Donahue - Group D - Uses of Databases in Design Offices

Donahue - Group D - Uses of Databases in Design Offices

A database is defined as “a structured set of data held in a computer, especially one that is accessible in various ways.” Databases are used in many fields of professional work. However, this post will focus on the uses of databases in design offices for engineering. In the engineering profession, databases can be found in almost any location because they are the fundamental basis for most of the design software tools that engineers use daily.

Aside from this obvious use in design offices, I decided to explore other uses and came across an article from ASCE. The article states that by 2025, the entire civil engineering profession will be enamored solely on fast tracking construction and development and deployment of technologies. Steps are already being taken in this field by designers and researchers, as technology continues to evolve itself and the engineering profession. Such benefits are listed, including improvements in the processes of design, engineering, building, and maintaining. Of course, these technological advancements will continue to push the limits of these facets and will also create new applications for engineers and designers to use.

Engineers are already seeing some of these advancements push the limits through the practice of “leveraging real-time access to living databases, sensors, diagnostic tools, and other advanced technologies to ensure informed [design] decisions are made.” Relating this all back to how databases can be used in design offices is simple: design offices use databases every day for “highly-integrated planning and construction tools” where “data flows freely and is available at all times, representing current conditions.” From there, as the design and construction advance, these databases will continually be updated and these current conditions analyzed, with the key benefit being that “latent defects are addressed early in the design, and flowed back into the parent database” and the analytical and design processes continue.

This is a classic example of the growing field of intelligent infrastructure (or even intelligent buildings, if you will). And while other technologies, such as sensors, are required to work in association, databases are at the forefront of this growing field. Data is always readily accessible on almost any device now and informed design and construction decisions can be made as a consequence. Accuracy and precision are also improved because important information is properly organized and stored, for all to access. To close, I always like to add in personal experience to help defend my commentary. In my three co-op experiences (all design firms), databases were utilized daily by all engineers. There were several databases, each with varying functions and purpose. These include shop drawing logs, master drawings, as-builts, design logs, etc. And of course, the information kept in these databases was specific to each.

The design logs were most intriguing because it utilized this concept I presented in this blog post of integrated design. Necessary HVAC information was continuous analyzed and updated in an existing building and it was datalinked into the model. Thus, as the database updated itself so did the model. It truly helped with the design process to avoid mistakes and defects and also created more ease for the engineer, as was discussed in last week’s posting. Depending on what information you were specifically interested in viewing or accessing, you could also just run a set of queries to narrow down the return from 16,000 entries to a more manageable number. This concept of queries and SQL is brought up in both Ivan’s and Audrey’s posts and is very comprehensive.

Databases are powerful tools and their application in design offices is astounding. And with ASCE hoping that this intelligent infrastructure (and I.B.) concept takes off by 2025 or earlier, it creates an excitement for future applications and the pushing of the limits of design.

Comments on Other Entries:

On Ivan’s Post:

    Great post, very comprehensive. Your first paragraph was very informative about the true definitions of various elements of general databases and then you defined specific ones such as RDBMS and their use of SQL. I really liked how you focused the remainder of your post on the comparisons and capabilities of relational databases and how they can improve the formulating of specifications. This is a benefit that a majority of the class will be specifically interested in as structural engineers.

On Audrey’s Post:

   Great job on your post about SQL. I’ve had some experience coding the queries of databases that were used in design offices and like you stated, it can be very complex sometimes and also requires some other programs/language for complete successful capabilities.

Resources:

[1.]  ASCE. "The Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025." Asce.org. ASCE, 2007. Web. 10

Feb. 2014. <http://www.asce.org/uploadedFiles/Vision_2025_-_New/TheVisionforCivilEngineeringin2025_ASCE.pdf>.

3D Pirating by Mike Wright & Teddy Bruder

Description of Project

3D printing is something that is becoming very popular in future technologies. It will soon be an everyday household item that everyone uses and is proficient at. It will be so common to the point where most of online shopping will be printed at home. This is a very optimistic outlook at what 3D printing will become, but is also not far off of what it can become. This arises the concern for pirating. Once upon a time everyone had to pay for music and movies off the internet, but now everyone downloads everything illegally, and that is what could happen with 3D printing. So we will cover the possibilities of pirating and the protective measures that must be taken into account before it is too late.

