Digital Amnesia

Digital amnesia is a phenomenon in which technological knowledge becomes lost to humanity through constant technological advancement.

Is IFC the solution to Digital amnesia? 

The Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) data model is intended to describe building and construction industry data. It is a platform neutral, open file format specification that is not controlled by a single vendor or group of vendors.

Hence, IFC is software agnostic thus should be the format of choice for not only file sharing but also archiving projects?

In North America IFC usage is minimal as we are dominated primarily by one BIM software company. Not so in Europe where we have multiple players with equal market share in the competition for your BIM platform of choice. 

As we see the project collaboration efforts cross not only multiple disciplines but also multi platforms the need for us to rely upon one common file format becomes more crucial.
today's large scale projects typically include not only the common "Building" disciplines but also infrastructure... a discipline they typically uses a different platforms than AEC industry (can you spell Microstation?)

Organizations requesting BIM as their deliverable typically have to be platform agnostic, especially government RFP's. As the Industry progresses and the demand for BIM deliverable increase we will need to stay abreast of IFC and how best to take advantage of this file format.

And maybe consider Archiving projects in a IFC file format?

Sc

How to be an effective Leader

Here's another image that was recently shared with me.

I think this very accurately describes how good leaders lead.

Vulnerable: Dont be afraid to admit your wrong, you will gain the respect of others. 

Mirror: Act in a way you want others on your team to act, lead by example.

Started: We all started at the bottom, respect and listen to those starting from the beginning as they often have a "fresh" view.... and be humble of your position. 

Integrity: Dictionary defines Integrity as "the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness". Do what is right, for your team, for the company and for the project.

Before: Promote other and encourage development.

Not about you: It'll backfire if it's about you.

On your own: Surround yourself by good people and good things will happen, the key to your success is the success of your team and their ability to thrive under your leadership.

Sc

Leadership

I came across this image today and felt the need to share.

Sometimes those in a leadership loose focus of this and their main concern is the "business model".
A leaders responsibility is to maintain the businesses success... and manage, in a thoughtful manner, those under their charge. This means making sure that their goals and aspirations are being met.

Your success is dependent upon the quality of those around you and you will only be able to retain quality people by keeping them engaged, active in leadership decisions (direction) and providing them with opportunities to grow.  I think this is crucial than ever before as this is the evolution of good business management.

And remember, you are a leader, regardless of your position.

Sc

BIM All Aboard!

Can BIM Regional Session - Calgary

BIM All Aboard!

June 28-29th 2017

http://www.canbim.com/calgary17
Register now!

Event Description.
A two day event. Day one will kick off with the CanBIM Tours and the CanBIM Opening Reception. Day two, in the morning, will host concurrent BIM/VDC workshops. 

BIM Foundations: Are we BIM-ing yet? develop a fundamental understanding of BIM/VDC and associated strategies. 

BIM for Advanced Practitioners: Collaborative BIM Workflows & Processes for all Stakeholders optimize your current BIM/VDC workflow/environment to achieve efficiencies. 

BIM for Owners: Expectations, Challenges and Rewards, leveraging BIM to address the needs of facility owners and operators and ensuring supplier cooperation. 

In the afternoon, attendees will hear from presenters with industry based case studies showcasing projects that address key issues and challenges for all stakeholders. Following these presentations attendees will participate in an open forum panel discussion with industry leaders about the current state of BIM/VDC adoption in the Province of Alberta and the future outlook for the province.


Day 2
8:00AM-8:30AM: Registration

8:30AM-8:35AM: Opening Address - Brent Mauti, CanBIM Director

8:35AM-9:00AM: Keynote Address - Neil McFarlane, P.Eng. Assistant Deputy Minister, Health and Government Facilities Division, Alberta Infrastructure

9:00AM-10:30AM 
Workshop 1: BIM Foundations: Are We BIM-ing Yet?
Workshop 2: BIM For Advanced Practitioners: Collaborative BIM Workflows & Processes for all Stakeholders
Workshop 3: BIM for Owners: Expectations, Challenges and Rewards

10:30AM-11:00AM: BREAK

11:00AM-12:15PM: Panel Discussion - BIM: Change Management to Execution Plans

12:15PM-1:00PM: LUNCH

1:00PM-1:30PM: Presentation - Almost There! A BIM Postmortem From $350M Stanton Hospital Project - Daniel Doherty, CM BIM Manager of Virtual Construction, Clark Builders

1:30PM-2:00PM: Presentation - BIM: What’s Around The Bend? - John Locke, Sr. Principal Research Scientist, Autodesk

2:00PM-2:30PM: Presentation - PCL Rocky Ridge Recreation Centre

2:30PM-3:00PM: Presentation - Using Mobile Technology to Reduce Risk

3:00PM-3:30PM: BREAK

3:30PM-4:30PM: Panel Discussion - Alberta Next Steps

4:30PM-5:00PM: CanBIM Certification Update & Ceremony - Pietro Ferrari, Chair of Education & Research Committee

5:00PM-7:00PM: Closing Reception


Workshop 1 - BIM Foundations: Are We BIM-ing Yet?
Lead Instructor: William Myers, Director of Operations, Global eTraining

Are you looking to sharpen your understanding of what BIM is, or review how BIM can benefit your company?
This workshop aims to provide a better understanding of the basics of BIM, then moving into practical concepts and workflows, which have been proven effective globally. 

