5 Steps To An Efficient Workflow : BIM Design And Implementation

Background:

I sat down last week with an engineer who has worked in the industry even longer than I have. We discussed the current state of design technology and its implementation. Our industry is in flux, on the precipice of possibilities. BIM offers us tools to increase productivity and efficiency in design and management as well as implementation, construction, and maintenance. But roles and responsibilities are changing.

In an earlier post I talked about what we, as contractors, expect from architects and engineers when we're given a project for pricing and what we more often get. My most recent project consisted of a set of architectural drawings, from which I needed to provide a take-off for estimating a budget price. To do this required designing the plumbing system from concept drawings that hadn't been sent to an engineer yet.

At this point in the bumpy ride toward BIM technology everyone is feeling their way in the dark and the lines between design and build are blurred like never before. Who does what, when? That question is being answered in as many ways as there are projects. The next design I look at may be a complete Revit model or a sketch on paper. Uncertainty isn't good for production or the bottom line.

Most of my conversation with the engineer concerned that very question. How far does he take his design and when does he hand it off to me. We are all looking for efficient workflows with minimal reworking. In the past engineers developed a design in AutoCAD, or by hand, and handed off a set of blueprints to the builder. So where does BIM, 3D modeling, and coordination fall in?

My friend the engineer provided great insight into decades of design work and I threw in my decades of work in the field implementing those designs. Together we found some basic parameters for adding BIM to the process and, I think, an efficient workflow that minimizes overlap. Every project is unique, and different engineers and contractors have varying capabilities and needs. But there are commonalities enough for standardization.

For the sake of simplicity the basic process of taking a project from concept to finish product can be broken down into five basic steps: Design, Price, Model, Coordinate, and Build. Of course these areas overlap and inform each other, but they are separate enough for our purposes. I will show those areas of overlap as we go and what one area needs to take from another. Let's start with Design.

Design:

The design process takes an owner's vision from initial concept through a workable design. The basic structure is defined along with layout of main MEP systems and equipment. Contractors can use this to generate material take-offs and estimate labor and material costs. This design does not need to be completely detailed and ready for construction.

One of the points the engineer made concerned AutoCAD versus Revit in basic design. Revit models building information. It is a true BIM modeling tool, but plugging in all that data is time consuming. During the design phase information is changing and dynamic, and we've established our basic design doesn't need that level of detail.

It is much more efficient, in the early stages of design, to simple draw the structure and MEP systems in AutoCAD. What builders need for their cost estimates is, as I said before, basic lay-outs and equipment schedules. If the A/E spend time creating a detailed model in Revit, much of that work will require changing later on in other phases; as we shall see.

Pricing:

During the pricing phase builders and contractors take the drawings or basic model the A/E provides and generate cost estimates. Often contractors see ways that cost can be reduced and/or time saved by slight changes to the design. Alternates can be requested or offered and the most economic design can move on to the next phase.

This is where a detailed model becomes cumbersome as the design changes slightly, but the model requires a lot of time to edit all of the pertinent data. This is not to say we couldn't or shouldn't start from the beginning in Revit. A basic model can be produced in Revit without the tons of data in a detailed BIM model; that can all be added later. But an AutoCAD drawing is sufficient at this stage and can be imported in Revit when the full BIM model is developed. Which is the next phase.

Modeling:

Once prices, materials, and schedules are hammered out, and the design documents reflect any changes made, it's time to build a more detailed model. This may be performed by the A/E, or by individual contractors with the A/E's oversight and approval. In the industry we refer to that as design assist. This phase goes hand-and-glove with the traditional process of contractors submitting data on materials and equipment they plan to use on the project to the A/E.

There will be further changes to the model, but during this phase a BIM model takes shape as actual material and equipment data is entered. If the basic design was in Revit we fill in, or edit, real-world data where needed. If AutoCAD was used we import the .DWG files and begin modeling using them as our guide. Again, routing and equipment placement are subject to change, so we keep it basic, but material types and equipment are set so we apply all those details.

This phase provides us with a solid working model to take into coordination. 

Coordination:

Coordination is the heart of BIM. During this phase we take the building model and the various MEP models and work out any conflicts that emerge. Our models must be sufficiently detailed to make those conflicts apparent, yet fluid enough for changes to resolve those clashes. Equipment may be moved or piping rerouted, but the core data of material types and equipment types doesn't change.

Detailing the model continues throughout this phase. By the end of coordination the model should be a true representation of what the construction personnel will install on site. Details, spool drawings, and elevations can be produced as needed through the building phase. Points can be established for layout, and material list generated for purchasing.