Why we Chose Our Project

We chose this project because it is a real possibility and is not far in the future. This is a real issue that could cause pandemonium. People see 3D printing as a very optimistic future and really only think about the wonderful possibilities of 3D printing, never the downsides of 3D printing and the negative effect of it. Plus everyone loves some good drama.

Challenges

Challenges faced during this project will be finding adequate and reliable data to define what the future holds for 3D printing. While 3D printers are a hot technological item currently, there is not much discussion based upon the negative impacts. People are more interested in the possibility of being able to print a pair of boots from amazon rather than consider the impact it has of the postal service or the manufactures. Data may be slim with this look into the subject. Another challenge will be developing or finding restrictions that will be put on these devices to control illegal downloading and printing. If this technology becomes available to the public, overly-restricting the technology will turn people away and reduce the possible advancement in 3D printing. 

Deliverables

For this project the main deliverable will be a paper of 1,750 words or more. A powerpoint project will also be created to present our research and paper.

Relation to Intelligent Buildings

It is possible that 3D printers may one day be capable of printing buildings. While this capability is exciting, it is also dangerous. This project will look deeply into manual labor vs. intelligent buildings and whether or not they can coexist or if the advancement of automated manufacturing will destroy the jobs of manual laborers.  

Project Outline

1. Introduction
1. 3-D printing is a recent development in manufacturing that allows a user to develop a model to be mass produced. This essentially cuts out manufactures of these items. Designers of the models can potentially design, manufacture, and sell the good all in-house. In the future, it may be possible for 3-D printers to be a household item where users can purchase the rights to a model and print at their home. While this technology has great capabilities, it may prove detrimental to many aspects of society.  
2. 3-D Printing- Current State
1. Discuss the current state of 3-D printing and their capabilities.
1. Background information
2. Discuss limitations of current technology.
1. Cost of equipment
2. Ease of use
3. 3-D Printing- Future State
1. Explain what is possible with future technology
1. Future cost
2. Household item possibility
2. Discuss future plans for commercial 3-D printing
1. How will it be incorporated into traditional manufacturing?
3. What is theoretically possible for 3-D printers to achieve?
1. Food
2. Homes
3. Vehicles
4. Pirating
1. Discuss limitations of online piracy in its current state.
2. Explain how being able to access to pirated 3-D plans could affect the industry.
3. Research and explain the potential dangers of this.
1. People illegally downloading weapons.
5. Social Impacts
1. How will the job market be affected if people can print clothing, electronics, or even homes?
2. Will this benefit or harm society in the long run?
6. Regulations
1. What regulations will need to put on 3-D printers in order to stop illegal activities?
2. How will these restrictions limit the capabilities of future 3-D printers?
7. Conclusion

Comment on Other Blog Post
To Dave Barbalace:
I personally think that 3D printing an entire house would be difficult unless they are small in size. I felt like having a 3D printer that big is unpractical and would take as much time to construct as a house would. I look forward to seeing what you come up with and it seems like a very difficult but interesting topic. Over all good post, thorough but short and sweet outline, getting straight to the point so I don't have to read as much, I like that.

To Brian Benson

Brain,

I believe this is a very interesting topic. Most people assume that sustainability and intelligent buildings coincide with each other. It will be interesting to see if that is actually true. I personally believe that sustainability should be a prime concern in intelligent buildings but it is possible that your research may prove otherwise. I look forward to hearing about your results and potential improvements for intelligent building design. 

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.

Week 4 - BIM Makes Engineer's Work Easier vs. Harder

The topic I chose to discuss in this week's blog post is whether BIM tools make the engineer's work easier versus making their work harder. There are several scenarios and thought processes that this topic can inspire and I decided to briefly discuss a few of them using two sources as well as personal experiences.

In order to make the determination of whether BIM tools make an engineer's work easier or harder, we must first understand what BIM is and what its advantages and disadvantages are. The source I’ve used for these comparisons is from Precise Drafting, Inc. In a simplistic manner, they list 4 advantages to BIM and 4 disadvantages.

