Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. And a Little Present

Everyone is wishing each other Merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays or whatever, here comes mine with a little present in case you wanna have some Revit fun this holidays
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
So what is the present? Well I was wondering what could I model to make a Christmas card and thought, let's do it by learning some stuff modeling a cool and not "normal building". And I ended up with the Collserola Tower in Barcelona by Foster and Partners. The model is not finished, some parts are still in "Conceptual Mass Mode" but in case you feel like playing with it, here it is. Happy holidays everyone, enjoy friends, families, big meals and parties. Let's continue the conversation in 2014!

If you want to check the in-process model, here it is!

Cheers!
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Revit: Creating a Basic Wall with Stacked Materials Using the Split Region Tool

Basic walls can behave like stacked walls in certain way if you know how to use the Split Region and Merge Tools.
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
Some walls we create might have on one side or the other a change in materials due to several reasons (some waterproofing on the lower part, a wainscoat, etc). If this happens in many walls, we mmight want to model the wall with this change of materials, and we all hate Stacked Walls. So no problem, we cana ctually do it with Basic walls and here is a step by step on how to do it in Revit.

For this example I will use a wall I am using in a project nowadays, it is made of brick as a core layer and it is finished on one side with a sort of Stucco-like material, and the other with waterproofing material. The thing is, the wall is used for a raised floor over a parkign garage, and below the level where the earth fill goes, instead of the stucco-like material, we need to have the same waterproofing we have on the other side. Since the height of this situation is fairly the same everywehere, I wanted to have the two layers (waterproofing until 1m of height and Stucco from there on). Let me show you a couple snapshots of the wall and you will see the final result.

How do we achieve this? Let's see it, the help on using the Split Region Tool found on the Revit Help gives us some hints, but not a good enought explanation as I see it. The Split Region process is a bit un-intuitive. There are two ways to achieve the same:
Option 01: Use Split Region + Assign Layers
Option 02: Create the Two Layers + Use Split Region + Merge Regions

I was going to write each step with snapshots, but I think a quick video will be moe helpful, so here it is. Sorry for the low resolution.

Hope this helps.

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MT - Using BIM as a PM Tool: 2.- Literature Review

Due to the scope of this dissertation, three main topics were identified, and relevant literature for each of them has been analyzed. The topics are:

• Project complexity and inter-organizational collaboration
• The role of BIM in improving the delivery of construction projects
• The current status of BIM and other ICT in the AEC Industry

Literature for each of these topics will be critically reviewed in the following sections. On the final summary of this chapter, links between the literatures will be drawn and conclusions from these links will be used to design the research methodology and to suggest further topics for research out of the scope of this dissertation.

Let’s start with the first topic for it has a wider scope and will help us understand the overall framework in which BIM has a role to play and the gaps in current practice that could be bridged by the correct implementation of BIM.

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BIM Management Postgraduate Course in Barcelona in 2014

BIM Education in Barcelona, and I'll be one of the teachers!
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
When I came back to Barcelona from Germany three and a half years ago and started talking to people about BIM, I mostly saw puzzled faces and "what is he talking about?" looks. Spain AEC industry lags behind in innovation compared to other countries, and BIM has not been an exception. Despite this delay, 2013 has been the first year when I can say (considering my profesional Network) that BIM is becoming a topic everyone has heard about and many people want to learn. Let me tell you some of the things that happened in the last months related to BIM:

• In June 2012 the Spanish Chapter of Building Smart was created.
• In May 2013, the First Spanish BIM Convention took place in Valencia
• The Summer of 2013 the Catalan Public Infrastructure Agency (GISA) has already mentioned BIM as a plus point to be considered in the competition for the design and construction of a Public School near Barcelona.
• In November 2013, Building Smart Spanish Chapter has started the creation of the "Guía de Usuarios BIM", or BIM users guide, based on the Finnish BuildingSmart COBIM Requirements. (I am actually helping on that)

