Is BIM the next Construction Standard for 2011?

Is BIM the Next Construction Standard for 2011?

Building information modeling (BIM) is increasingly becoming the design standard for architectural and construction engineering. Adopting BIM technology and tools is likely to be a future priority . Despite its relatively recent development, Building Information Modeling (BIM), which involves digital models for use in construction and design, has crossed the threshold into broad adoption, making it an important consideration in maintaining engineering competitiveness.

In terms of technical capabilities, BIM, relies on design tools to draft three-dimensional models for fabrication, construction and engineering purposes. Unlike CAD, however, BIM creates models parametrically, tracking the relations between multiple objects within a larger design so that if one object changes, all the others are adjusted accordingly. In addition to consistent designs and cost and materials estimates, BIM can also be used to analyze numerous engineering factors, such as lighting, acoustics or energy usage, in order to provide feedback while designing. The reduced material waste and ability to optimize energy consumption through BIM has also made it an emerging option for green building projects.

New technologies often take time to gain widespread acceptance, as many companies are reluctant to make a significant investment in tools or processes. However, as BIM becomes standardized, it will become increasingly necessary to incorporate some elements of this modeling technology in order to retain or grow market share.

DATUM 2010 - Delhi Autodesk Technology User Meet

"Delhi Autodesk Technology User Meet (DATUM)" was the inaugural launch of DATUG "Delhi Autodesk Technology User Group" and its first-ever Meet.
DATUM was in-lines with "Autodesk University AU" held every year in US, where more than 4000 Autodesk Users met this year. DATUM included

- Presentation by industry user
- Discussion by panel of experts
- Webcast from best of Autodesk University 2010

DATUM was spread over 3 days and was a great initiative by Cad Studio and Autodesk India. It was a great place to meet friends, prospective clients and business associates.

Obelisk presented on the merits of Integrated Project Development (IPD) and how BIM enabled IPD. The session was titled Work as a Team - Stay Coordinated.

DATUG is very enthusiastic to make this annual meet a bigger and better event with each passing year.

napshell - the art of power-napping

Napshell was design and developed on the basis of human movement to facilitate a relaxing sleep position that is relieving for both back and spline.

It is design to accommodate a wide range of persons regardless of body type and height. and the visual and acoustic effects within the capsule make it easy to reach a state of relaxation.


The Napshell was part of the exhibition “Interior/Exterior - Living in Art” at the Museum of Art in Wolfsburg (Germany).

Some of the key features of the napshell are,
• especially developed for power-nappin
• symbiosis of elegant design and functionality
• application areas (office/fairs/hotels/at home)
• offers privacy and the feeling of security
• innovative `room within a room` concept
• more flexible and cheaper than a common relax room
• MP3 sound-system with speakers / headphones
• unique and customized to your individual needs
• high laying comfort
• intuitive use and smoothly getting into the Napshell
• optimized by several studies of motion sequences
• upholsteries: artificial leather / micro-fibre / leather
• ergonomically optimized lie down space
• relaxation of your spine and muscles
• very hygienic by a simple cleaning

Standing behind the BIM bars, I ask the BIM non-believers – Are you nuts????

Sometimes when you pause and let the world go by at its speed, you are in a position to objectively think about the world that has just moved ahead together in a herd.

Now, I would not say that attaching myself to BIM (in context to the AEC industry) would imply the same thing but BIM seems to be a process which is changing the face of the AEC industry. BIM plugs the loopholes in the design and construction process and makes it more efficient.

One of my friends Gregory Arkin from Revit3d.com derives comparisons between well known author Seth Godin’s theory of Efficiency is free – Why BIM is better. He states and I quote, “The only way you can make it past the recession is through the BIM door.”

Source: http://bimboom.blogspot.com/2010/10/seths-blog-efficiency-is-free-why-bim.html

I take this further and ask the architects, engineers and contractors who still don’t believe in BIM – ARE YOU NUTS????!!!!! BIM would give you the edge and professionals using these tools will be unbeatable on their bids. Large scale projects & even Federal projects are already demanding BIM a prequalification for architects and consultants.

As Gregory says, as more and more owners get educated on BIM, resistance would be futile.

Commonwealth Games 2010 – A common man’s point of view

Driving through Delhi I feel GOOD. I say GOOD in capitals because I am one of the small percentage of people who feel proud that our city is hosting this event. I would advise the CWG haters not read this article as it can be hazardous to their health and mind.

