BIM is a subset of PIM

The industry’s emphasis on building information modeling might lead us to believe that the model could or should contain all information about a project.

In truth, critical data is being created and exchanged for weeks, perhaps months before a model reaches its first draft.

All of the emails, meeting minutes, Office files, sketches, markups and other documentation leading up to the creation of the model are valuable project information that needs to be captured and searchable for later reference.

And that information continues to develop throughout the design and construction phases of the project.

Yes, the model reflects these discussions. But it cannot manage them. Emails, specifications, RFIs and other forms of project information will never be model elements.

When we at Newforma talk about “project information,” we mean all of the technical information that goes into a successful project.

That’s why we have been expanding the reach of our project information management solution to include BIM, financial and resource data, and other forms of information that executives and PMs must manage if they are to please their clients and run successful business.

IPD Essentials: Model-based design

State-of-the-art use of building information modeling (BIM) today encompasses creating a design intent model (e.g. Revit Architecture), a structural analysis model (e.g. Tekla), an energy performance model (e.g. IES), a constructability and quantity take off model (e.g. Vico), a space program model (e.g. Trelligence), a facilities management model (e.g. Archibus), a coordination model (e.g. Navsiworks), and more.

IPD project teams need to embrace the reality and the associated challenges of managing multiple purpose-built building information models (BIMs).

(As a quick aside, the “the great debate” of April 2003, hosted and moderated by LaiserinLetter editor Jerry Laiserin, speculated on the future role of BIM. Wind the clock forward and the vision of a federated project model has prevailed over the alternate concept of a single building model. It is fascinating to observe that while Bentley was promoting the correct vision in 2003, it has been Autodesk that has promoted the most commercially successful product.)

So much has already been written about the now-proven advantages of using BIM that I do not want to regurgitate them here. Suffice to say that BIM and its close relative, virtual design and construction (VDC), are both essential ingredients to achieving integrated project delivery (IPD). In fact, certain IPD contracts actually dictate that the project team must use BIM.

Instead, I want to offer you a different perspective. Adopting BIM is not just about training your staff on how to use a particular BIM system. Rather it is about transforming your firm’s best practices from being drafting- and document-centric to implementing new and still-to-be-refined model-based design processes. What exactly does this entail ? I think as an industry we are all still working out the full meaning of that question, but there are some key lessons that have already been learned that offer great guidance:

• BIM is not synonymous with IPD – it is only one of 5 Essential Ingredients.
• Two different approaches – either ‘sharing the model’ or ‘exchanging model views’ – are currently being used each with a different set of pros and cons.
• The letter “I” is the most powerful part of BIM - should this information be locked into a proprietary file format ?
• In the world of a federated project model it is important to focus on the purpose-driven exchange of project information between different purpose-built BIMs.
• Virtual building models allow early prototyping and simulation as additional inputs to the design process.
• Integrated project delivery remains a function of people, process and tools.
• Model-based design is not just about geometry, but about arriving at a common understanding of the intersection of disciplines, the interaction of building fabric and systems and the involvement of everyone on the project team.

You are invited to join our conversation as we continue to explore these ideas in future posts on this Newforma Blog and on PIM in the UK, our sister blog authored by Tim Bates.

IPD: 5 Essentials for Success

Newforma helped sponsor last week’s inaugural IPD (Integrated Project Delivery) Conference hosted by Stagnito Media in Boston, attended by about 80 AEC professionals from 24 states.

The aim of IPD is, of course, to change the status quo! An IPD project team strives to meet seven important goals:

• Deliver high quality projects on time and within budget.
• Reduce errors and omissions
• Invest in better team collaboration.
• Manage more complex projects requirements (e.g. LEED certification).
• Remove the “litigation phase” of a project.
• Redefine traditional (i.e. adversarial) behavior.
• Greatly improve the predictability and profitability of the project delivery process.

Leading up to this event I was privileged to be asked by Brad Horst, CIO of EYP, to join his panel of industry experts to share any observations distilled from the one-day agenda of presentations and informal discussion. Highlights for me were the project case studies by building owners such as Digby Christian of Sutter Health, John Moebes of Crate&Barrel, and Erin Rae Hoffer of Autodesk, who, together with members of their project execution teams, shared challenges and successes from their early implementation of IPD projects.

What I concluded from listening to the keynotes, attending various breakout sessions and engaging in conversation with numerous other participants is that there are (at least) five essential ingredients that must co-exist to ensure the success of an IPD project:

1. Enter into new forms of contractual relationships such as AIA Docs, AGC Consensus 300, IFOA (Integrated Form of Agreement as used by Sutter Health), etc.

2. Use model-based design that employs multiple special-purpose BIMs.

3. Manage documentation, capture decisions, agree on workflows and streamline processes based upon best practices.

4. Focus on more effective communication, team collaboration and information-sharing with full team visibility. (In short, provide transparency).

5. Build a different project team culture based upon a “trust but verify” relationship model motivated by shared risk with shared reward.

It is our intention of elaborate on each of these 5 essential ingredients for IPD success. Watch for future postings!

An invitation to join us in a critical conversation…….

Our industry is facing tectonic shifts in the way it executes building and infrastructure projects. Will integrated project delivery improve on time completion within budget ? Should building information modeling center around one massive model or be managed as a series of special purpose BIM’s ? Can new forms of contract like multi-partner agreements really change the adversarial behaviors of the past ? Which open data standards will prevail to facilitate the necessary exchange of project information? What best practices are being implemented by other firms that will give them competitive advantage? How do you take advantage of new software delivery models ? Are you managing your project information effectively and transparently ? Have you calculated the cost of the status quo ? Lots of issues remain that need to be addressed and resolved over time through healthy debate (no, not the healthcare debate!), bold experimentation, dedicated effort, ongoing perseverance and yes, also some failures.

Our intent in creating this Newforma Blog is to “host a conversation” by industry stakeholders to discuss each of these and other closely related questions that are facing us all. We look forward to sharing our thoughts and posting observations as our contribution to promote discussion and encourage an active dialogue via your comments.

Unlike the discussion forum on our user community site (which by popular demand is both product centric and technical in nature), and unlike our traditional whitepapers (that are both static and only provide a one-way communication), we are adding this interactive blog to explore the business issues, industry trends and technology that will shape new and improved best practices for architects, engineers and construction firms. Recurring themes will include project information management (PIM), integrated project delivery (IPD), work processes that support model based design (BIM), virtual construction, managing a federated project model, the purpose driven exchange of information, open data standards, change management for technology implementation and the cost of the status quo.

Our desire is to both inform and to learn from our mutual exchange of ideas. Ideally our contributions and the comments that they generate will stimulate and expand your thinking and offer you different perspectives and insights. We may even throw in a little controversy for good measure along the way!

So whether you just choose to read our blog postings or join our conversation, thank you for your interest and we welcome your participation.