Ways that BIM Makes An Engineer's Work Easier and More Difficult

The majority of articles that I have read on the topic of how BIM has influenced engineers work are dated before 2008.  BIM is only about 20 years old.  Until recently, most engineering firms weren’t requiring the use of BIM in their projects; it was only used if it was required for the project.  A good reason for this comes from Erleen Harfield (Thornton Tomasetti): She describes the transition from 3D to BIM as being more difficult than when the firm switched from 2D to 3D because BIM requires engineers to change their process (where 2D to 3D was the same process on a different platform.)  It was noticed early on in BIM’s history that an engineer had to be the modeler; initially companies would hire someone familiar with the computers, but it created a lot of problems because they were not familiar with the parts they were modeling.

Another difficulty that arose for engineers working with BIM is the nonstandard BIM software. All participants have to have compatible software and be familiar with the other software being used.  All participants have access to each other’s models, but if a person accessing the model is unfamiliar with the program, you run the risk of the modeling being altered in an undesired manner. 

A specific challenge mentioned in a news article I read (Fortner), is the inability to transfer the analysis data directly to the model.  Ryan mentioned in his posting the struggles he faced on co-op from working with BIM as opposed to AutoCAD.  Going back to what Harfiled said, the process is different from what engineers are used to using.  The learning curve suggested (in 2008) was between three and six-months.  Fischer and Kunz discuss the need for software support to speed up analysis time and reduce errors.  

I talk about a lot of these items making the work of an engineer harder, however, once we know the process (and the software becomes more compatible, which it has over the years), time and money is saved.  This is most blatant when you consider RFIs.  By the time a request comes to the engineer, the engineer has already moved onto a new project.  This requires the engineer to take time out of that project to familiarize themselves with the problem area, redesign the area, and send the response off to everyone on the project (and hope it works).  Most problems are mitigated before construction even starts.  Additionally, all project documents are linked, which is not only good for engineers,  but construction managers as well (BIM Handbook: Chapter 6)

REFERENCES:

1. Fortner, Brian.  Special Report: Are You Ready For BIM.  Civil Engineering The Online Magazine.  May 2008.
2. Fishcer, Martin, and Kunz, John.  "The Scope and Role of Information Technology in Construction." Stanford University.  February 2004.
3. Strafaci, Adam. What Does BIM Mean for Civil Engineers. CE News. October 2008. http://www.cenews.com/magazine-article----what_does_bim_mean_for_civil_engineers_-6098.html

COMMENTS ON OTHERS POSTS:

Ryan:
I appreciate that you shared your experiences.  Everything you mentioned about your experiences lines up with what I read about!  Granted, my articles were from 2004-2008, but I feel like the only ways to point out the cons for engineers and BIM is discussing the transition made from 3D models.  Overall, after the learning curve, I agree that the advantages out weigh the time spent learning.

Michael:
I like how clearly you identified the advantages of BIM to improve the functions of a building, but did any of your research discuss ways BIM has degraded buildings?  With the research I did for how BIM relates to engineers, most of the ways BIM hindered the work of engineers was in the early stages of firms adopting BIM due to the learning curves for employees.  I feel like the only ways I would see BIM harming the design of a building is if the software was incompatible and lead to wrong results, or someone interpreted the results improperly due to insufficient use of the software.

Brian:
I found it interesting that Autodesk acquired Revit. I always assumed Autodesk built it. Additionally, the fact that they foresaw the need for a program to include all of these things and invest that much money into a software for an industry that has a history of being fairly static.