The attitude of the city’s majority population is appalling and in fact very saddening; the media is having a field day (or year) highlighting the shortcomings of the organizers, the government and the Games itself. I am not a spokesperson for CWG or the Organizing Committee but just trying to do my bit as a citizen of Delhi.

Negative news is being sensationalized and reported because it sells. It serves as fodder for cracking stupid jokes to cynics, and gossip for Page 3 wannabes who sit in coffee shops and show off their knowledge gathered from the ill-informed media. It has become fashionable and trendy to be critical of CWG. People look at you like an ‘outcast’ if you talk positively about the games.

There has been so much development in Delhi in the past few years which somehow went unnoticed (I guess they were busy noticing a stray dog walking through the game village). I hardly see any reports on the fantastic infrastructure that has been built in and around Delhi, the amazing network of the Delhi Metro, the world class Terminal 3 of the Delhi International Airport, the amazing sports facilities. We see reports of a false ceiling falling in a stadium but no one talks about the world class designing of the stadium. We see pictures of dirty toilets without any context but not at the excellent design of the games village. I will not dwell into the great infrastructure our city has developed coz that you can find all over the internet.

Today, by cracking idiotic jokes and repeating what the news channels feed us, we are undermining the efforts of every professional and worker who have put in their best to make the games a success. Some of the people talking about the collapsing infrastructure are pretty lame and ignorant about construction and planning methods and even though we have always been taught to keep our mouth shut about things we know nothing of, the general trend seems to be in the complete opposite direction. Everyone suddenly seems to have become an expert on planning policies and have started finding faults with the anything and everything related to CWG.

The painful part is that some people actually want the games to be a failure. What they don’t realize is that every joke and every insult that they commit actually falls back on them.

The criticism and the negativity won’t be a shame for just the OC and the CWG; it will be a shame for the whole nation we are a part of.

Do we really want that?

CWG has been a blessing in disguise for the city and even though I may not totally agree with the structure the games and the infrastructure has been planned out, I still choose to look at the positive side of it and urge everyone to do so too.

I generally steer clear of controversial topics like these, but my city is something I feel very passionate about. My purpose of writing this note is to inform all my friends who are reading this it is too late in the day to be criticizing. If nothing at least be there for the games. You don’t need to be an official CWG volunteer to help the thousands of visitors descending upon our city, you can do your bit by helping anyone in need around you.

My choice is clear – to be a part of the games make them a success and show the world that we are capable of hosting a great event.

I would certainly like to know yours.

New Information Modeling Technology to Improve Sustainability

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is proving to be particularly valuable for addressing the complex systems, demanding construction schedules and cost pressures of multi-family housing projects. BIM and sustainability are both hot topics in the AEC industry. These powerful trends are now converging as designers and contractors learn how to leverage modeling, analytical and simulation technologies to improve sustainable outcomes.

Many of the innovative companies that have been using BIM for several years are now measuring the positive impact on their projects and their business processes. These metrics confirm that users are experiencing real business value by implementing the tools and processes related to BIM. Besides offering advances in the construction techniques, I feel time has come to lay much emphasis on sustainability as the devastating effects of climate changes are getting more severe with each passing year, I.e. Flash Floods, Cloud Bursts, Receding Himalayan Glaciers , Rise in Sea Level, El Nino etc.

Obelisk would like to offer its condolence for the precious lives lost in the devastating cloud burst at Leh in Jammu and Kashmir, India and the severe flooding in our neighboring countries.

Collaboration and Outsourcing

Recently I came across a very heated discussion about outsourcing and observed a lot of professionals who support both collaboration and outsourcing or support collaboration but not outsourcing. Majority of the participants involved in this discussion had a personal take on most of the outsourcing issue and I see no harm in that. But somehow we were missing the point?

It was supposed to be a debate on collaboration and somehow it crossed the line (which is very blurred) to outsourcing.

The boundaries of countries and continents have blurred, what we attach ourselves to are cities rather than countries. I am sure all of us are patriots and want to put our country first but when we talk contextually, we mention the city we belong to rather than a country. The point here is that the world is now a global platform. If an architect has an office in Chicago he would be more than willing to work in Shanghai and an architect in Mumbai would definitely be more than welcome to do a project in Dubai. Similarly he needs to collaborate with the local expert or the expert in the particular discipline to deliver efficiently.

