BIMable.org » building information modeling

Building Information Models Become Portable [iPad] [iPhone]

Travis Reinke — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:28:22 +0000

While there are numerous 3D model applications available for the iPhone, iPad and Android, there has not been an application that provides a portable “intelligent model” until now. goBIM, developed by Ian Keough senior technical designer at Buro Happold, is a tool for browsing Building Information Models on your iPhone (an iPad-specific version in the process of being approved for the Apple App Store). As for Android availability, commenters on Ian’s goBIM website state that it should not be difficult to tailor this application for Android once the game engine goBIM is based on has been updated.

Currently the application will only handle small files and is primarily web-based, so there are still limitations. However, kudos to Mr. Keough for being the first to provide a solution with such tremendous potential.

Having the ability to access Building Information Models on portable devices will someday allow facility managers to easily identify issues, create work orders, and aid in critical response by using Augmented Reality. During the construction phase of a new project, contractors will be able to walk through a site with their iPhone, Android or iPad and see any phase of the project overlaid on the portable device using the its digital camera. The benefits and possibilities are endless.

BIMable will be keeping a close watch on this technology and will post updates as it matures. In the meantime, be sure to congratulate Mr. Keough and provide input on his contribution to the industry.

Cars are Good, Buildings are Bad — We Need Another National Lab

Travis Reinke — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:16:31 +0000

The title is not completely correct, cars are not really good, but they are less bad than buildings.

We hear constantly:

“Cars cause Global Warming” (more accurately contribute to Climate Change).
People are purchasing hybrids to do their part to help save the earth and lower our need for fuel.

We rarely hear:

Buildings are the main problem. (They are)

BIM, specifically the data component, holds great promise to dramatically improve the performance and operation of buildings, as well as insuring that ecologically superior building products are specified. BIM is dependent upon accurate and available data.

In November I attended the Greenbuild Conference and Exhibition in Phoenix. There were hundreds of presentations, 1,800 booths (mostly Building Product Manufacturers) and over 24,000 attendees — more attendees than either the AIA or CSI National Conferences and Exhibitions. Al Gore was the keynote speaker. What is remarkable about this conference is that it clearly demonstrates that the architects, engineers, contractors and owners (private and government) are aware of the importance of the “green” movement. While many people have known of the advantages of well designed buildings for both energy savings and people productivity increases for decades, it has only been in the last few years that their efforts have turned into a movement.

There are fundamentally two components that determine if you have a “green” building:

Design – Site selection, orientation, massing, shading, layout, mechanical and lighting conceptual approach, etc.
Materials and Equipment – Specific products, carpet, tile, paint and equipment, fans, chillers, light fixtures and lamps, etc.

If you have a great design concept but select poorly performing materials and equipment the results of your efforts will be minimized. At Greenbuild, manufacturers promoted their messages as “green” manufacturers. The challenge to those that select and specify manufacturer products is finding out specifics on the products “greenness”, how it quantitatively compares to other products and what approaches were used to make the claims. For example a product could perform extremely well within the building environment but have major negatives associated with its manufacturing process, component materials, or disposal at the end of the buildings life. You need much more information than you can easily find to make the best selection, and you need this information on hundreds of thousands of products and materials.

The selection process becomes even more difficult because the manufacturer’s products data is supplied based upon the products in a “stand alone” condition. Little data is available on how products and equipment combine to perform in the assemblies that are the building. How the window frame is attached to the building structure will greatly determine heat gain and heat loss. We have data on the building wall, and the frame and glass, but what about the performance of the connection of the two elements?

Today BIM is really BiM; we need to get the “i” to grow up to a big “I”. We need more information on products and assemblies. Where are we going to get that information?

Many manufacturers have tremendous testing facilities. US Gypsum has very sophisticated facilities. There are private labs like UL and the NAHB Research Center, there are Universities that have focused programs, the military has research programs such as those managed by the Corp of Engineers, and there are the National Labs like the Lawrence-Berkeley Lab that has a massive collection of data on glass performance.

There is no one Lab devoted to buildings; the materials, assemblies, and design influences on performance. The construction industry is the largest industry in the world, buildings account for almost 50% of all the energy consumed in the world (cars account for 12%). Building construction costs and operations are the largest expense, after employees, for most companies. Through proper design, material selections and operations these costs can be reduced 30%. Buildings are often one of the greatest assets of a company, but only if they have maintained their value and not fall into disrepair or become obsolete.

