Masonry Magazine July 2008 Page. 43
The concept, an international effort, has been around about 10 years, he says, and its creation is overseen by the International Alliance for Interoperability. "It's more than just a software, really, it's a whole culture change of collaboration, interoperability and being able to share information," says Smith, adding that the use of BIM provides a 12-to-1 return on investment, with savings stemming from time saved and problems corrected on the computer before they ever reach the worksite.
In addition to problems, another thing BIM keeps away from the worksite is excess materials, which can add up to wasted cost and more concern for safety on the site. While the steel, electrical and HVAC sectors have been involved with the evolution of BIM for a number of years, masonry has not been brought into the mix as much.
"The masonry industry is probably an area that we need to get more involved and help them understand how they'll be involved from the structural side," says Smith. Smith says a major effort is being made now to establish an open standard, whereby all facets of the industries have a standard for communication through email and Internet, among other issues. Establishing 100 percent code compliance is another area being perfected, he adds.
"That way, it doesn't just check the favorite code compliance item of whatever inspector there is, so this will increase public safety," says Smith. Smith admits that, despite the number of years behind the development of BIM, confidence in the information is low and each player in a project typically ends up re-gathering the information, a waste of both time and money.
"We're working on educating a new group of designers, constructors and everyone else," he says. "We're looking at providing better information to building owners and operators." Smith estimates a savings of $399 billion a year in design and construction costs with the use of BIM, an amount well worth pursuing.
Those who are ready to move to BIM will need to dig deep, as the computers and graphics programs needed to run the programs cost about $10,000 each, says Larry Anderson, associate principal of TEECOM Design Group, of Oakland, Calif, which has used BIM for the past two years on large, complex health care projects and is now integrating it into smaller projects as well. His company spent an estimated $15,000 per workstation for software, hardware and initial training.
"You need a real powerhouse, but even with that, the software tends to run a little slow because there is so much information in 3-D working," he says.
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