Towards an integrated future

Written by Martyn Day

Published Tue 16 Dec 2008

The whole concept of Building Information Modelling started off predominantly as an Architectural initiative, with the majority of software developers concentrating on delivering solutions for the design phase of the building lifecycle. Even then, the benefit of modelling, as opposed to drawing, was mainly perceived to be in the automatic generation of plans, sections, elevations and renderings, together with the massive benefit of automatic, co-ordinated changes to all documentation, should the design change.

It’s actually a very powerful argument and one that has, over quite a long period of time, managed to win over a growing number of architectural firms. It turns out that understanding the benefits wasn’t really a problem; it was the fundamental issues of managing a change in working processes and moving from 2D to 3D that caused the hurdles. If, at the end of the day, a firm only saw Revit as being a more efficient way to produce 2D drawings, then the value of the migration effort was, in itself, only two dimensional.

The argument for the industry to move to BIM hasn’t stopped at the architect’s door. 3D co-ordination across every discipline would drive efficiency at many levels and radically alter the value of the information held within the model. If you were to take cost estimating as an example, this is traditionally a manual process derived from the paper drawings. In a BIM world, the actual quantities are a by-product of the system knowing every element that was added to the model: this saves time and reduces errors.

If you look at typical problems that have to be resolved on site – like ductwork clashing with steelwork – if these could have been discovered in the design phase then massive rework costs and project overruns could have been be avoided. The argument for BIM is a lot more than producing better drawings and it’s not just a software issue.

While architects may have been slow in moving to 3D, structural and MEP engineers have, for a long time, embraced modelling as a valuable tool in the creation and analysis of structures and systems design. As the software developers started to bring out structural and building systems flavours of their BIM products, there was already an industry-wide awareness of the benefits that could be gained from applying 3D to existing structural and engineering workflows. As a result, BIM in construction is growing very quickly and Autodesk’s engineering BIM products, Revit Structure and Revit MEP (Mechanical Electrical and Plumbing), are seeing rapid adoption, even when the architectural design may have been completed in a 2D system.

Integrated project delivery

With the adoption of BIM across the disciplines, there is a growing trend in the USA, at least, for projects to be completed under terms called Integrated Project Delivery (IPD).The need for increased productivity on lower margins is driving design and construction firms to redefine the way they have been working together. The main aims are improved collaboration, the need for building analysis, global standards and collective responsibility for project delivery. This isn’t Design Build as we would probably describe it here in Europe but collective responsibility and understanding between all the stakeholders in the project. Currently this may be informal arrangements but in the USA, bodies such as the American Institute of Architects are working on formalising these working practices and offering guides as to the legal aspects of such dynamic project teams.

As a case in point, Autodesk recently completed a new headquarters building for its Building Division, based in Boston. As you may expect the project was designed with Autodesk’s portfolio of BIM products but it was delivered under an IPD model. Two contractors had shared risk and rewards, and created coordinated Revit models for the design, which were also used to accurately predict its energy usage, and produce visualisations and all fabrication documentation. Autodesk intends to seek Gold LEED Certification (A US certification program which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for the Core and Shell design and Platinum LEED for the commercial interior. Navisworks was also deployed to distribute models for all project participants to see the design as it developed. The project was used as hands-on experience for the software development team to see how tools like Revit impact the design process.

Autodesk’s own VP of Strategy and Relations, Phil Bernstein was put in charge of the project and he explained, “We’ve learned a lot about the process that we believe our customers are going to use in the future on their projects by being the client on an IPD project. We wrote our own contract, and had to make decisions on a number of issues. We’ve been deeply involved in the decision-making process and have watched the use of our technology; it’s been an experience that’s allowed us to really feel how the nature of the building process is going to change.”

Adoption of BIM in the construction market isn’t just about the software. It’s about how firms now need to work with one another to improve the design and construction of projects

Integration has been a big issue for the industry and this has typically been reflected in the tools that they have been offered by the software developers. In the past even tools from the same developer were not necessarily integrated in a way that would aid collaboration. For Autodesk this was certainly a contentious issue but the company has spent a lot of effort in the past three years to integrate its products and their formats to produce a suite of design and construction tools which can actually talk to one another.

Autodesk BIM tools

Looking at a Revit-based BIM collaborative workflow, Autodesk has a number of key products which enable an integrated approach:

Revit Architecture: The original Revit and the product that kicked BIM off. One of the first parametric 3D modelling environments for architects, the mature solution has an impressive and growing installed base. Designs are modelled with parametric components, allowing clash detection, schedule production, materials takeoff and all 2D drawings. Any change made to the model is reflected automatically in all 2D drawings.

Revit Structure: This is the environment for the Structural Engineer to model and document all the structural elements, together with links to a wide-range of commonly used stand-alone analysis tools. If the analysis dictates changes to structural members then changes to the model are automatically replicated throughout all the drawings. The software offers many structural details, materials and parametric structural components. Obviously it works seamlessly with Revit Architecture and Revit MEP.