The profession is changing, the technologies are changing, everyone can no longer do everything attached to the profession. It is best left to a person who does it best. So if a firm's core focus is design and that is what they do best, they have a partner come in who can give them BIM or CAD support. The geographical location then becomes secondary as is the location of the project . Costs maybe a critical issue in today's time but it is no longer a primary issue to partner/ collaborate or outsource on projects.

India makes a statement

The Prime Minister of India and Civil Aviation Minister inaugurated the new Terminal 3 at Delhi on July 3, 2010.




A country’s first impression to any visitor is communicated through its Airports and this Delhi Airport claimed to be the 8th largest in the world is bound to create a lasting impression on the visitors.

Built in a record time of 36 months the terminal is spread across a footprint of 5.4 million sq.ft. with 78 aerobridges and 20,000 sq.mt. of retail space.

Spread over 4 km, 80 per cent of T3 is made of glass supported by metal frames. The nine-level terminal building would be used for 90 per cent of the entire passenger movement at the IGI Airport.



Around 800 Flight Information Display Systems have been used for live flight information and 8,000 speakers installed for public address system. Most modern technology has been put to use for check-in process and baggage retrieval at the new terminal, which can handle 12,800 bags in an hour.

T3 will be one of the few green airports in the world, having eco-friendly features like energy-efficient buildings, high-performance air-conditioning, use of municipal waste to generate electricity, rain water harvesting, waste-water treatment and reuse of treated water.

Designed as per the Indian Green Building Council's rating system, T3 will have a high level of green cover with landscaping of 70 acres outside and 10,000 square metres inside the building.

BIM is not a faster version of CAD

A car is not merely a faster horse—says Seth Godin.

And email is not a faster fax. And online project management is not a bigger whiteboard. And Facebook is not an electronic rolodex. Play a new game, not the older game but faster.

The context—“BIM is not a faster version of CAD nor is it a faster way to make 3-D models.” Moving to BIM is a business and strategic decision. It is less about a CAD upgrade and more about a business decision by owners who know that BIM will have an impact on their firms at all levels.

Recent status report published by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) highlighted that out of the 951 projects being monitored 309 projects have cost overruns and 474 projects are behind schedule. “Of the total reported cost increase of Rs. 55,914 crore, Rs. 37,694 crore is on 466 delayed projects. These delays can be removed simply by adhering to international best practices which may be caused due to Lack of Coordination among the members of design team, the absence of an integrated approach to design and construction and the lack of uniformity in construction documentation practices.

BIM is emerging as an innovative way to manage projects. Building performance and predictability of outcomes are greatly improved by adopting BIM. In a single line BIM is an emerging technological, procedural & strategic approach for the AEC industry

How to Design and Build Future Sustainable Cities Using BIM

What if it was possible to take a typical city and use technology to evaluate existing and future conditions so that it can be transformed it into a truly sustainable city? Imagine a place in which all corners of the city — from hospitals, universities and businesses, to utility and transportation infrastructure and public spaces – were created, renovated and operated to be socially, environmentally and economically responsible. Is it possible today to plan, create or rebuild and manage that sustainable city of tomorrow?

It is possible, and we’re already witnessing a global push to build or transform communities into models of sustainability. Taking sustainability from a vague concept to reality requires that the correct decisions are being made at the earliest phases of planning and designing at a city-wide or even regional scope.

Read More

Source : www.environmentalleader.com
This article is by Paul McRoberts who at Autodesk is responsible for providing technology in the infrastructure industry through the evolution to model-based workflows across the project lifecycle of the Transportation, Land & Environmental, Water, and Power industry segments.

Is LEED missing something?

The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system is the most popular green building certification system in the world. In order to achieve LEED certification, a builder must focus on several key areas including Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Innovation and Design. However, a new report suggests that one very important area is missing - human health.

Read more: Is LEED missing something? - KansasCity.com

Source: http://www.kansascity.com/

BIM Believers

I start this blog post with a quote borrowed from Seth Godin’s book the Linchpin—

"Part of the passion is having the persistence and resilience to change both your art and the way you deliver it."

This was mentioned in a BIM survey report that I happened to chance upon. I could not help, but read it again & again, and wonder how effectively it summarizes what all BIM believers try to advocate for the AEC industry.

