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.