Companies small and big, specially those working abroad, are starting to get from their clients or potential clients the "I want you to work in BIM". So people are looking around and asking where can I learn BIM? Well, people tend to jump into learning BIM by joining a Revit / ArchiCAD / Allplan / Bentley Course. And of course they learn to use those tools (they actually learn to navigate the interface and play with some tools) but they actually don't learn much about BIM as a process. Me and those who've been longer working in BIM environments have been repeating non-stop the karma BIM = Process / Revit;ArchCAD;Allplan = Tool and finally it seems this is already widely understood around here. So people want to learn more about the process itself, and me and some colleagues are going to make it happen:

Starting in 2014, UPC Barcelona will be hosting a Postgraduate Course about BIM Management called: BIM Management. Multi-platform Management of Building Information Modeling. The course will be in Spanish for now as it aims to the local professionals. Hopefully we will make it good enough to turn it into a full Postgraduate Degree. You can read more about the course [in Spanish or in Catalan] here. Please feel free to forward the link to anyone who you think will be interested.

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Creating Flat Roof Slopes in Revit

Step by step on how to create the slopes of a flat roof in Revit
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
How do we create the slopes of a flat roof in Revit? Ok let's see what a flat roof is made of mostly:

• A layaer of Light-weight / celular concrete to give the slope to the roof.
• Several layers of waterproofing, insulation, finish, etc.

Yes I kept it simple, for this I don't care if the roof is finished with gravel, tiles or just the waterproofing. The important part is the Lightweight concrete layer. So first step, let's create the roof with this two layers, something like this (naming is in Spanish):

If we now want to create the roof slopes we have to do two things:

1. Manually set the heights of the points we want to set higher or lower than the default roof thickness. To do this, we select the roof object and click on Modify Subelements:
   

   After clicking this, we can on a floor plan for instance, select the existing points and manually change their height. we can also do it by dragging the point up or down on a view)

   

   Once we've set the heights we want to create the slope, we can check on a section view how does it look like. If you followed these steps it will look something like this:

   

   As you can, see, the solpes are fine, but the problem is that the underside of the roof is also sloped, which we don't want, since the underside should be flat. Here comes step two:

2. The simple step we need to do to fix this is to Edit the roof Type and tell revit we want the Lightweight Concrete Layer to have a variable height. So edit the roof family type and click on this:
   

   These should be the results (or something similar)

   

Don't remember where I saw this, I think it was at RevitForum

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BIM Related Free Live Feeds from Autodesk University 2013

Free Live BIM related lectures from Autodesk University 2013.
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
If you, like me, couldn't make it to #AU2013 (no time, no money, no holidays, no sponsor, non of it?) you can still check some of the lectures online for free. Here a compilation for you to easily schedule. Since I am lcoated in Barcelona, and this list is as much for you as it is for me, all times are both in PST (The time in Vegas) andCET – Central European Time. Here comes the list of BIM related Lectures:

Tuesday, December 3rd, 2013:

• 08:00 to 09:30 PST / 17:00 to 18:30 CET - Better, Faster, Stronger: Rebuilding Project Collaboration with Autodesk® BIM 360 ™ Glue®: best practices for designing a coordination process that takes advantage of the capabilities of BIM 360 Glue, as well as the business case for adopting a cloud-based collaboration platform.

Wednesday, December 4th, 2013:

• 16:00 to 17:00 PST / 01:00 to 02:00 CET (Dec 5th) - A Practical Strategy and Workflow for Large Projects: A Realistic Solution: This class presents a strategy for development of structural projects using Autodesk® Revit® Structure, Autodesk® Vault, Autodesk® Navisworks, Autodesk® Design Review, and Autodesk® Robot™ Structural Analysis software.

Thursday, December 5th, 2013

• 10:00 to 11:30 PST / 19:00 to 20:30 CET - New Civil BIM Workflows Using Autodesk® InfraWorks™, Autodesk® ReCap™, and the Autodesk® Infrastructure Design Suite: how to use Autodesk InfraWorks software to create highly realistic and accurate context models for civil infrastructure projects that support a more efficient, productive, and collaborative design workflow.
• 13:00 to 14:00 PST / 22:00 to 23:00 CET - CAD and BIM Manager's Handbook 2013: tips, tricks, technologies, tools, and strategies to better manage your company's CAD/BIM environment.
• 14:30 to 15:30 PST / 23:30 to 00:30 CET - Advanced Techniques for Managing Building Data in Autodesk® Revit®: This class covers basic database theory, the structure of objects and their relation to data management, and Revit techniques for implementing this general theory in actual projects.