First, I would like to mention a few concerns and general perceptions associated with BIM Implementation, which a lot of us may have heard or had in the past,

Investment

· Financial Investment in Software

· Time Investment in Training of staff

Resources

· Revit Professionals not readily available

· Can’t afford the downtime to transition

· Revit too complicated to learn & implement within our organization

· Don’t have enough resources to dedicate.

Expect too little or too much

· Construction Documentation is not possible

· It is only a 3-D modeling software

Our Consultants don’t use Revit

· Most of the services consultants use CAD

I use the term BIM believers because I believe on the inevitability of BIM. In the present scenarios this is a,

· Business reality for some

· Approaching vision for believers, &

· Leap of faith for many others.

But, as the industry moves forward, one way or the other we realize that BIM is the future and is here to stay.

Believers like us feel we may see a delay in its acceptance and usage but it would only be a matter of time, where it deployment would be a more strategic option than adopting it just because “everyone is using it”.

Technology and Architecture

Wikipedia defines Technology as the usage and knowledge of tools, techniques, and crafts, or is systems or methods of organization, or is a material product of these things. Technologies significantly affect human as well as other animal species' ability to control and adapt to their natural environments.

There have been innumerable articles on the effects of technology and social networking on the AEC industry and it’s hard to ignore the impact that technologies like Twitter and Skype and devices like Apple’s iPad have had on the consumer world. Businesses globally are also looking into ways these technologies could improve productivity, and Architecture & Construction are among them. Contractors are still discovering how these technologies can be best utilized in the business world.

BIM itself is more a technology based platform rather than just a drafting tool. Some say the AEC industry has a hard time keeping up with some of the emerging technologies that hit both the consumer and business world fast and furiously. But this industry might be farther ahead of the curve than some truly believe. Terms like ‘tweet’, ’webex’ and ‘app store’ could have a more meaningful impact on the industry going forward.

BIM to the Rescue: Creating Sustainable Buildings

An article by Jennifer Hicks on Creating Sustainable Buildings using BIM on www.triplepundit.com

Buildings are responsible for about 48% of the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Fortunately, there’s a growing move in architecture, engineering and construction—or the AEC world—to construct buildings that are greener, more energy efficient and more sustainable. And to do that, many in the industry are turning to building information modeling.

Read More

Source: http://www.triplepundit.com/

'Offshoring' has lost meaning says Nasscom

Business Standard reports neither companies in India nor their clients keen on using the word 'offshoring' given the politics associated with the word in the world market, according to software body Nasscom.

"The word offshoring has lost its meaning and is getting off the vocabulary of our members and customers. This is getting replaced by 'global sourcing' which is already happening; they want to get things done wherever it makes sense for them," Nasscom President Som Mittal told the media here today. Clients come to India not because of the cost arbitrage in terms of salary but to enjoy the 'resource arbitrage' in terms of getting quality manpower, he added.

Read more

Source: Business Standard

BIM in 48 hours

Finally posting our entry at the Build London Live 2009 competition. View the Entry at the link provided below.

VIEW ENTRY



Team OBELISK designed a layout to augment the strong radial organization of the site. “The genesis of form has its origin in the axial influences from the radial forms. The forms have been conceptualized along the two radial axes of the plot with a tertiary axis establishing a formal connection between the two. Patterns of circulation and segregation are derived along these axes along different elevations.”

Virtual Design & Construction - May 1, 2010, IIT Delhi

A workshop on "Improving Project Performance Using Virtual Design and Construction" was conducted at IIT - Delhi, India.




The main objective of this workshop was to provide the needed impetus for adoption of VDC in the Indian public sector projects. To bring together key stakeholders involved on major public sector projects by engaging them in a dialogue pertaining to their roles, responsibilities and benefits with respect to VDC with ultimate goal of improving project performance.

Debasish, Maneck and Mohit on behalf of Obelisk presented a 1 hour session at the workshop titled
VDC and BIM Case Study - BIM for Documentation and Clash Detection

The workshop was supported by Autodesk and the seminar received an overwhelming response from all attendees.

Smart phone applications for Architects

Smart phone applications that relate to architecture are on the rise, but they’re not always easy to track down

An article By C. J. Hughes

Architects cannot design an entire building on a smart phone just yet. But increasingly, there are applications, or “apps,” for Blackberries, iPhones, and other mobile devices that might appeal to architects, and in some cases, enable them to do their job while on the go.