Building:

During the building phase the model is used for construction. Very few changes are made unless previously unknown field conditions require a change, or the owner requests a change. These changes are made as needed, in a timely manner, to keep the model up-to-date throughout construction. Additional data can also be added to the model during this time to meet owner requirements at close-out; operation and maintenance data, warranties, valve charts, etc.

At the end of construction the model, if kept up to date, should reflect the actual conditions and contain any additional information requested by the owner in the contract. The BIM model has become your As-Built model and contains all of your close-out documentation in one Revit file. 

Conclusion:

In the real world the outlines of these basic steps will inevitably blur and shift as various stakeholders shoulder sundry responsibilities in designing and building different projects. There will be overlap, wasted work, and conflicts, but the field is clearing and in a few years standards will emerge and best practices will evolve. For now we need to continue looking for the most efficient ways to get the job done.

All of these steps need to happen on any project implementing BIM design and coordination for an efficient workflow. Who does what when must be considered, and possibly negotiated, but the work needs to get done. BIM can and does provide us with the tools for greater efficiency and therefore higher profits if we use it intelligently.

If you have thoughts, questions, or ideas on the best ways to implement Building Information Technology in your business model send me an EMAIL or leave a comment below.

Details, Details. What Information Do You Need?

Five basic Levels of Development (LOD) are generally accepted for Revit and 3-D modeling files in the construction industry. They give a bare bones scale of detail present in the model and its components. These are often referred to in construction documents to represent what the owner/design-team/contractor expect at different phases of a project. Let's take a look.

LOD 100 

This level has the least amount of detail and is used at the beginning of the design phase for conceptual drafts. At this level the model has little of the detailed information we expect in a BIM model, and is better described as a three dimensional sketch.

LOD 200 

At this level the model begins to take shape with basic MEP layouts and equipment placement. You can probably print drawings and project cost estimates from the model, but there isn't enough information for coordination and much of the detailed information still needs to be plugged in.

LOD 300

At this point the model is a more accurate representation of what will be constructed, with fixture / equipment placement and hook-ups, pipe/duct/conduit runs in place, and information included for key components. BIM Coordination can begin, product data can be submitted and approved, conflict resolution and QE changes can be made, and shop drawings  incorporated.

LOD 400 

This could be called the Building Model. Coordination is complete. Approved materials are represented and manufacturer data is linked to fixtures / equipment. Shop drawings and details are modeled and available for fabrication. The model is no longer conceptual. It is a virtual replica of what is to be built. Fab shops can pull out spool drawings and tradesmen can work to the model.

LOD 500

The highest level of detail represents the project "As-Built" and includes all engineering and O&M data necessary to manage and maintain the facility and equipment. The model has been tweaked to include any changes made during construction. Fixture, equipment, and material families contain all data needed by the owner going forward. This includes panel labels, valve charts, flow settings, and any other information requested by the owner in the contract.

But even at LOD 500 the model isn't "finished". BIM models are fluid and can be tweaked, added to, and changed by the owner as the building itself changes. Owners can note repairs, replacements, additions and keep their model up to date.

These levels are not always strictly adhered to. Construction may begin with a model at LOD 200 and the owner may only require an "As-Built" model of LOD 300. But in a perfect world the development of a BIM model would follow this path. Contractors can reasonably expect a model of at least LOD 200  to bid from and begin coordination, but that isn't always the case. In some instances the A/E may manage the model throughout the development, and in others the contractor may be called on to detail the model.

So, where do we get all of this information and when do we plug it all it. It does make a difference and unless you want to do everything twice -- or three times -- you want to work toward the correct level of detail and follow a logical workflow. In my next post I'll walk through a suggested workflow to take a model from LOD 100 to LOD 500 with a minimal amount of backtracking and editing.

Until then I'll leave you with a video from SysQue on what they can add to Revit. This isn't an endorsement, I'm just sharing. I'll dig more into it and post a review in the future. For now, enjoy the video and the potential for your BIM. And let me know what you think. Comment below or drop me an EMAIL.

How Much is BIM Going to Cost?

If you've looked into the cost of available BIM software you probably have sticker shock. BIM software can run into the thousands, even tens-of-thousands of dollars. Then you have training. Add some more digits. And the cost of another employee to run it all. It may not seem worth the investment. But let's step back and take a realistic look.

You can get the full Autodesk Building Design Suite (Premium) for around $450 a month. Think about that, and put it into perspective. How much do you spend to rent a mini excavator for a week? Twice that at least. We're only talking $100 a week! Less than what that piece of equipment costs per day. And how much are you paying the operator?

That's not a big investment, and like every other job expense – from men, to equipment, to material – your computers and BIM software should be in your bid price. It's a cost associated with the job, and often, in my experience, contractors ask for it to be priced separately. I often see a request to price an alternate to the project bid to cover “Design Assist” and/or “BIM Coordination”. That's your software, hardware, and manpower!

