Reece - BIM for Contractors

The section 'Off-Site Fabrication and Modular Construction' talks about the importance of planning accordingly for an accurate design in terms of manufacturing materials off-site. The use of off-sire manufacturing is becoming increasingly popular. This is due to the fact that BIM is capable of making information available faster, cheaper and a lot more accurate and reliable at the level of detail that is desired. This tool reduces the time of construction, the cost of labor, and most of the risks that come with manufacturing the materials on site. With the increase of off site popularity, we can start to see an increase in the variety of materials that are being fabricated in in these factories which are then delivered to to the site for installation.

BIM allows contractors to get much more involved and increase their value in the project by coordinating the subcontractors' activities and designs. This is done by enabling contractors to detail 3D geometry, finish requirements, and even edit scheduling. Contractors having access to exchange accurate information to other fabricators via BIM saves time by verifying the model.

A process known as Modular construction is a very comprehensive implementation of off site manufacturing. It deals with construction smaller volumetric units of an assembly, and delivering them separately to the site. Once at the site, they are then assembled together to form the larger part of the building.

This section I found particularly interesting because currently I am in a class called 'Techniques of Projects Control'. Within this class, I have been learning about the importance of scheduling and how making a clean and efficient schedule can ultimately determine the success or failure of a project. Some tasks the class requires are making a schedule by hand. After reading this article, I learned that it is now eligible to be done using tools like BIM for a quicker schedule with a lot less risk.

Works cited:

Eastman, Chuck, et al. BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Architects, Engineers, Contractors, and Fabricators. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, Newark, 2018.

Comment to Michael:

Michael,

Interesting post! I agree when you state that communication can ultimately decide the success or failure of a project. With better communication between the owners and the designers will benefit the progression of the project. Also, in terms of the barriers you mentioned, I did not think that society was not caught up with the technology. If you ask for a 3D model and a bidder does not have one, they simply won't supply you with a bid which would indicate a higher cost.

https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/01/bim-for-owners-and-facility-managers.html

Comment to Pritesh:

Pritesh,

From your post I can conclude that you retained from your article the importance of communication across the BIM platform. You stated that the lack of communication may result in a delay in your project, which I agree with 100%. Also you mentioned about your co-op, which is interesting and cool that you get to relate to your previous work environment to what we are learning in class!

https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/01/blog-2.html

Comment to Cory:

Cory,

You made some great points in your blog post. I learned from my Architectural Engineering Design II class that with a lack of communication with the owner, the builder and/or designer can interpret their description completely wrong. With the aid of BIM however, the communication can be more seamless to eliminate the risk of a failure in a project.

https://ae-410-510-ay19-20.blogspot.com/2020/01/bim-handbook-chapter-5.html