Some key issues this workshop will cover are:

Are you really doing BIM?
• Levels of BIM - What are you trying to accomplish?
• Impacts to workflow, culture, technology itself.
• BIM – what is it good for? (Visualization, Virtualization, Project Management)

BIM Fundamentals
• What is BIM and why?
• Benefits and Challenges of BIM
• Terminology - Strategy Stage, Project Planning, Operational Phase
• BIM Acronyms

BIM Roles and Responsibilities
• Overview of Roles
• Client Driven Roles
• Supplier Roles
• Role of Information Management


Workshop 2 - BIM For Practitioners: Collaborative BIM Workflows & Processes for all Stakeholders 
Lead Instructor: Martin Neault, Major Projects BIM Leader, DIALOG

Evolving project delivery brings quick changes in process methodology. Understand how new processes and changes in the working culture are opening opportunities to a more collaborative and integrated way of delivering projects. The dynamics are different today and continuously moving to a more collaborative working philosophy. 

BIM is moving stakeholders out of their silos with a different workflow. Learn how some AEC leaders are managing the process of interoperability and collaboration in a successful way including the design team and contractor/trades through BIM project Execution Plan. 


Workshop 3 - BIM for Owners: Expectations, Challenges and Rewards 
Lead Instructor: Geraldine Rayner, Director Architect AIBC BA DipArch RIBA LEED®AP, SummitBIM

BIM is transforming architecture, engineering, and construction. Yet, many Building Owners are not seeing the full benefit of data flowing through the building life cycle from design and construction to facilities management. Why not? 

This workshop will work through the steps that need to be considered to control this new digital process so that the maximum benefits can be reaped. Starting from the very beginning – what the definition of BIM should be for Building Owners – this is a fast-paced, interactive session:

• Demonstrates why you can’t afford to ignore BIM from a business case perspective;
• Offers insights into the challenges for an Owner and how to overcome them;
• Delivers a practical outline for defining a BIM process that meets expectations;
• Offers proven tactics for reaping the rewards of BIM in Facilities Management.

Hope to see you there.

Sc

Who's in charge of your Revit project??

Re-posting this as it's valuable information that I've refereed too numerous times. I wrote this back in 2013 and the information is still relevant!

Really! You may have a team of people working on your Revit project but who's in charge? 
Well, the Architect of course.... Wrong! 

Sure the Architect may be in charge of the project but who's managing your Revit project? 
It's not the Architects, he's too busy dealing with client meetings and the contractors etc...

There may be a number of people in the office working on the project but unless there is a defined hierarchy of the Revit project team you may not be working efficiently.

That's what I have found, and have since created a structure for Revit project teams.
 By structuring your team and assigning roles you create efficiency in time and productivity. Structure like this helps people concentrate on their task at hand, it also reduces overlap of work and provides some consistency in project standards, content and responsibility. Kind of takes the pressure of the projerct Architect if the Revit project is managed well.

Here's what I've implemented:

Job Captain

• Lead role in preparing contract documents
• Oversees creation and development of the CD’s
• Design construction details
• Coordination junior members of project team
• Organizes project team coordination and work meetings
• Oversees the project team and work schedule, Team Whip.
• Reviews drawings and identifies changes
• Completes a periodic review of the drawings using the DWG project checklist
• Coordinates other consultants (non-model specific)
• Assists with Tender
• Drawing Organization and Quality control
• Reviews and identifies changes required by the project (may be a result of client or consultant meetings)

BIM Captain

• BIM Modeling only
• Prevent “over modeling” by others
• Manages the “I” in BIM. Information in the families and model elements.
• Defines schedulable information
• Manages family content

Detail Captain

• Coordination off drawing standards between consultants and internal staff
• Manages the CEI drawing standards
• Manages the CEI drawing process
• Works with the Job captain on what details need to be included
• Layout/sequence of sheets 
• Organization of project browser views, legends etc.

Project Support Technician

• Assist with design development
• Assist with contract documents
• Draw marked changes
• Produce detail drawings from sketches
• Research materials and finishes
• Assist with Tender
• Assist with Contract Administration
• Assist with Contract close out

By better defining the roles that are assigned to people we can manage the workflow of a project creating better efficiency.

With the addition of the BIM Captain and the Detail Captain, along with additional definition of the Job Captain, we can better manage the staffing resources assigned to a project. By clearly assigning roles and responsibilities of each team member of a project it reduces confusion over who is responsible for specific tasks.

Multiple roles can be assigned to specific people.

For example a project may only require four key people:

Project Architect

Job Captain

BIM Captain

Detail Captain

The Project Architect will attend meetings, and deal with the client etc…. The Job Captain can work closely with the Project Architect and the consultants as well as overview the development of the CD’s. The BIM Captain develops the Revit Model and works closely with the Detail Captain who manages the development of the Revit  file and organization of the sheets etc. Both the BIM Captain and the Detail Captain take on the role of the Revit Techs.

On smaller projects the BIM Captain and Detail Captain may be assigned to the same person.

On larger projects each role will be assigned to specific individuals.

Depending on the scale and scope of the project the skill level and experience of the person will play a factor on what role will be assigned. This gives less experienced staff the opportunity to experience each these roles.

So far this has been working out pretty good!!

Sc