If you've looked into software training, that can be a big expense which probably can't be billed to a specific project. But then again so is safety training, training helpers into plumbers, or teaching someone to run an excavator. To be competitive, productive, and profitable going forward all of your employees need different levels of ongoing training and continuing education. With the rise of technology in the construction industry tech training is a part of that.

Our industry is always evolving and moving forward. That's nothing new. I've mentioned on this blog before how my father swore he “would never put a band-aid on cast iron pipe.” He did. No-hub became the new standard. He started out using lead and oakum and by the time I was his helper we were even using a little PVC. He called it “Glue-pipe.” New products require new skills and new standards.

CAD has been used for decades in design, but in the field tradesmen still relied on paper drawings. BIM has pushed that technology beyond design into the hands of the builders – first in estimating and management and now into the field with computerized lay-out and 3-D models on iPads. A well trained plumber was once required to read and work from blueprints. More and more today a well trained plumber needs to work from 3-D models and electronic documents.

The cost of not adopting the emerging technology outweighs the cost of implementing it. As general contractors and owners demand 3-D models and electronic documentation as part of their contracts the only choice becomes whether to perform the work in-house or sub it out. The cost of both are comparable, but over the long run having the capabilities throughout your workforce will add to your companies flexibility, capability, and bottom line.

But you don't need to jump in all at once. Like any other investment in your business you need to weigh cost-to-benefit and grow your IT just like you grow your business. Every business is unique. Look at your work, your people, your future, and plan ahead. You can sub a few jobs out while you train your employees and get them comfortable with new procedures and capabilities. Or add a little at a time, project by project, just like buying new tools or equipment.

Every day construction technology is improving and becoming more common in the industry. Companies and tradesmen who adapt and embrace the new tools will thrive and profit. Those who are stuck in the old ways of doing business will find themselves struggling to catch-up or unable to compete. If an old plumber from my father's day hadn't learned to use no-hub bands and 'glue-pipe' he would have gone out of business pretty quickly. Running a project these days without BIM is like hand digging all your ditches. Good luck with that.

If you have questions drop me an email, or comment below. I'm happy to help.

How Can The Internet Profit Your Business Model?

I recently started looking into local plumbing companies just to see what kind of presence they have online. I searched the white pages, the yellow pages, google, yahoo, yelp... I found a handful of plumbing contractors and very little information on those. If I were an owner or general contractor, new to the area and looking for a reputable plumbing contractor to bid on work, I would think Charlotte only has drain cleaning companies.

I found plenty of those.

I'm from Charlotte. Even companies I know to be big players in the local industry appeared, by their online presence, to be small service companies. They use the internet to advertise, and apparently they believe that only applies to service work, not contracting. One of the companies had a web site, most didn't, but all they had on their site was a splash page devoted to repair and drain cleaning—and contact info for their service department.

The internet, and your website, can do more than advertise your service department!

Your website can be a hub for your employees, customers, and contractors. Your site can have private, password protected areas accessible to different groups—from an area where your employees can view everything from their insurance information to your companies vacation/events calendar to an area where contractors can view your training docs, your policies and procedures, or whatever you need them to have access to.

The internet isn't a one page ad in the newspaper or phone book. It isn't a thirty-second radio or TV spot. It can be both, but it's a whole lot more!

That public splash page should be more than an ad for your service department. It should make your whole company shine, with jobs you've done, awards you've received, employees with special training, charities you support. Whatever makes your business unique and stellar should be there. Contractors should want you bidding on their projects. Customers should be searching for that service department contact info because they want to give you their business.

A good website can make your company shine, and it can be an asset to your company rather than a debit to the advertising budget.

Imagine your website as your company's hub in the world market. It's your virtual office. Your communication center. The driving force making you more efficient, more precise, and more profitable. You can have online meetings with employees. Let potential employees fill out an application. Offer information to potential contractors who might be in other cities, but are bidding work right down the street. Your website is your company—at the next level.

It's not that hard to make it all happen and even easier to maintain once you have the pieces in place.

Today the average plumbing contractor is a decade behind the average business in technology. They are a good five years behind engineers, architects, and general contractors. Most of what you need to catch up and get a big edge on your competition isn't cutting edge technology—isn't expensive—and isn't hard to use. If you can surf the web and handle email – and you apparently found this blog – you can manage a basic corporate website.

Step into the twenty-first century. Technology is a tool of modern business. We can do more with our computers than play solitaire while we wait for the phone to ring. You have a computer, an email account, and you're already paying for internet service. Use it to make your business more productive, and more profitable.