Read More

Source: Architectural Record Website

Architects - To Tweet or Not to Tweet

Increasingly, architects are tapping into social media to connect with peers and promote their work.

This article on the role of social media in the architecture industry talks about the benefits of being actively involved online the social network bandwagon.

Design firms that have integrated social media into their practices report a spike in interest in their work — particularly from journalists, publishers, and other architects. However, few can say their efforts have directly led to new projects … yet. Social media is so new to the profession that it may take a few years before the benefits can be measured, but some firms are investing now with high hopes for future rewards. Read More

Source: Architectural Record website

How to Close More Sales - Customer Relationships - Entrepreneur.com

When you move from 'vacuum salesman' to trusted advisor you seal more deals.

How to Close More Sales - Customer Relationships - Entrepreneur.com

Posted using ShareThis

Outsourcing firms - You MUST be world class in quality, lowest in international cost and faster than Speedy Gonzales in a Mexican bordello bedroom.

This contribution is an extension from the discussion "What country would you recommend to outsource an IT project to?" from our Linkedin group CAD Outsourcing.

This piece has been contributed by Mr. Charles Traylor who is a registered architect in Texas (formerly a holder of 21 state registrations), holder of an NCARB certificate, and a member of the AIA. He currently resides in Dallas, Texas. His take on the question asked above is as follows,

I would like to make a contribution to this discussion. Briefly stated, outsourcing works-with brass knobs on. It is a killer cutting edge 21st century resource, and anyone, who ignores or bypasses using outsourcing is as upside down, inside out and backwards as a latter day 19th century blacksmith, trying to compete with a horse and a surrey with the fringe on top at last year's Indianapolis 500.

I am a US Citizen, a registered architect in Texas (formerly a holder of 21 state registrations), holder of an NCARB certificate, and a member of the AIA. I work and live in Dallas, Texas, and in a month I will be relocating to Princeville, Hawaii, where I will be expanding our company's services to Guam and the Orient. I just returned from spending 5 months in West Palm Beach Florida, where my wife and I sat out the winter months to dodge the cold weather in Texas.

My company has been outsourcing CAD work product successfully for over 17 years. We have been outsourcing BIM work product for the last 2 years. During all that time I have worked from a personal computer station in my home or out on the road. I coordinate a wide area network of CAD and BIM architect collaborators, who are located in countries all over the world.

I WILL say this. Most companies in the outsourcing business, who are competing for work in the United States don't have a clue. It is axiomatic in this business. You MUST be world class in quality, lowest in international cost and faster than Speedy Gonzales in a Mexican bordello bedroom.

Big multinational companies would have you believe that there is this huge consolidation of business into the oligarchial hands of the tew. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact of the matter is that outsourcing makes potential Daddy Warbucks out of every person on the planet. We all are equipped with basically the same body parts and brains. The winners in this global ever increasingly outsourcing and international collaborating and trading economy are the ones, who like Johnathan Livingston Seagull, have the guts and the vision to get out there and to do aggressive wing overs, nose dives and smack down on the deck flat out full throttled flying.

Carpe diem, baby!

Outsourcing BIM - The Process & Mr. SPOC

Only a fool would write off GOOGLE

I could not help but notice this sentence when I read an article about Google v/s Facebook.

My personal comments would be Google and Facebook both have their respective client base and a true comparison is not possible. Without both most of us would be clueless in this chaos of the internet. Google is here to stay for a long time and we cannot forget the order it has brought in our lives.

However, this could be my personal bias and my love for a company like Google. Please read this article to find out more about the so called "WAR" and post your opnions.

Facebook tightens its grip on the mighty Google

What country would you recommend to outsource an IT project to?

An interesting discussion on our group CAD Outsourcing on Linkedin. I am posting the discussion here for people who are not members.

Question
Nowadays outsourcing IT projects to a remote company is a very popular tendency. You can find a lot of companies from all over the world providing programming services for a much lower cost, than in the US market. Developing countries offer the lowest rates. But will it be a quality and bug-free work at last?

What is the best country for outsourcing IT projects in a ratio of price to quality? Do you have such experience?