And all this is also easily visible in this quick Google Calendar I just created:

Heads up via "The Revit Kid".
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Revit Basics: Closing All Open Views Except the Active One

One click button to close all the open views and leave only the active one open.
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
Switching from view to view in Revit means almost always that you keep on opening new views without closing the other ones. This can make navigating from view to view using the ALT+TAB shortcut a bit cumbersome after a while (because we might end up with 20 views open). At the same time, I read somewhere that having many views open can make Revit slower. So closing all hidden views is useful, and easy. One of those basics we tend to forget.

I was reading some old training material and found this tip. Click on the "Close Hidden" button located on the Windows section of the View Tab on the Ribbon. This will close all the windows that are not visible. THat's it, one of the basics that makes your life easier. Cheers.

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MT - Using BIM as a PM Tool: 1.3- Research Question and Objectives

On the previous sections we have seen that the implementation of BIM is not homogeneous in all countries. We have also noted that despite the increase in literature related to BIM in recent years (Table 1.2 and Figure 1.3) PM scholars have ignored BIM as a tool to be considered in PM research.

Considering the increased complexity of construction projects mentioned on the first section of this chapter, any tools that help optimize the design and construction process should be analyzed if they help practitioners cope with this increased project complexity. On the other hand, PM scholars have for too long ignored the study of BIM (Table 1.2), despite its potential benefits that we will alter see, despite the increased interest by other field’s scholars (Figure 1.3) and by construction professionals in general (Figure 1.4)

The intention of this research is to study BIM from the PM point of view, and to do this, this paper tries to answer the question: “Is BIM a Project Management Tool? How can BIM help Project Managers succeed in delivering complex construction projects”? The author’s intention is to proof based on existing literature and empirical evidence that the answer to the first question is affirmative and that the answer to the second one includes a wide range of ways in which BIM can be a helpful PM Tool.


Parallel and as a consequence to this search for answers, several research objectives are defined:
1. To identify in which aspects is BIM implementation showing more benefits for the delivery of construction projects
2. To compare the benefits of BIM with the role of the Project Manager
3. To define which role should the Project Manager assume within the BIM framework.

The intention of the author is in no way to produce a promotional pamphlet for a specific BIM platform, nor is it to ignore the challenges and shortcomings of BIM platforms. For this reason, another research objective is defined as:
4. To analyze the existing challenges for BIM implementation and estimate future developments that might mitigate these challenges.

Figure 1.4 Google Search Trends for CAD vs. BIM (Google Trends, 2010)

The research methods to answer the research question and objectives will be described in the Methodology chapter of this paper. A key aspect that lead to the definition of the research methodology is the in depth analysis of relevant literature. The following chapter will deal with this topic, since despite the lack of references from the International Journal of Project Management there are plenty of scholars from other related research fields that have analysed the role of BIM (Table 1.2).

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List of Free BIM Object Libraries

Where can you get BIM Content online? Here.
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
I do not use very often online BIM libraries, but they can be very useful to avoid having to model all parts of your families/objects. I think that if you really want to have families/objects that serve your specific BIM Process, you will have to either create these families/objects by yourself, or adapt those that you download from an online library, so there is not too much or too few information/detail in them. Either way, having a list of available Free BIM Object Libraries is useful, so here come the ones I have found that have (or seem to have) at least around 1000 Free BIM Objects:

NAME	ORGANIZED BY	# OBJECTS*	Last Checked	REGISTRATION
BIM OBJECT	Manufacturer	2229	2013111414 Nov 2013	Not needed
ARCAT	Masterformat 95 / 12	8852	2013111414 Nov 2013	Not needed
NATIONAL BIM LIBRARY	Object Type / Manufacturer	5000+	2013111414 Nov 2013	Needed
SMART BIM LIBRARY	Object Type / Manufacturer	10000+	2013111414 Nov 2013	Not Needed
REVIT CITY	Masterformat 04 / Manufacturer	14549	2013111414 Nov 2013	Needed
AUTODESK SEEK	Object Type / Manufacturer	65000	2013111414 Nov 2013	Not Needed
BIM STOP	Object Type / Manufacturer	Unknown	2013111414 Nov 2013	Needed
BIMETICA	Manufacturer	1161	2013111414 Nov 2013	Needed
FAMILIT	Object Type	8181	2013111414 Nov 2013	Not Needed
SWEETS NETWORK	Manufacturer	Unknown	2013111414 Nov 2013	Needed
ARCHICAD TALK OBJECT DEPO	Object Type	Unknown	2013111414 Nov 2013	Needed
BIM COMPONENTS	Object Type	Unknown	2013111414 Nov 2013	Needed

*Aproximate number of Free BIM Objects on the date stated in the column "REVISED"

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Transfer Revit Schedules from Project to Project

Easy guide to copy Revit Schedule Views from one Project to another
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
If you need to copy a Schedule (or a Sheet) form one project to another you can do it. You simply need to click on the "Insert" Tab, then select "Insert from File", and there select "Insert VIews From File".

You will then be prompted to Browse for the File you want to copy from, and once you select it, you will be able to see all the views on that file that can be copied to your open Project. That's it.

Just consider that this can not be done if you are on a Schedule View, you have to do it from a Plan, Elevation, 3D view, etc.

Solution found here.

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Revit IFC Exporter Update

New version of the IFC Exporter Available.
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
Just got the email from autodesk mentioning the new update for the Revit IFC exporters. Here it comes:

Revit 2013:

IFC Exporter 2013 (v2.15.1)

IFC Export Alternate UI for Revit 2013 (v1.13)

2014:

IFC Exporter 2014 (v3.7.1):

IFC Export Alternate UI for Revit 2014 (v2.5):

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Revit Add-In: Creating Topography the Standard way or from Lines in Revit

Awesome Plugin from Harry Mattison (Boost your BIM) to create Topography from Lines in Revit.
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
In Revit with out of the box functionality you can create topo surfaces by picking points and specifying their elevations or by importing 3D data (the topo lines in a cad file) or a points file.

This means you can actually not create a topo surface from lines that you have drawn in Revit.

This is no longer so, thanks to Boost your BIM's Add-in. With it, you can simply click on the Add-ins Tab, select Topo-From Lines, Select the lines and click Finish.

Bingo, topo created from lines in Revit.

The Add-in is available here for Free

You can say thanks to Harry on his blog post about it.

Great Job!

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MT - Using BIM as a PM Tool: 1.2- Problem Definition

BIM is argued to be “a catalyst for change, poised to reduce industry's fragmentation, improve its efficiency/effectiveness and lower the high costs of inadequate interoperability” (Succar, 2009: p. 357). Studies show that there has been an important growth on the use of BIM software in the recent years (AIA, 2009; McGraw-Hill, 2008 and McGraw-Hill, 2010).

In the USA, as of 2008 and according to AIA (2009), 34% of registered AIA members have purchased a BIM software package, percentage that doubles the numbers of 3 years before (Ibid). It is important to remember the definition of BIM used on the previous section comprises not only tools but also the adoption of new processes, so the data expressing “use of BIM” has to be analyzed with caution for it is not clear if it refers only to the use of BIM software or to the holistic approach to BIM that this dissertation is interested in.

Regardless of this difficulty analysing the data, the penetration rates (McGraw-Hill, 2010a) show the relevance that the technology is gaining in some countries. But not all countries embrace it at the same pace. As it can be seen on Figure 1.2, North America is ahead of Europe on BIM adoption rates.

