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Changing the Way We Build

2/1/2010

In December 2008, the most popular electronic holiday gifts were GPS devices for cars. The advantage of these accessories is clear: if lost or mired in traffic, drivers can receive reliable information and real-time updates about the best course of action. Thus, they arrive at their destinations faster, more efficiently, and with less stress.

Like drivers, the concrete industry has access to phenomenal time- and money-saving technology through Building Information Modeling (BIM) software. Using 3-D modeling, BIM software allows building owners, architects, contractors, and engineers to interact with building plans and with one another in a virtual realm.

Both BIM and Virtual Design and Construction (VD&C) have contributed to a dynamic and information-rich construction environment. BIM and VD&C are no longer referenced just for visual representation through unintelligent geometric shapes: they are the nucleus of the most robust communication and control tools to become available for the design and construction industry.

BIM and VD&C are exciting and promising new advancements in the construction industry and they impact every aspect of companies involved in the development, design, planning, construction, disposition, ownership, and management of buildings, facilities, and infrastructure. Not only will all departments of a company (from business development to design and engineering, preconstruction services, field operations, and fabrication, to accounting and facilities management) reap benefits, but the net increases in opportunity, accountability, cost/time control, and quality will be extraordinary.

While design professionals are adopting BIM technologies and tools, contractors in particular are embracing these tools at a fantastic pace and moving toward the front of the BIM wave. The contractor now has tools available to understand and completely construct the project before a single shovel of dirt has been turned. Through prebuilding accelerated reviews such as design completeness, constructibility, clash detections, and site logistics, virtual RFIs (vRFIs) are generated earlier in the BIM process rather than in the middle of construction. This in itself creates more effective communication and coordination between design and construction team members, including clients. Phasing, scheduling, workflow, and crew size optimization planning are also made more reliable, predictable, and controllable. Additionally, effective LEED impact and compliance studies, preplanning, and increased recognition for sustainability efforts are promoted.

An information-rich BIM database, if modeled with credible cost, time, and resource data, allows for advanced budgeting/cost control, precise quantity surveys, and precise resource and material allocations/commitments. Costs can be modified and updated instantly with changes to the database. This allows for sophisticated "what if" scenarios in minutes rather than days and optimizes location-based cost and use. Further combining the power of dynamic planning, logistics models, detailed phasing models with quantities, 5-D simulations, and 3-D walk-throughs clearly creates the ultimate experience in communication and coordination.

BIM software is advancing at phenomenal rates. With the growing support of the Industry Foundation Class (IFC), a neutral data format to describe and share information, interoperability between various software platforms can be achieved seamlessly, which will allow for even greater collaboration. To help foster such advancements, ACI has established Committee 131, Building Information Modeling for Concrete Structures. Its goals include furthering data exchange protocols, describing new work relationships and delivery practices among the construction team, and developing common terminology for BIM tools, among other things. Similarly, ACI's Strategic Development Council, in conjunction with the Applied Technology Council, a nonprofit corporation that researches engineering applications for hazard mitigation (www.ATCouncil.org), is developing a strategic plan for BIM and structural concrete. The results of the research effort will be a comprehensive report that describes the current state of the industry, attributes exchange priorities, and outlines a strategy for implementing effective IFC exchanges—interoperability.

As technological advances permeate all aspects of life, we see that the most important changes are those in the realm of information. The old adage that knowledge is power is still true today—perhaps even more so. By streamlining the way we gather and share information, we move the concrete industry toward increased efficiency and cooperation, and therefore toward providing better concrete structures for today and for tomorrow.

Florian G. Barth
American Concrete Institute
fb@florian.com

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