Revit MEP: Even though it’s the most recent addition to the Revit family, Revit MEP is actually very feature packed, though full country localisation will take time. Revit MEP provides duct and pipe, lighting and power cable modelling with integrated heating and cooling loads analysis tools to perform energy analysis, evaluate system loads, and produce heating and cooling load reports for a project. Revit MEP also supports green building extensible markup language (gbXML) to send to external analysis tools. Built-in calculators also make it possible to perform sizing and pressure loss calculations according to industry-standard methods and specifications. Paths can be checked and auto routed, with interference checking, industry specific symbols and external database links.

AutoCAD Civil 3D: Is not Revit based but runs on top of everyone’s favourite AutoCAD. It has powerful features covering surveying, design, analysis, and documentation for land development, transportation, and environmental projects.

Navisworks: Now a range of file format-independent products that pull together project data to provide an unprecedented single view of a project. Pulling in data from multiple systems, it’s possible to simulate and analyse on-site conditions in the 4th dimension, animating the site’s development, in relation to the schedule, over the course of the project. The software also acts as a common interface to the model for all project participants, allowing fast visualisation and design reviews. Its clash detection capabilities have saved many a project before getting to site and is heavily used in the Building Services industry.

Buzzsaw: An important part of collaboration is the management of document distribution and collation of project information. Buzzsaw is an online service that enables every project member to always have the right revision of a document, together with managing workflows for change orders and requests for quotations. It’s also really easy to use, being based on the look and feel of Windows Explorer.

Design Review: Not everyone has or needs a copy of AutoCAD or Revit to be a project member. Autodesk Design Review is a free standalone viewing tool for lightweight DWF models and drawings. It can be integrated with Buzzsaw and ensures that everyone has access to the current project data.

Design Viz: With 3ds Max, Maya and having just acquired SoftImage, there’s no real doubt who is the market leader in design visualisation. Autodesk offers many tools to produce jaw dropping photorealistic images for projects. A new variant of 3ds Max, called 3ds Max Design is specifically designed to help create stunning images from Revit, especially with a rich materials database and pre-defined sun, sky and artificial lighting.

The suite of tools that Autodesk can now offer is really quite impressive. I have not included here all the analysis tools that Autodesk has recently acquired either, such as Ecotect and Green Building Studio. While these are mainly stand alone products at the moment, Autodesk intents to tightly integrate these into Revit probably by the next release, early next year. Integrated projects benefit from integrated tools and this is something that Autodesk is really pushing to make happen.

While Autodesk defines Revit as its BIM platform, one does wonder if Autodesk will move other products like Civil 3D to the Revit platform at some point – as site work and landfill are important to all projects, but currently these are in an AutoCAD-based product. I guess the bottom line is that so long as the data can be extracted and brought into the Revit environment (or Navisworks) then the platform isn’t necessarily all that important. Extending that thought out beyond the Autodesk ecosystem, Autodesk’s recent deal with Bentley Systems to swap DWG file format knowledge for DGN file format knowledge will also benefit the industry as file format incompatibilities have weighed heavily on this industry for far too long. The historic decision made by the two competitors also means that Bentley has access to Autodesk’s API (programming interfaces) and as Bentley over the years has acquired a number of key building analysis tools there is some hope that these too will soon be available in a better integrated fashion for Autodesk customers.

It’s hard not to get the sense that barriers are indeed coming down, in both software and industry terms, which are all helping the construction players make changes that have been necessary but avoided for decades. Even the architects are starting to get up to speed!

Conclusion

While it’s still early days for BIM, the accelerating sales of Revit are an indicator that the industry is accelerating its adoption and changing the way it works. Looking through the industry ‘brands’ that have adopted BIM, you will find the majority are household name firms, and have completed at least one project using a BIM-based modelling system and based on that experience, committing to do more.

Adoption of BIM in the construction market isn’t really just about the software. Products like Revit are an enabling tool for collaborative workflows and are perhaps the tipping point for doing things differently. What’s actually driving this change in the market is how firms now need to work with one another to improve the design and construction of projects. Owners and operators are assisting in driving this change by demanding better results, some are even now stipulating a BIM model as a deliverable or some kind of integrated project delivery arrangement.

There is also increasing legislation and ever more stringent building codes that will drive sustainable solutions for buildings and infrastructure, requiring that there is some kind of performance compliance, which needs to be understood early in the design phase. This will push for more engineered solutions, requiring earlier design collaboration between multi-disciplinary teams.

It’s hard not to get excited about the technology and the new capabilities on offer and the willingness to experiment, or take the leap to BIM. By working together, multi-discipline teams can increase the understanding of the project earlier in the design cycle, allowing better assessment of design change ramifications. As the design progresses, all changes are co-ordinated, clashes detected and building performance optimised to meet sustainable objectives. Preconstruction estimates will be more accurate and construction schedules can be assessed and prototyped. After the job is complete there’s also the benefit of all this data to be used downstream in on-going maintenance.

The future is bright, the future is integrated.