Figure 1.2 BIM Adoption Rates in North America and Europe
After McGraw-Hill, 2010a)

On the other hand, and despite the great increase in Journal Articles about BIM in recent years (Figure 1.3), Project Management Literature has tended to ignore the topic of BIM. Only Bansal (2011) and Benjoaran (2009) mention this concept in the International Journal of Project Management. The only mention found on the Project Management Institute literature –the Project Management Journal and PMI organised Conferences- is a conference paper by Lee (2008) that briefly mentions the possible beneficial outcomes of using BIM from the Project Manager point of view.
BIM is becoming a relevant topic of research in recent years (Figure 1.3) but none of this increase in interest on the topic has arrived to PM specialised literature (Table 1.2). Research is thus needed on the role of BIM as a Project Management [PM] tool. Most of the potential benefits of BIM mentioned on the previous section of this chapter are key aspects of the role of a Project Manager (PMI, 2004), for this reason PM literature should no longer ignore this topic and join other scholars on analyzing the potential benefits of implementing BIM in construction projects.

Figure 1.3 Evolution of the Number of Journal Articles Mentioning BIM

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Revit: Don't Use Parts if You Want to Use Groups. Don't Use Groups if You Want to Use Parts

Exactly what the post title says. Tried it in many projects, always with problems.
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
I've been trying once again to use parts and groups together and I have been having problems as usual, not much improvement from previous releases (I am using Revit 2014). As stupid as it might seem, Revit really struggles if you break walls into parts and then group the walls in a Group that you need to repeat / rotate / mirror. The resulting parts on the copied groups behave independently from one instance of the group to the other, making it really not efficient to work with them because a lot of rework in each instance might be needed (I am working on a 30 story building, with 25 equal floors, so imagine how nice it would be if Revit could handle this properly).

I tried many different options, parts constrained, unconstrained,etc. No way Groups work efficiently as they should (as AutoCAD blocks). So my solution to solve this has been to use Groups only on relatively small elements were I don't use the create parts feature, and for the other elements (like the repeating typical floor plan) I use a linked file. I don't like it and it is also not very efficient when you have to edit it (Unload -> Open -> Save -> Reload) but it does allow me to repeat the floor where I have edited all walls using the Create Parts feature.

For more infor on what to do and what not to do with Groups check this post at AllaboutCAD.

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BCF Add-Ins for Revit

If you need to use the BIM Collaboration Format and you are using Revit this Add-Ins might be what you are looking for.
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
I wrote recently about the BIM Collaboration Format [BFC]. It is (probably) the soon to be Standard to communicate Issues in BIM Models. If you are using Revit and want to be able to work with BCF, you'll need some Add-in to do it. I found 3 of them and tested 2. Here they are:

Number #01: Matteo Cominetti's BCF PLUGIN FOR REVIT (currently at Version 2.2.2)
Easy to use, Free and With a lot of easy to use Options.
The best one of the two I tried.
You can download it here: http://matteocominetti.com/d/BCFPlugin2.2.2.exe
Check more info at Matteo's website or watch the video below:

Number #02: KUBUS' BCF MANAGER for Revit (there is also an ArchiCAD Version)
Now on free trial until Nov 30th. Apparently at a cost from December 1st.
Less options than Matteo's Plugin, but still easy to use.
Download the Windows x64 version here: http://www.kubusinfo.nl/downloads/BCF_Manager_Revit_x64_r2.msi
Download the Windows x86 version here: http://www.kubusinfo.nl/downloads/BCF_Manager_Revit_x86_r2.msi
You can also use this if you are an ArchiCAD user:
ArchiCAD windows version download here: http://www.kubusinfo.nl/downloads/BCF_Manager_AC17_r2.msi
ArchiCAD MAC version download here: http://www.kubusinfo.nl/downloads/BCF_Manager_AC17_r2.dmg
More info at the KUBUS website.

Number #03: AUTODESK'S MODEL REVIEW Add-in
I haven't tried this one, according to its description is more than just a BCF Add-in, but a full Model Checker:
"Check the accuracy and consistency of a Project or Family against standards set by your firm, your clients, or industry best practices. Correct inconsistencies with a single click or with instructions provided when manual fixes are required".
It is only available if you are a Subscription Customer. More info here too

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Revit: Copying an Element Multiple Times

Copy an Object Multiple Times in Revit
Català - Castellano - Deutsch
If you've come to Revit from AutoCAD, you probably noticed that the copy command behaves slightly different by default. While in AutoCAD if you use the copy command you can copy an object multiple times without calling the command again, in Revit, by default, it doesn't work the same way. It probably happened to you for a while as it did to me, that you kept copying an object and typing CO again to copy it another time. That is what it seems you have to do in Revit, so you might get a bit frustrated. Well, it doesn't have to be like this.

