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.

Project Information Management Systems at Cross-Purposes

Newforma is reconciling two approaches to PIM. Consider:

The purple, horizontal bar shows project information managed across the enterprise. This is a preferred method for design firms. Among other benefits, it permits you to tailor your processes to your organization.

By contrast, the green, vertical bar shows how project information managed across the project provides one PIM platform for the entire project team. This is a preferred method for construction companies. Its costs can be borne as part of the project.

How can you get these two approaches to work together?

The Newforma solution is simple: Offer both systems, and allow the two systems to talk to each other. Newforma-to-Newforma connectivity is how we do it.

(Newforma to Newforma also permits multiple enterprise customers to share files as if the different companies were on the same network!)

For more information, read our Newforma to Newforma tech brief.

Treating the Redline Blues

This Architexts comic is funny because it’s true:

If you would prefer to get your laughs from sources other than frustrating rework, Newforma has a solution, and a Newforma customer has published the step-by-step instructions.

In “Managing Revit Drawing Revisions in Newforma Project Center” at AECbytes Issue #62, Matt Tosto describes how Affiliated Engineering, Inc., a multi-discipline technical consulting firm, is managing the steady stream of drawing revisions generated from Revit.

The process Matt shows in his “Tips and Tricks” article eliminates the possibility of people accessing dated drawings.

You’re not restricted to Revit alone to employ the Newforma Document Control activity center. It can be used to manage revisions of any file types, including AutoCAD DWG and Microstation DGN files.

For a short video overview, visit this page at newforma.com.

Electrons vs. atoms: Guess which is winning.

Although global paper consumption has increased by half since 1980, the architecture, engineering and construction industry has an increasingly reduced role for paper.

Newforma Vice President of Construction Services Dan Conery can tell you the reasons why.

“Clash detection can’t be done with paper,” Dan says. “You have to share models to find clashes between them.

“Also, submittals are on the rise,” Dan says. “The industry is evolving integrated ways to manage submittals, RFIs and other contract documents that don’t involve paper.”

For more on the twin trends of paperlessness and information integration, read Dan’s guest post at constructiondive.com. It offers two thoughts about trends in construction project information management.

One direction it’s not going is that of tracking paper.

“Systems built 15 and 20 years ago were built to track paper,” Dan says. “Now the shift to 3D modeling, higher-speed networks and Adobe allows us to manage information electronically, in real time.

“Incumbent technologies have not made the shift,” Dan says.

“But the key to productivity moving forward is not just paperless operations. The key is to integrate electronic processes.

“For example, sharing files with a dropbox-style utility is electronic, but it lacks a project context and lacks integration.

“It doesn’t make sense to manage electrons if you’re going to separate them in silos, just as you did with paper,” Dan says.

For a fuller explanation, read Dan’s post, “Two Gretzky-Inspired Process Trends for Builders,” at Construction Dive.

Complex projects require team-wide project coordination

A recently published project case study, General Contractor Strengthens Ability to Win, Manage and Deliver Projects, showcases how Nibbi Brothers General Contractors successfully uses Newforma enterprise software to manage their project information and improve project team collaboration.

Even though projects continue to get more and more complex, contractors are expected to complete their work faster than ever and with fewer mistakes. For many general contractors this a problem but not for Nibbi Construction.

“Our most successful projects have resulted from highly collaborative approaches to complex technical challenges,” Nibbi President Bob Nibbi said. “As the construction marketplace moves in this direction, we become more competitive.”

Nibbi recognized that a complete construction solution would improve coordination resulting in reduced cost and fewer mistakes. They have seen improvements in managing their email, processing submittals, RFIs and other project documents, as well as improving coordination and collaboration with project partners and Nibbi professionals working in the field.