Automobile manufacturers know tremendous amounts of information on every part and piece that goes into their cars; they are tested, modified, and improved on a continual basis. Cars cost about the same per square foot as a new furnished building, and I have yet to have a sunroof on a car leak, yet I have not seen a building that did not have at least one roof leak. We also know how to make informed purchasing decisions on a car because we have massive amounts of data on performance, options, resale value, reliability and the prestige factor. Ask a car purchaser if they will spend $1,600 more for the sport suspension they can make a quick decision, ask if they want to spend $200 more for a more efficient light fixture and you may get a blank stare. There is simply no easy way to get the data to answer all the questions on the performance and impact of a more efficient light fixture, door, window, etc.

A couple of years ago a collection of architects were asked what contributed to greenhouse gas emissions, the list of options included cars and trucks as well as buildings, the group indicated that 40% was caused by cars and trucks and seven percent from buildings. The actual answer was 12% from cars and trucks and 42% from buildings. If you do not know what is causing a major problem there is a good chance you will not contribute to the solution, so step one to making buildings less bad is that the owners, architects and engineers need to know what is creating the problems, step two is to give them the detailed and scientific information they need to solve the problems through an interface that makes searching for and finding the information needed at the time it is needed.

The National Building Lab

There are several National Labs in the US (Lawrence Berkeley, Sandia, Oak Ridge, Brookhaven, Argonne, Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, Pacific Northwest), that focus primarily on defense, nuclear, weapons but also health issues, renewable energy, building component performance and other building related research. We need one more National Lab, one devoted entirely to buildings and the integration and performance of the standalone components as a building system. Because of the National Labs we know tremendous amounts of information, information that has led to making the county more prosperous and powerful. Buildings and their negative inefficiencies upon energy use, people performance and productivity are a major problem that needs to be given the attention that will come from a National Lab devoted to buildings.

Imagine if all the buildings constructed in the US in the last 20 years used 50% less energy than they do, what would that have meant for the need to import oil? What would it have meant for global climate change? There is absolutely no reason that all these buildings could not be using 50% less energy today, except they were not built to do so. What a tragedy if 20 years from now someone asks the same questions about the buildings constructed in the last 20 years. Today in Europe there are buildings that use 1/20 the energy of comparable US buildings.

We need a Lab where:

Entire buildings can be constructed, tested, modified, retested, perfected and then reported upon.
Assemblies can be tested and compared to other assemblies. (When is it better to have highly insulated walls, when is it better to have thermal mass)
Products and materials tested for reliability and performance. (When and why is the $200 more expensive light fixture the right fixture to be specified)
Products and materials studied for their total “green” value by investigating their complete lifecycle of all its parts and pieces, performance and maintenance requirements.
New products, concepts and processes can be discovered and invented.
The information collected is widely distributed to these responsible for our built environment.
Software tools can be created to bring the information needed at the moment in time that it is need and in easy to understand and apply detail.

We need to do research on the value of spaces, do patients get better faster in single rooms or two person rooms, do they get better if the window is large or small, or if it looks out to a wall or a park.

We can make our environment better but we need better data that is widely available.

The cost of such a Lab will be insignificant compared to the construction cost and environmental savings.

Please give me your thoughts, and contacts that can foster this idea further.

Source: http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/news/2009/12/cars-are-good-buildings-are-bad-we-need-another-national-lab/

New Online Course from RedVector Details the Basics of BIM

Travis Reinke — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:15:05 +0000

Two-hour interactive online offering for design and construction professionals explains Building Information Modeling – how it works, who can benefit, and why it’s important

To help architects, engineers, contractors and other design professionals keep up with the rapidly evolving world of virtual modeling technology, RedVector is pleased to release “Building Information Modeling (BIM): An Introduction.”

The course covers the ways that a Building Information Model can use a digital representation of the physical and functional characteristics of a facility to enable collaboration among all the stakeholders on a project, and shows how it can increase productivity from the planning stages through the finished product. The origins of BIM are discussed, along with some common limitations, current standardization activities, and its increasing popularity as a primary tool in the industry for project information and coordination.