If you want to copy an object multiple times, select the object, type CO (the Revit keyboard shortcut for Copy) and before copying the object go to the ribbon and check "Multiple". It is that simple, once you've checked this, Revit will behave like AutoCAD and will let you copy an object multiple times.

Very simple. Now I am wondering how much time I did loose long time ago when I didn't know about this...

UPDATE 01: You can also copy objects multiple times (or just one) by using the MOVE commamnd and holding the Ctrl Key while you move it, this will actually copy instead of moving the object.

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Revit: Control the Number of BackUp Files that Revit Saves.

It is quite annoyint and space consuming to have up to 20 backup files in your folder. Luckily, this can be changed quite easy.
Català - Castellano
If you are tyred of having 20 backup files in your folder and don't want to manually delete them every once in a while,do the following:

Click the Revit Icon on the upper left corner of the screen and select Save As.

In the Save As dialog, click Options.

In the File Save Options dialog, for Maximum backups, specify the number of backup files to save.

Click OK.

Click Save.

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Splitting Up Revit Models

What criteria would you use to decide if you are going to split or not your Revit Models? And if you decide you are going to do it, how are you going to do it?

Català - Castellano - Deutsch
I just have started working on the biggest Revit project I have worked to date, and as the BIM Manager of the project I had to make certain decisions concerning the protocol to follow in terms of model splitting up. So far, all the projects I worked on where relatively small, so this decision was not so relevant (we basically decided to split models by discipline: Arch - Str - MEP) and it worked good enough. This new project is way too big to work only with this discipline based division, so I wondered what "the experts" would think is the best to go for such a project (and what criteria to follow on future projects).
The project I am working on is a residential complex with a total of around 158.000 m2, and it has 7 residential towers and a common basement, plus some other minor buildings. After looking deep into blogs, forums and linkedin groups, I found this advice by BIM Manager Brendan Smith that I found was exactly what I needed.

In his post, Brendan describes several Revit model divisions according to the project type and size. In my case, I will work with something similar to his last option: "4. On a Large to extremely large job with two or three buildings". I will not follow literally these divisions (to me the divisions between Architecture and Interiors makes no sense and following something more similar to the Uniformat division might be more logic too) but it is a good start point conceptually for the divisions. My actual chosen division system will follow this criteria (see that the abbreviations are based on Spanish, so you could use something similar with English abbreviations):

Architecture
PROJECTCODE-T01-ARQ-ENV-R01.rvt (Contains all Architectural elements of the façade of residential tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-ARQ-ENV-R01.rvt (Contains all Architectural elements of the façade of residential tower 02)
...
PROJECTCODE-T01-ARQ-INT-R01.rvt (Contains all Architectural elements of the interior of residential tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-ARQ-INT-R01.rvt (Contains all Architectural elements of the interior of residential tower 02)
...
Structure
PROJECTCODE-T01-EST-CIM-R01.rvt (Contains all Structural Foundations for residential tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-EST-CIM-R01.rvt (Contains all Structural Foundations for residential tower 02)
...
PROJECTCODE-T01-EST-ESP-R01.rvt (Contains the Floor Structure for residential tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-EST-ESP-R01.rvt (Contains the Floor Structure for residential tower 02)
...
MEP
PROJECTCODE-T01-INS-SAN-R01.rvt (Contains waste/grey and rain water piping for tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-INS-SAN-R01.rvt (Contains waste/grey and rain water piping for tower 02)
...
PROJECTCODE-T01-INS-CLI-R01.rvt (Contains AC for tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-INS-CLI-R01.rvt (Contains AC for tower 02)
...
PROJECTCODE-T01-INS-CPR-R01.rvt (Contains Ventilation / fire escape pressurization for tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-INS-CPR-R01.rvt (Contains Ventilation / fire escape pressurization for tower 02)
...
PROJECTCODE-T01-INS-CPR-R01.rvt (Contains Ventilation / fire escape pressurization for tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-INS-CPR-R01.rvt (Contains Ventilation / fire escape pressurization for tower 02)
...
PROJECTCODE-T01-INS-GAS-R01.rvt (Contains Gas Piping for tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-INS-GAS-R01.rvt (Contains Gas Piping for tower 02)
...
PROJECTCODE-T01-INS-ELE-R01.rvt (Contains Electrical Systems for tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-INS-ELE-R01.rvt (Contains Electrical Systems for tower 02)
...
PROJECTCODE-T01-INS-HID-R01.rvt (Contains Water Supply and Distribution for tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-INS-HID-R01.rvt (Contains Water Supply and Distribution for tower 02)

