made for.
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