End of Support for Windows XP

If you are of that 7,33% still on windows XP consider upgrading. Support ends on April 8, 2014
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If you are still using Windows XP (according to my analytics account 7,33% of you are) considering updating soon to Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1. Microsoft will no longer provide updates or support for Windows XP from April 8, 2014. This means security problems will not get fixed and you will no longer have updated to the sytem to match new requirments. So as long as you can afford it, update, Windows 7 is actually very stable and user friendly. I haven't tried Windows 8.

Heads up via CADIMAGE BLOG

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Clash Detection Using Autodesk Navisworks Manage

Testing the Clash Detection Feature of Navisworks Manage to compare it to other platforms.
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Chapter II of the Quick Comparison between Clash Detection capabilities of different software platforms. I am on the process of running a quick comparison of the different tools out there to run Automated Clash Detection. The first one I tried was Tekla BIM Sight. Here is a quick video on the same process done with Autodesk Navisworks Manage 2014.

My quick thoughts on how it works are these:

• On the upside, almost as easy to run as with Tekla BIMSight, maybe a but less intuitive when you run it for the first time.
• Also positive. Good visualization of the clashes with ghosting of the other elements to perfectly see the two elements in conflict.
• Not sure still if good or bad: With the same files and tolerances used for Tekla BIM Sight's test it reported only 241 Clashes. (that is 139 less than Tekla BIMSight). WIll have to check the reason for this but it is a very big difference and needs to be anayised.
• On the downside: The price of the Software.

Since the new version of Navis was released last week for download, I installed it and gave a try to the same feature on Navisworks Manage 2015. Everything seems to work as good as in 2014, not any changes seen at first sight. Video below.
More to come soon on other platforms (As many as I can have access too).Any thoughts on this? Please comment


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Clash Detection Using Tekla BIM Sight

Testing the Clash Detection Feature of Tekla BIM Sight to compare it to other platforms.
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I am on the process of running a quick comparison of the different tools out there to run Automated Clash Detection. THe firs one I tried is Tekla BIM Sight. Here is a quick video on the process which is quite simple.

My quick thoughts on how it works are these:

• On the upside, it is extremely easy to run a test, very intuitive and you can do it after 1 minute of installing the software. Plus TeklaBIMSight is free.
• On the downside: The visualization of the clashes is not very good. When you click on a "Conflict" the program zooms to it, but it does not ghost other elements or highlight enough the involved elements for a good visualization.

So, this are my thoughts on the process of comparing this process on different platforms. I understand I might have overlooked some settings to allow me to better visualize the conflicts / clashes in the model, but the idea is to compare the software packaes as you find them after installing.

Any thoughts on this? Please comment

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Buy One get One Free Deals at Packt Publishing Until March 26th

Book deals at Packt Publishing Until March 26th.
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The friends at Packt Publishing are celebrating the 2000th Title they have published and for that they are offernig special deals on purchases until March 26th.

During this offer Packt is giving its reader a chance to dive into their comprehensive catalog and Buy One, Get One Free across their entire range of eBooks.

The campaign will continue up until 26th-Mar-2014.

You can benefit from the offer directly at Packt Publishing's Website.

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MT - Using BIM as a PM Tool: 2.3.2– BIM: more than just another IOIS

The AEC Industry is based on the collaboration of several parties during the project life-cycle, and the success of projects depends on exchanging information between stakeholders on a timely manner. IOIS aim to increase the sharing of information between partners. Some years back, researchers promised that IOIS would be used “to enhance construction project documentation and control and to revolutionize the way in which a construction project team conducts business” (Nitithamyong and Skibniewski, 2004: p. 492).

Despite the benefits brought by the extensive use of IOIS, these systems are still lacking on the aspect of integration. The author has the experience of working with some of this IOIS (shared FTP portals in USA and document management systems in Germany and Spain) and they all seem to be mostly used just as online repositories of documents that all stakeholders can access. Without disregarding what the existing IOIS have accomplished – reduction of email based communication, safe storage of documents, improved communication, etc - it seems that another shift in the way things are done is needed.

BIM could be the key approach to adopt to ensure this integration and shift from the document paradigm to the Integrated Database paradigm happens. On this line of thought, the International Alliance for Interoperability [IAI] has been developing since 1995 a standard for sharing building and construction industry data. This standard has been named Industry Foundation Classes [IFC] and it follows on the work done with STEP for Product Models. Although IAI’s mission is to “support open BIM through the life cycle” (IAI, 2010a), their holistic approach to BIM encompasses many other aspects of the project delivery process. Their Information Delivery Manual [IDM] (IAI, 2010b) considers, in addition to the IFC] standards, a methodology to support the implementation of BIM, addressing the business processes and information exchange requirements.


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