The advantages are:

• 3D views
• easy changes
• coordinated drawings
• material takeoffs

The disadvantages are:

• requires more input effort but outputs greater quality
• since changes are so easy, clients desire changes often and sometimes late in the design process, resulting in larger costs
• uses extremely large file sizes and also requires higher computing power and hardware to often efficiently
• poor compatibility across software

As many students in this course realize from their use of BIM tools, the advantages list can be even more broadly expanded to all of the great features available. However, it is hard to overlook one of the disadvantages. Like I stated in my previous blog post, it is my personal experience from co-ops that the user input effort required by BIM software such as Revit is astronomical compared with drafting in, say, AutoCAD. From a practicing engineer’s standpoint, they have probably used AutoCAD daily for the majority of their entire career and they are very familiar and comfortable with its functions, shortcuts, and interface. However, with BIM technology advancing and finally being implemented at design firms (during my co-op), many engineers struggled with using these new tools. Most everything about it is vastly different and it requires a potentially long adjustment period. Coupled with poor compatibility across other software, these disadvantages are major and must be considered when deciding whether an engineer’s work becomes easier or harder thanks to BIM.

My other source, a report from Auburn University, describes the recent attention BIM has received from the A/E/C community and its influences. From the business side of engineering, BIM allows for over 9000% ROI per this report's case studies. That means bigger revenues are generated and the opportunities for more work also likely increases as well. In a study that was included in the report, the following two conclusions were drawn:

• “Approximately 70% of the industry participants indicated that they are either using or considering using BIM in their companies. This trend indicates that the BIM utilization in the construction industry is going to increase.”
• “Approximately 75% of survey participants consider employment candidates with BIM skills to have an advantage over candidates who lack BIM knowledge.”

From this, it can be deduced that firms realize the benefits and are mostly all using BIM tools at their companies. These same companies see it as vitally important that employees have BIM skills and experience.

Considering other students’ posts, I looked at Ivan’s post, Teddy's post, and Audrey's post. In these posts, they depict the benefits of BIM including its ability to track changes and even allow for coordinated drawings where those changes are made in more than one facet of the model. This allows for more ease in making adjustments to the design when compared to 2D modeling tools such as AutoCAD. Their posts also discuss the impact of BIM on building designs and how advanced designs are being achieved by utilizing the advantages of BIM tools. Teddy also uses his beliefs and experiences to portray the key differences and defend his conclusion about whether it is easier or harder.

Conclusion:

After considering my two sources, other students’ posts, and my personal experiences, I can conclude that ultimately, an engineer’s work is made easier, but only after the adjustment period to BIM tools is completed. Unless the employees have prior computer skills, this adjustment period is imperative to the rate of work and quality of work by that firm. Once completed, however, it is without question that I can say that the engineer’s work will be made easier, more efficient, and like some of my classmates have stated like Audrey, it will allow for advanced designs.

Comments:

 - On Ivan's post:
Ivan, great post! I really like how you compare and contrast BIM and CAD drafting tools by taking a look at what each does well and what each lacks in. Although a different topic, I too looked into the advantages and disadvantages to BIM. I also really liked in your second paragraph how you discussed how CAD operates in regards to simply mating two objects or lines, etc. Like you say, this leaves out a lot of design in regards to the connections, true spacing, and how everything truly interacts. Revit, on the other hand, is so precise that it requires at least some restrictions and knowledge in this design area, which can be good and bad, depending on the situation.

 - On Audrey's post:
Great work on your post Audrey. I like how you took your topic into how BIM help to make buildings go greener. Sustainability, its awareness, and its design features are a facet of engineering that is growing at a rapid pace and when I read the topic, I did not initially think of it. However, you bring up some excellent points and raised my awareness of BIM benefits in this field.

Feedback for Professor Mitchell:
I strongly feel that using the post and posting the materials and clearly posting what was expected the following week was a great way of dealing with the snow day and loss of class. It was effective and we were still able to continue moving forward with class despite the lost day.

Resources:

1.  Azhar, Salman, Michael Hein, and Blake Sketo. Building Information Modeling (BIM): Benefits, Risks and Challenges. Rep. Auburn University, n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.

2.  "What Is BIM?" Precise Drafting, Inc. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014. <http://www.precisedraftinginc.com/bim.html>.