Trey Werner
CAD Designer / Technician

From what I have read, there will be a BIG tax on outsourcing any work from the USA. With the way the economy currently is, let’s keep the work here and get America back to work.
Posted 8 days ago | Reply Privately | Delete comment

Jimmy Roa
CEO/Entrepreneur/Sr. Consultant at Staffingforce

The decision to outsource often is made with the goal of lowering the firm’s costs, redirecting or conserving energy on the competencies of your business, and to make more efficient use of labor, capital, technology and resources.

Financial reasons for outsourcing is to immediately generate cost savings. Cost efficiency is created from the savings in manpower costs, ownership costs of computer hardware and software, and other related overhead
expenses.

Although, a lot of times it’s a matter of economics, quality and timely delivery are just as important. When choosing an offshore provider , it’s best to check out track records, references, sample projects and staff resumes. Do not merely base your decision on costs.

My company does Cad outsourcing from the Philippines and we go by the One-team Concept. The idea is to develop a partnership between us and the client that will foster a true alliance. We are partners in achieving the overall goals of cost savings, process improvement, and greater time for your core business. To accomplish this, there should be commitment, constant communication and continuous alignment.
Posted 8 days ago | Reply Privately | Delete comment

Krishan Sharma
Independent GIS Professional

India off-course is the best choice, it is reliable and reasonable in price and have some of the best technicals experts in this line, please contact us. www. kksgroup.in
Posted 8 days ago | Reply Privately | Delete comment

Dale Price
Civil Engineering Professional

Well lets see. You get what you pay for. If you want it cheaply done then it will be. India is and will always undercut us as long as their wages stay so low. I think that if a U.S. company has to outsource to another nation just to keep its costs low then they just need to leave the U.S. It is this kind of business move that alot of companies here are going to and it makes me sick. We have people already laid off and have lost their homes. The cost of goods are on the rise due to our bad economy and all they (companies) want to do is protect their bottom line by going out of the U.S. There used to be a time when we kept all of it in our nation. It wouldn't be such a crime if they, other nations would bring their standards to ours and could create a true competition. We cannot compete with India or other poor countries like that. Their wages and ours are not the same. If there was some way to shore up that country so that their wages were equal to ours then they would have to compete with us on quality and the price issue would be gone. I am in not way saying that India cannot produce quality goods. I am just stating a fact of problems we are facing with already ongoing outsourcing.

Here is an example of what has been going on:

Dell computers started outsourcing their quality assurance and technical troubleshooting to India around 5 or more years ago. For us in the U.S. it is hard to talk to people from India because of their dialect. I know they try to get English tutors to help them sound English but their language and ours do not mix well and when you have been on the phone with technical support for almost 1 hour because you have to repeat everything you say 3 times and you have to have them repeat what they say because you dont really understand the broken up english they are speaking when it should have only taken about 20 minutes to finish up the trouble call. Another thing is I have been on the phone with numerous Indian technical professionals and they repeatedly read from a script and reading straight out of a technical manual. I could teach my six year old son to do the same thing. Just because they can read english out of a technical book does not mean they know what they are talking about. To me that is not quality of work that I used to get from Dell technical support. It is this kind of low standard that makes me cringe at calling any technical support for any company because they have outsourced their stuff to India.

Their are plenty of laid off people in the U.S. to do the same thing that India can do and do it alot better. Like I said before it is the wage thing and we know that that technical person on the other end of the phone line is probably working a 12 hour shift and only getting paid 7 dollars a day that would cost Dell. Hey India get a back bone and start charging more for your services because the U.S. companies are making huge fortunes on your backs.

I am exhausted with all of this but I am saying what is on every Americans mind because I am not alone on this one. U.S.A. all the way Baby. Yeah I am an American and I am proud of it.
Posted 8 days ago | Reply Privately | Delete comment

Vitaliy Larkin
SEO Specialist at Conkurent LLC

Thanks to all.
Outsourcing part of IT work to an offshore team is quite normal IMHO. Information technologies require great knowledge and resources, so it can be reasonable if you assign something to the people with a better knowledge and experience in it. Let us think globally.
Posted 7 days ago | Reply Privately | Delete comment

Vitaliy Larkin
SEO Specialist at Conkurent LLC

Actually we already have a team of developers on board, and now working on few big projects outsourced to us from Germany, Switzerland, and the US. We want to expand this branch of business. So I am trying to outline the situation on the world's IT market. We have started from selling own software products (see http://phpforms.net/ , http://needsecure.com/ ). They are a success, and now this is the main branch of the company's business.
Posted 6 days ago | Reply Privately | Delete comment

Maneck Khanna
CEO, Obelisk - Architecture Knowledge Partner

Interesting discussion, and congrats Vitaliy for starting such an intelligent discussion.