The Exploratorium @ Pier 15 project is just such an example. As Assistant Project Manager Jill Brown explains, "On the Exploratorium project, supervisors, superintendents, partner architects and subcontractors are submitting and responding to RFIs an submittals using Newforma software. We've eliminated potential errors and tremendous amount of data reentry." In fact, Nibbi has had so much success coordinating with the partner architect, EHDD Architecture, EHDD just purchased Newforma software themselves.

As Bob points out, “All of our communications – email, transmittals, RFIs, submittals, changer orders and more – presents a consistent professional image that promotes clarity and confidence."

Read firsthand how Nibbi Construciton has used Newforma to improve team coordination allowing them to win more work, accelerate turnaround, avoid disputes, manager their risk and stay on schedule.

Click here to learn more about the Newforma Construction Suite.

Thought you'd like to see this...

If you’ve known me for any length of time, you’ve probably received a newspaper or magazine clipping from me. I might star or underline the important passages, or even slap a sticky note on it…just to ensure that you get my point.

So it’s with great interest that I’ve been reading about the concept of content curation for the internet. Search engines and news aggregators can round up vast quantities of web tumbleweed, but there’s no value assigned to any one piece. I am quickly overwhelmed by drivel when I’m just trying to locate something authoritative, informative, or just plain entertaining to read. I need a friend with a yellow highlighter to point me to the good stuff!

Curators take on the role of trusted advisor on the internet. They find, group, and organize the most relevant web information on a certain topic. And the best curators also explain the trends or insights that link the pieces together.

Say that scuba diving is your latest hobby. When you find a clever blog on diving that directs you to a handful of fantastic articles and photos every week, you’ll quickly become a devoted visitor and feel like you’ve found a new best friend. No more floundering around on Google anymore.

I believe that Newforma Project Center (NPC) becomes a type of "curator" for our customers as they grow into the product. NPC’s immediate value is in searching and rounding up your project files. It's a relief to put your hands on important email within seconds.

Then, our customers expand into document control and contract management, and that’s where NPC’s power to interconnect issues really shines. For instance, my field engineer may dump 30 photos onto the network from his camera. Locating them with the File Search is good...but I really want to know which photo is important and why.

With NPC, I can see the date/time/location stamps on the photo files, and I can assign keywords to sort them by subject matter. One of those photos might be linked to an RFI about a field condition, which could lead me to a revised drawing, and finally to all of the email conversations that surrounded the team’s new direction. NPC pulls to the surface the most critical pieces of project information, and then gives me all of the related data that creates context and meaning. Thanks, my electronic friend!

Alphabet Soup (or acronym hell ?)

Do you get confused or just plain frustrated when you are reading the industry press reporting that AIA, CURT and AGC have formed the 3XPT Strategy Group, GSA has published an IFC based MVD requirement for BIM concept models, NBIMS is adopting IDM, CSI is supporting the IFD Library and promoting PPD, AGC has published agcXML, ICC is developing Smartcodes, AIA TAP recommends using MPS, NIBS is sponsoring COBIE, or by all of the references to IPD, LEED and VDC. If you are an international reader, just substitute your local variations such as Avanti, be2camp,CIB, CRC, etc.

Regretfully, here at Newforma we too have been guilty of speaking in acronyms on occasion. For example, in December 2008 we sent you an email blast entitled “PIM and the DNA for IPD” inviting you to join us for a free webinar …. when what we really wanted to talk to you about was email management as an integral part of the project delivery process and to show you how firms like yours are tackling out-of-control inboxes to mitigate risk by capturing email decision trails and to improving team communication.

Through this blog we will be making every effort to demystify much of the industry jargon rather than just pile on and add to your confusion. We aim to be diligent about explaining exactly what the most important acronyms stand for, convey a fundamental understanding and provide an informed opinion regarding the importance of the specific project or initiative. As a start down that path, the links provided above (for anyone who wants to take the time to explore them) have been carefully selected to point you to an authoritative source that explains who or what is behind each of the acronyms used as examples above.

If we do err again, please call ‘foul play’ to get us back on track :-)