For now, this is our starting point. Thanks to Brendan Smith for the inspiration. After the project is over, i'll share the changes i make to this apporach if there are any.





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MT - Using BIM as a PM Tool: 1.1- Background

The author of this Master Thesis has always been interested in the implementation of ICT in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction [AEC] Industry. During the last decade, the major shift in ICT for the AEC industry has been the proliferation of Building Information Modelling [BIM] in industrial and academic circles as the “new CAD paradigm” (Succar, 2009).

BIM is currently the most common denomination for a new way of approaching the design, construction and maintenance of Buildings. Different authors and commercial firms have chosen to name this new approach in different ways (Table 1.1) but they all refer to the same concept that will be referred always on this dissertation as BIM.

There is not a single definition of what BIM is. Some scholars define it as “a set of interacting policies, processes and technologies generating a methodology to manage the essential building design and project data in digital format throughout the building's life-cycle” (Succar, 2009: p. 357). Other scholars prefer to define it using papers by commercial BIM vendors. Aouad et al. (2006) used the following definition: “building information model (BIM) is a computer model database of building design information, which may also contain information about the building’s construction, management, operations and maintenance” (Graphisoft 2003, cited in Aouad et al., 2006: p. 5). Other software vendors have also stated their own definitions of BIM such as “create and operate on digital databases for collaboration, manage change [...] and capture and preserve information for reuse by additional industry-specific applications” (Autodesk, 2002 : p. 2). For the purpose of this dissertation the author would like to use his own definition of BIM that encompasses the most common accepted views on the topic.

Building Information Modelling [BIM] is the most commonly used term to describe a set of parametric CAD tools and processes for the creation and maintenance of an integrated collaborative database of multi-dimensional information regarding the design, construction and/or operations of a building, with the purpose of improving collaboration between stakeholders, reducing the time needed for documentation of the project and producing more predictable project outcomes.

Table 1.1 Widely used terms related to BIM

(after Succar, 2009 : p. 359)

Although it is sometimes understood that BIM is only the software platform and that all the inter-organizational integrated processes should receive other names (like Integrated Design, Integrated Project Delivery, etc), when referring to BIM in this dissertation, the reader should always understand that BIM refers to the previous definition of tools and processes and never to just the software tools that allow the geometrical modelling and the input of information. It is the understanding of the author, that this holistic definition embraces all the potential of BIM and offers a better understanding of all its scope.

Defining the term though, is not the purpose of this dissertation. As we will see in the following section, despite the potential benefits that we can infer from the previous definition, the implementation of BIM and the perception of its benefits is not equal everywhere (AIA, 2009; McGraw-Hill, 2008 and McGraw-Hill, 2010). This disparity between potential benefits and acceptance is the starting point for our problem definition.

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BIM Thoughts and Conclusions from UK's National Construction Contracts and Law Survey 2013

The recently published NBS report has some insights on the real BIM use in UK's projects
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UK's National Building Specification [NBS], (also available on twitter as @TheNBS)has published recently a report called "National Construction Contracts and Law Survey 2013". Among other itneresting data, some insights on the Contractual Use of BIM in UK is given, and it is interesting, specially in contrast to other more optimistic views about the BIM penetration in the market.

