BIM for Architects and Engineers - Group D - Week 3

            After reading "Chapter 5: BIM for Architects and Engineers" from the BIM Handbook, I was able to gain a fuller understanding of the background, implementation, and growth of this building information modeling technology within this professional user field. Many design firms have finally made the jump into the BIM world and have developed the abilities and standards necessary for their success in association with it. Before BIM, modeling was restricted to 2D forms, while our thinking, design concepts, and construction were obviously 3D. This led to restrictions in designs to more elementary rectangular, boxy forms. One of the best traits of architects and engineers was being restricted: our creativity.

            However, BIM allows for 3D designs to be modeled and designed. It allows for conceptual designs to become realized and also allows for data exchange between tools. The creativity of architects and engineers is no longer being restricted, however, it is being enabled. New, refreshing, creative, intricate designs can and are being explored, modeled, designed, built, and most importantly analytically understood thanks to this technology. One thing this chapter did a great job of doing was explaining how the design processes and programs have all evolved as the technology has evolved with it. The traditional services, from page 196 of the eBook are feasibility study, predesign, schematic design, design development, construction detailing, and construction review. However, there are many new processes and programs that even Drexel University has taken advantage of with the design and construction of new buildings. These include more collaborative forms of delivering the end product such as design-build, design-bid-build, and design-build-operate-maintain. Another even newer process is the IPD, which Brian comprehensively mentioned in his post. IPD stands for Integrated Project Delivery and this method allows for true collaboration with the use of BIM, for various effective and efficient measures of changes in design, construction, and operation to occur.

            One of the main benefits for any users, especially including architects and engineers, is right there in the first few sentences: “BIM redistributes the allocation of effort, placing more effort on conceptual design.” Being a young engineer, with some engineering workplace experiences from co-ops, this is a sentence that stuck with him continually as I read through the chapter. During my experiences at A/E design firms, I have seen software like Revit and RAM and SAP be instrumental in the design of some amazing structures. At these companies I worked for, these software were just being implemented and I got to see just how experienced engineers adapted and adjusted to using it, what the true allocation of effort was, what went right, what went wrong, what was easier, what was more difficult. This experience was priceless and when I read this chapter, these experiences are what I thought of. It is a growing element in the engineering community and it is an important one to be able to understand and properly utilize.

            As a structural engineer, I decided to finish writing with a bit of a structural engineering slant. The chapter uses various tables to discuss and compare some of the software packages available, their output forms, and their compatibility. These include Revit, RAM, SAP, Bentley Systems, ETABS, Strudl, STAAD, etc. These are mostly used at design firms strictly for structural analysis rather than plan drafting and modeling for the final set of plans. Revit does not have a great tool for the structural analysis platform yet. However, the great thing about Revit is the ability for firms to perform integrated modeling. By this, I mean that firms can design entire buildings in Revit completely, with all disciplines’ systems and subsystems modeled and integrated. This allows for design across disciplines to work out any issues in a more efficient manner, resulting in more detailed and amazing designs. Construction issues are also avoided early, which saves money and time overall on any project. BIM is evolving and transforming the architecture, engineering, and construction world and it is creating an excitement for the field as it continues to grow and become more powerful!

Lastly, I found and read an additional resource about BIM in the A/E/C field and wanted to share because it had some great analysis and insight. It also references a report published by McGraw-Hill from 2012, which is phenomenal! The PDF of that report is within the first article. Here's the site link: 
http://blog.helblingsearch.com/index.php/2012/06/27/bim-in-infrastructure-its-impact-on-aec-firms-owners/

Comments: (on Brian Benson's blog)

- "Brian, great post again. I liked how you talked about DB, DBB, and IPD. These are important elements of the procedural benefits of BIM and it is really transforming the design and construction world. Your post is very comprehensive and provides a great summary and understanding of the chapter. After reading it, I am just wondering if you had any personal experiences with BIM during your professional work experiences, potentially in situations where you saw a noticeable affect on the results of a design?"

References:

Eastman, CM 2011, BIM Handbook: A Guide To Building Information Modeling For Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers And Contractors, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost, viewed 20 January 2014.