Confident in your BIM Deliverable?

How confident you are in the data and integrity of your Building Information Model (BIM)? And how confident you are in the integrity of the data and model accuracy when sharing your BIM with others on the project including the client?

What's your Model Confidence Level?

Model confidence can vary according to the skills of your project team, specifically your model content developer’s skills and abilities in being able to meet what the project demands. These factors greatly impact the level of model confidence you may have and the Level of Development (LOD) of the BIM as required.

A high level of confidence is required for projects that require a high level of complexity and data management such as hospitals, industrial facilities, high-rise buildings, etcetera. Having a high level of model confidence is critical to any organization wanting to mitigate risk (which is everyone).

Developing model confidence requires four key points.

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•        Skill. The ability and knowledge to build the model accurately and confidently. An accurately built model (built in accordance to the required LOD) provides confidence in the model and the data. A poorly constructed model with missing elements, inaccurate assemblies, poor modeling standards, and practice, does not instill confidence in your model. Modeling skills can be addressed by assessing your staff's abilities and addressing weaknesses in skills and knowledge (skill gap analysis).

•       Standards. Model standards and best practices provide your staff with guidance and direction. Integrating standards into the workflow will guide the project modeling team in how to model accurately and establish a level of consistency across the organization.

• QAQC Process. Having great modelers and great standards are not enough. To stand behind your product you need to be able to verify that you meet a minimum quality standard. A process of verification through checklists needs to be implemented, also critical is the assurance that the flow of Information meets the intended recipients, a clear workflow can facilitate both requirements. A QAQC process should be integral to the project delivery workflow. Often a project may have its own project specific QAQC requirements which should be taken into consideration.

• Project Requirements. What the project demands should be figured out early in the project and well documented as part of the Project Execution Plan. Caution should be taken to not over model or under model, both will impact not only the quality of the project but also the profitability of the project.

These four elements are integral to establishing an organization's high level of model confidence. From the junior modeler to the CEO, Model Confidence is the responsibility of all and is key to the success (reputation) of any organization.

Give your team the tools to succeed

Developing process to create inefficiencies.

Why develop a process

In a factory where your typical smart phone is assembled, there is a production line. Someone has put a lot of thought about that production line, the process of fabrication and how efficient the process of assembling a smart phone is.

The same applies to the design industry, however our focus is typically on the process of creating the design instead of production of the design.

Without an effective documented process and resources you’re production team is prone to inefficiencies. Every building is a “prototype”, however we still have the opportunity to create inefficiencies in the production process.

Get an “insiders” point of view

When I first became a BIM Manager I joined our project team to get an “insider’s” look into the production process. What I found was that without a process in place the team was not performing to their maximum efficiency, in fact they were performing at about %70 efficiency due solely to the fact that there was no process in place guiding them effectively through the production of the drawings.

These were capable people with many years of experience working on complex projects, the team had worked in the office together for many years, yet it was the first time that they have all worked together as a team in this configuration.

Without a team management process your team members lack a high level of monitoring and guidance that would allow them to be fully productive, work was being replicated and some tasks were not beings addressed causing friction and delays in the project production.

It was time to review our processes.

Develop a process that works

From this experience I developed a series of processes and resources that help the team become more efficient. We not only reviewed and modified the process of completing projects, we also looked at how the teams were assembled, how the team was structured and the dispercement of roles and responsibilities. By clearly defining the tasks of each individual we provided each team member with clear expectations.

The team should not only have a process to follow but also have available to them the resources to be efficient in their tasks. Having unreliable resources, or worse yet resources your team are unable to find, gives them permission to create their own content essentially disregarding any quality control and wasting time.

Review your own processes with fresh eyes to see where you can make improvements, look at it from the standpoint of production and what resources you would need to efficiently complete the task at hand.

Tips on developing your process

Develop a process of production and create the resources to back it up. We spent a significant amount of time evaluating our existing processes, what was working, what wasn’t working and what holes existed in the processes. Through reviewing and developing processes we were able to clearly define the flow of operations at all aspects of our business.

• Make your process easy to follow, keep it clear and easy to understand, don’t make a process too constraining or onerous or you’ll find that no one will follow it.
• Make your process flexible to accommodate a variety of situations or project types.
• Make it easily accessible, if it’s too many “clicks” away people will get lost and not bother.
• Provide information on the process in a variety of formats, such as online, printed booklet form, pdf etc.
• Have upper management promote and endorse your process, this will help with adoption.

Stages of developing a process

Continual promotion of your processes will take time, monitoring your team and constant reminders will need to happen as you develop a culture that follows the processes. If your processes are good you’ll find adoption, if not review the process with your team to find out how to make it better.

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Quality Control at CEI Architecture

Over the past few months we here at CEIArchitecture have been working on defining and implementing a comprehensive new quality control system, which we’re calling CEIQ: Quality Control and Project Management Procedures. This document includes a section called BIM Management System.

The precursor to CEIQ was a document and system outlining the firm’s Flow of Operations. It was solid, but changes in the industry and in our firm meant that an update was needed. The existing document didn't go into a lot of detail in regards to the BIM process, and several recent wins on major P3 projects including the recent announcement that our team, Affinity Partnerships, is the preferred proponent for the BCChildren’s and BC Women’s Hospital Acute Care Centre meant that our quality control procedures have expanded.

As the BIM manager I already had a number of existing documents and processes that I put in place, but I still found it difficult to share certain information and make everyone aware of its existence and apply it to their projects. We have some great content but it's no good if people are not aware of it, even though I've constantly promoted these documents and processes.

Part of the process in the creation of the CEIQ Quality Control document included interviewing our staff, asking pertinent questions about existing process and getting their thoughts on how we can improve our quality control and project management efficiency. 

We got great feedback! 

There were a few themes that came up in most interviews, one of which was a desire to have a clear, comprehensive and fully approved project roadmap. People want guidance on the "how," "where" and "what do I do next" on a project. Even though we already had these in the existing Flow of Operations, as time progressed our systems needed updating and we needed to re-instill a sense of accountability.

We consider CEIQ a living system, a set of guidelines, processes and beliefs that will evolve as the company and industry does. We expect it to be updated during the initial roll out period, and to adapt to changes over time. Our goal with CEIQ is to improve efficiencies and create consistency in every aspect of our service and deliverables. The ultimate goal is to ensure that efficient systems are in place to free up the creative capacity of our talented designers, so they can focus on what they do best: creating spaces that work well for our clients and their communities.

CEIQ includes a section on the BIM management system, which we hope to be able to give people working on a project clear instruction and guidance on their roles on a project that uses Revit. One of the biggest challenges in implementing this type of structure in any business is getting buy-in not only of the staff but of the partners. Fortunately the leadership at CEI Architecture have been the driving force behind the initiative, which makes the adoption process much easier throughout the organization.

After we roll out CEIQ: Quality Control and Project Management Procedures, I will periodically blog about sections of the process and explain the benefits of developing your own project management procedures.

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