I have read most of the comments and have seen a lot of them based on individual experience or personal bias for one's own business or one's region.
I also read that a lot of people in the discussion think that a major reason to outsource is the Cost benefit.

However, I would like state that outsourcing or partnering for a specific service (the term we like to use) is not only cost dependent now but also depends on the expertise of the service provider.

So rather than asking which is the best country to outsource, we should be asking, who has better expertise and a good track record in context to the nature of job you looking to outsource?

So if both companies working involved in the deal look at a long term partnership, irrespective of the geographical locations of the outsourcer and the outsourcing company, it has always been a fruitful partnership.
Posted 1 day ago | Delete comment

Kabir Luthra
Owner at a Construction Documentation Company - K-Pro

india has the best price/ quality trade-off amongst the outsourced economies. though this largely depends on what it is you are looking to outsource. i've heard that its better to go to the guys in the philippines or even the Caribbean for construction design otsourcing.
India is positioned very well when it comes to the more mundane tasks like quantity take-off - the criteria is well defined and you dot want/ need a lot of creativity.
We are based out of the UAE with an office in India that does all our quantity take-off. the Dubai offce is focused on the design/drawing detail aspect and is staffed with Philipinos.
have a look at www.kpro.ae for more information
Posted 6 hours ago | Reply Privately | Delete comment

Jimmy Roa
CEO/Entrepreneur/Sr. Consultant at Staffingforce

Kabir, I do not consider quantity take-offs and cost estimation as being mundane tasks. In fact, it takes a lot of attention to detail and engineering knowledge to do. Aside from Cad, we have been doing a lot of quantity take-offs for a general contractor in the US that focuses on water systems. it's not easy at all to determine all the fittings that are required for piping systems. Our process requires two estimates are done and are later compared. Any discrepancies will have to be addressed accordingly.

Source: Linkedin discussion on the group CAD Outsourcing. The views expressed here in the discussion are the views of the authors resepctively.

BIM - The future

Jennifer had been approached by IIDA to comment on BIM as she has been marketing aggressively about BIM through OBELISK. The comments were published in the article on their blog with the link given below,

THE FUTURE IS HERE, AND IT'S BIM

Good work Jennifer.

China's first Indian-style temple

China is opening up to different cultures and the proof of this is shown in the Indian style - The White Horse Temple in Luoyang, Henan which is one of the oldest sites of Buddhism in China. It is an icon of India’s traditional cultural links with China.


The details are given in this interesting news article below,

Recently constructed Indian-style Buddhist Temple celebrates the shared cultural heritage between India and China

(Source: The source of this information is the www.worldarchitecturenews.com)

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AAL IZZ WELL (All is well)

Recently I had a chance of watching the movie "3 Idiots" which has gone on to become one of the top grossing movies in the Indian film industry - Rs. 375 crore (3.75 billion) in 4 weeks.

A simple movie with a very effective message. The movie deals with the current "rat race" we are inflicted to ever since we start our lives, to the time we are in our professions and which goes on till the end of our lives.

The movie conveys a lot of messages through its plot but revolves around the fact to get out of the "rat race" and think out of the box.

Pursue excellence and success will follow, it is a by product. This we can very well see with this movie as an example. The makers made an excellent movie which connected with the present generation's heart and both fame and financial success has followed.

I would like to list a few lessons learnt from the movie,

Pursue Excellence & Success will follow.

All is well - Even when you are in dire straits and most difficult times of your life, if you keep telling your heart "All is well" it will give you the strength to face those difficult times

Passion leads to Excellence - If you make your passion or your hobby your profession, you are bound to be successful.

Learning is a constant process

Necessity is the mother of Invention - Learn to think "out of the box".

Mediocrity is penalized - Most of us are born average with limited resources, but each one of us has a genius which we should bring out and not die Mediocre.

I would suggest all to see this movie and those who have seen it, please watch it again.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010

Obelisk wishes all its friends and associates and reader of this blog a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.