First interesting point related to BIM is that up to 49% of respondents said they didn't use any type of "collaborative technique" in projects started in 2012. THis is a very important point for it means that at least 49% of the industry is not collaborating, thus COllaborative BIM is right now still far from Standard.

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The second interesting piece of BIM related information we find is that 78% of the respondents have not started adopting BIM in their contracts and 77% don't even reference to it in their COntracts. This seems to me like BIM is still very irrelevant contractually to most of stakeholders, so the Collaborative BIM Process has still a lot of hurdles to jump to start running at a good pace.

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Finally, the last, and maybe the most relevant info related to BIM is the one taken from the question "What information do you normally provide / receive about the project?". Here, only 9% of respondents mention BIM as info being provided by them to the project or received from other consultants.

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This, to me, means that real BIM, the one that involves the "creation of a collaborative database with information (...)" is used at the most by 9% of the industry in UK. A bit far (maybe more realistic?) than some of the implementation numbers that one can suppose from data from other reports, like for instance McGraw-Hills "The Business Value of BIM in Europe" from which I adapted the chart below. According to McGraw-Hills report, the "adoption rate for BIM in the United Kingdom among construction professionals surveyed is 35%".

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My analysis is, that either those surveyed in the McGraw-Hill report lied, or by "adopting BIM" they meant or understood something similar to "using a BIM tool". Matching the 35% adoption in 2010 with the 9% of respondents who in the recent report (with data from 2012)say they deliver or recieve BIM as information we see that there si a big gap between the two percentages. My guess is that probably the data obtained about BIM in a non BIM centric survey is probably more valuable, for it might be less biased than those reports aiming to show how well the BIM progress is going.

Well, I don't know, maybe I am wrong, what are your thoughts? Please share!

As it is happening recently more and more often the heads up come via Twitter:

Download the free 2013 National Contracts and Law (for construction) survey/report now at our website - http://t.co/6eRKige4eo

— Stephen Hamil (@StephenHamilNBS) October 7, 2013

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World Habitat Day is Today

Happy World Habitat Day.
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I didn't even know till today this existed, got the heads up in twitter by @CarlosCamara:

El primer Lunes de octubre se celebra el día Mundial de la Arquitectura en coincidencia con el Día Mundial del Hábitat Humano: ¡feliz día!

— Carlos Cámara (@carlescamara) October 7, 2013

After that, and before writing this post, I went to the UN Habitat website to see what it is about. According the UN Habitat Website "The United Nations has designated the first Monday of October every year as World Habitat Day. This year, it will be celebrated on 7 October 2013. The purpose of World Habitat Day is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities and the basic right of all to adequate shelter. It is also intended to remind the world that we all have responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns." Sound nice.

Digging a bit more, I was specially surprised when I found out that former Barcelona's Mayor Joan Clos was involved in this in some way. (Executive Director of UN-Habitat on the occasion of World Habitat Day, 1 October 2012). So after that, I wonder if this World Habitat Day is anything useful at all considering its Executive Director credentials. Yes, his official credential look very good, Mayor, Industry Minister and Ambassador in Turkey. The thing is, this guy swore his position as a Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, saying "I swore as Minister of JUSTICE, Trade and Tourism...". Yes, he didn't even know what position he was getting I guess.

So, despite the good intentions that one can feel from the motto of the UN-Habitat website, one wonders if this type of organizations are just elephant cemeteries where our no longer useful politicians (where they ever useful?) can retire with a big paycheck and paid expenses to attend events in different countries.

I am sure there are extremely valid people doing hard work in them, I just can't stop wondering how did we allow all these parasites to be our appointed representatives.

Happy World Habitat Day anyway, at least let's remember that all we do, all we try to improve, all the BIM, and Lean and IPD, efforts that try to increase profitability, improve the industry, reduce waste and all these dogmas we repeat ourselves should or may in a way or another make the built habitat better. Maybe, just maybe, all this transformation of the AEC industry we say we aim to achieve, can one day be put to help those without adequate shelter. Maybe a small percentage of what owners save by implementing BIM or Lean in their Projects, can be put to help those in need. Maybe, or maybe we are all too busy building ourselves a career.

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