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.

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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.”