“Because Building Information Modeling is so effective for helping pros pull together and organize data from the many different sectors involved in planning, it naturally follows that BMI can save time on a project and improve quality while decreasing costs,” says Jeff Nippes, RedVector’s Product Development Coordinator. “It’s quickly becoming essential for industry professionals to have a working knowledge of BIM.”

Because BIM already offers advantages as a single source of building information for the design and construction processes and may eventually impact the entire industry, RedVector will continue to keep A/E/C professionals informed with courses like “Building Information Modeling (BIM): An Introduction” as new developments begin to unfold.

About RedVector
RedVector sets the standard of excellence in online continuing education for licensed and certified professionals in the engineering, architectural, construction and long-term healthcare industries. With an online library exceeding 1,000 courses, authored by more than 100 subject matter experts and spanning all 50 states, RedVector serves more than 130,000 design and construction professionals. The recipient of numerous community honors and industry awards, RedVector was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. For further information call 1-866-546-1212 or visit www.redvector.com.

Contact:
Victoria Zambito
VP Marketing
RedVector 866.328.8883
Victoria.Zambito@redvector.com
4890 West Kennedy Boulevard
Suite 740
Tampa, Florida 33609

ecoScorecard Advances BIM Capabilities With Google SketchUp™ Integration

Travis Reinke — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:09:25 +0000

Phoenix, November 11, 2009 – ecoScorecard, the technology platform that helps building product specifiers evaluate environmental attributes of products, today revealed the new ecoScorecard plug-in that works with Google SketchUp and provides a critical link between popular BIM (Building Information Modeling) tools and important environmental rating systems such as LEED. The announcement was made today in conjunction with the opening of the US Green Building Council’s annual Greenbuild Expo.

The new integration will enable users to easily access environmental product attributes and rating system calculations for ecoScorecard enabled products that are in the Google 3D Warehouse, resulting in faster and more accurate rating system documentation for Google SketchUp users.

“The BIM process is built on the concept of coordinated information, and ecoScorecard takes that process a step further by providing an immediate to link to environmental product attributes and rating system calculations,” said Martin Flaherty, president of ecoScorecard. “Users can now pull data from ecoScorecard enabled products directly into the model and use that information throughout the design process.”

Introduced in 2007, ecoScorecard provides product specifiers with the ability to search and evaluate products based on environmental characteristics. The program does the calculations necessary for rating systems such as LEED, GGHC Labs 21, CHPS, and the NAHB Green Home Building Guidelines and includes and accounts for other third-party product certifications. The tool also produces the product documentation necessary for inclusion in the submission process. ecoScorecard is free to users and is supported by manufacturers interested in making the specification of green products easier for both their customers and their salespeople.

“Our original mission for ecoScorecard was to help make the specification of green products easier, and that has not changed,” explained Paul Shahriari, CEO of ecoScorecard. “Now, parallel to the growth of the green building movement, BIM is changing the entire building process. Never before has there been a single system that could provide context to all parties thinking about building. And the ecoScorecard technology platform is perfectly poised to link environmental product attributes and rating systems to BIM tools.”

Mr. Shahriari explained that ecoScorecard’s initial BIM integration was designed for Google SketchUp because of the accessibility and popularity of a Google tool. Plug-ins for other BIM tools such as Revit are slated for release next year.

For more information, visit http://ecoscorecard.com/.

# # #

Media Contact: Reva Revis, ecoScorecard
reva@ecoscorecard.com 312.929.5025

LEED is a registered trademark of the U.S. Green Building Council
Google SketchUp is a registered trademarks of Google, Inc.
Revit is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc.

GSA Awards Ten Nationwide BIM Services IDIQ Contracts

Travis Reinke — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:06:51 +0000

The General Services Administration (GSA), Public Buildings Services (PBS), has officially awarded ten Nationwide Building Information Modeling (BIM) Services IDIQ Contracts to the following firms:

Congratulations to all of these firms! It will be interesting to see how much work actually comes out of this contract and how it will impact the architectural industry. Be sure to follow us on Twitter to get the latest updates on this monumental contract award.

Building Information Modeling: Content, Collaboration and Construction

Travis Reinke — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:38:56 +0000

On September 22, 2009, the AIA Houston BIM Association hosted their Fall seminar titled Building Information Modeling: Content, Collaboration and Construction. Presented by Jeff Chittenden, AIA (WHR Architects) and Jim Jacobi, P.E. (Walter P. Moore), this seminar was a discussion on model content, (where to find it, how to make it, and what should it be), collaboration, (how to collaborate with consultants, owners and contractors), and construction (how does the contractor use BIM and what do they expect).