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2015 - The Future of the Construction Industry

Imagine the future of construction...

You get a BIM model in your morning email from a GC wanting a price. You look over the model, export the material schedules in a spread sheet, and email them to a couple of suppliers for quotes. You get the quotes back, pick the one you want, and import the revised spreadsheet back into the model. Your BIM software updates the material types with the suppliers prices, applies your proprietary filters to add labor costs, overhead, and profits, then outputs a total bid price. You email your bid to the GC.

You've spent less than thirty minutes of your time processing the bid. Most of that time was spent emailing and pouring a cup of coffee. Of course you've done your homework and have all the settings and filters for your BIM software in a file ready to apply. You use them on every job, and at the end you adjust them, but we'll get to that in a moment. If you don't get the job, there is little lost time involved, but you nailed it so we move on.

You take a little time now. You go through the model in more detail and familiarize yourself with the whole project. If you see any problems, you immediately send off an RFI to the GC for clarification. Any cost impacts are documented and the model is updated as needed. The GC schedules the first of many coordination meetings and you get to work. Coordination can be a long or short process depending on the scope and complexity of the project. And the players involved.

Coordination is at times like a negotiation. Each contractor works to assure their space in the building. The mechanical contractor needs his duct work in the same space the electrical contractor needs his main rack of conduit, which is right where the plumber needs to run his main overhead trunk line. It's give and take, but much more efficient now than with crews standing around in the field scratching their heads. You document everything, keep sending RFI's and cost adjustments, and keep updating the model. It starts coming together and the GC is ready to build.

Depending on your company structure and size the package might be handed off to a project manager after the estimator's bid, then to a coordinator, and now to a construction manager, but for simplicity we'll assume you're a one person show and you're taking it to the end. You assemble your team and brief them on the project scope.

The coordinated model is in the cloud, so all your people have access to it on their hand-held devices. You discuss logistics, schedules, and how you plan to proceed. Your team, the people who will actually do the physical work of building the project, offer their ideas and point out problems, or better solutions, the coordination team missed. You note it all for the next coordination meeting. You take your lead foreman with you to the first on site job meeting.

On site everyone is wearing their safety gear and their glasses. It's an open field, but through your glasses you can see the building model in full scale. You notice the weed covered rock outcropping right where the commercial kitchen, and a lot of your underground piping, will be. The GC raises the model exposing the below grade footers and pipe. It confirms your assessment and the mass of pipe in that location.

The GC orders a geological survey and has the results in the model for the next coordination meeting. They plan to do some blasting and undercut the problem areas before construction begins. You archive the geo-model for future use in case your team runs into problems when they start digging. You also remind the GC of the rock clause in your contract.

Construction begins and your team starts excavations. Your equipment operators have the geo-model and the building model plugged into their devices to guide them. Your pipe crews can see the underground piping in the model through their glasses and they place the real pipe exactly as it appears in the model. Work proceeds quickly and efficiently. Material is delivered to the site as needed, the BIM is updated as the installation proceeds, so you always know exactly where you stand in the schedule.

The building grows and other trades are on site working. Your crews and their crews can see each others work represented in the model through their glasses. Your foreman continues to coordinate with the schedule so everything is installed at the proper time—a section of pipe is left out so the mechanical contractor can hang a piece of duct, then fitted in later. Everything proceeds smoothly, and everyone can see exactly where their work is heading.

You attend weekly meetings online from your office and your on site foremen take you on virtual tours allowing you to see through their glasses. If any problems arise your workers can call and you are there instantly, seeing the problem from various viewpoints through their glasses and discussing it with your crew over speaker phone. You are managing a dozen jobs at once easier than you could one job ten years ago, and everything is being recorded and documented for analysis later—making the next project even more efficient.

Your foreman has updated the model in real time with any changes during construction, as have other trades, so at the end of the project the model represents the building as-built. You sit down and go over all of the data and find places you can improve your settings and filters for your BIM software on the front end and make your initial bid even tighter on the next project. You look for ways your people can be more efficient, and how you can support them better going forward. On each project you find less to change because your business is becoming more and more efficient and profitable with every project.

Now this isn't over the rainbow. Every piece of technology mentioned in this article is available today. Contractors are adding tech project-by-project. The early adopters have an edge and will keep their edge as the technology is used more and more. Everyone is talking BIM now and those who started with the software five years ago have an advantage. Contractors who refuse to adapt, or who use the technology only reluctantly, are falling behind. Those who refuse to use it are losing work.

Stay with me and I'll help you keep on the cutting edge of what's possible. Click the link and subscribe to the blog for updates or drop me an email and get inside info before it hits the blog. The future of technology in the building industry is exciting for managers and tradesmen. Don't be left behind.

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