AIA Report #8 Response

Jim Bedrick from Webcor Buildings, a proponent of BIM, argues another perspective in the advancement of the construction industry. Jim like any Construction Principal is seeking to find a means to an end of inefficiencies. Jim argues BIM supports process improvement, that BIM is not just about the technology, it’s all about the process which leads into the RESULTS! I found this article interesting to read and learn how extreme the positive results of BIM have been producing vs. traditional 2d practices. I found the bulleted section describing the process of 3d deconstructed to 2d from architect to engineer, then having to be reconstructed by an engineer in 3d in hopes the architect was envisioning the same thing to be quite humorous. We have been doing it for centuries, and now with BIM, the leap from 2d to 3d strictly is possible!

I agree that Cad is a platform which was designed to be used primarily in 2d, where the files you create are data, but data that is not intelligent, data which is reinterpreted by its users. Reinterpretation can be misled and inaccuracies in the construction phases to be offset with complications. The argument “the advance from CAD to BIM is a very real jump from data to information” is a bold statement, but I agree after reading Bedrick’s supporting factual evidence.

Bedrick explains how in the advancement of construction, more specialists have been called to the industry due to the complex systems which continually grow in popular demand in all modern buildings. Since, there are more people on the scene of a project, contact between head architect and specialists are limited, and due to the lack of communication, discontinuity occurs causing setbacks in the schedule. With BIM, communication is easier and clearer due to the collaboration of the shared file which BIM supports. Tremendous amounts of money has been saved through BIM regarding cost feedback, old traditional methods would require 2-3 weeks before a cost estimate could be sent to the clients, with BIM, this process now only takes a matter of a day! The response times from designer to engineer can take place in a couple of hours, saving extra time to tackle the next problem and finish the project sooner.