McGraw-Hill Construction Presents National Conference on Business Benefits of Building Information Modeling, Sep. 21-22, in San Francisco

Travis Reinke — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:41:16 +0000

NEW YORK, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire/ — The rapid emergence of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) technologies is revolutionizing the way architecture, engineering and construction firms work together to communicate, solve problems and build better projects. To bring design and construction professionals closer to BIM’s benefits, McGraw-Hill Construction will host a national conference on the “Business of BIM” on September 21-22, 2009, at the Mission Bay Conference Center at the University of California, San Francisco.

More than 200 design and construction professionals and affiliates will convene to discuss the business benefits of BIM, present projected effects on the bottom line, and detail case studies that have demonstrated real, measurable results. Attendees will have direct access to BIM technologies, including those new to the market, and will have the opportunity to analyze trends alongside the foremost BIM thought-leaders.

“BIM capability is increasingly becoming mission-critical, both for winning work and improving productivity,” said Stephen Jones, Senior Director, McGraw-Hill Construction, who will present highlights from McGraw-Hill Construction’s new research report on the nationwide adoption and business value of BIM. “In challenging economic times, companies need an edge to survive, and the Business of BIM Conference will equip them to survive, and indeed, thrive.”

David R. Van Wyk, Executive Director, Project Management, Walt Disney Imagineering, will present the keynote address. Other distinguished speakers include:

- Digby Christian, Senior Project Manager, Sutter Health
- Derek Cunz, Director of Project Development, Mortenson Construction
- Samir Emdanat, Director, Virtual Design & Construction, GHAFARI
- John Mack, VDC/BIM Manager, Herrero Contractors, Inc.
- Patrick MacLeamy, CEO, HOK
- Ben May, Owner & Founder, May Construction Services
- John Moebes, AIA NCARB, Director of Construction, Crate & Barrel
- David Morris, Director of Virtual Construction, EMCOR Construction Services
- Brady Nadell, PE, Project Manager, PB Americas, Inc.
- George A. Pontikes, Jr., President/CEO, Satterfield & Pontikes Construction, Inc.
- Nadine M. Post, Editor-at-Large, Engineering News-Record
- R. Scott Ricks, Owner, South Central Steel, Inc.
- Igor Starkov, President, Tokmo Solutions, Inc.

For more information and online registration, visit http://construction.com/events/natlbim/ or call 1-800-371-3238. Special rates apply for associations, media, and groups of 4 or more, and attendees can earn 7 HSW AIA Continuing Education Credits. In addition to the national conference, local events will take place this fall in Orlando (9/15), New York (9/30), Texas (10/21-23), and Chicago (10/27).

The Business of BIM is produced by McGraw-Hill Construction. The buildingSMART alliance and the Mechanical Contractors Association of America, Inc. are Silver Association Sponsors. Association Media Event Sponsors include the American Institute of Architects California Council, the Society for Marketing Professionals, and the U.S. Green Building Council-Los Angeles Chapter.

About McGraw-Hill Construction

McGraw-Hill Construction connects people, projects and products across the design and construction industry. For more than a century, the Company has remained North America’s leading provider of construction project information, plans and specifications, product information, industry news, and industry trends and forecasts. In print and online, the Company offers a variety of tools, applications, and resources that easily integrate with its customers’ workflows. Backed by the power of Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, Engineering News-Record, GreenSource,and 11 regional publications, McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers within the $5.6 trillion global construction community. To learn more, visit www.construction.com or follow @mhconstruction on Twitter.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor’s, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2008 were $6.4 billion. Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com

UPDATE: GSA Nationwide BIM/Laser Scanning Services Contract Awards

Travis Reinke — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:16:59 +0000

The word on the street is that the General Services Administration (GSA)has notified firms selected for Nationwide BIM and Laser Scanning Services contracts this morning. The selected firms will begin contract negotiations this week. No details have been given as to which firms were selected just yet, but follow us on Twitter or check back here for updates as we get more information.

UPDATE: August 25, 2009 – Contracts were awarded on both a regional and national basis. More to come…