Masonry Magazine February 2014 Page. 26
BIM-M:
A Work in Progress
By David Biggs, P.E., S.E.
Graphics cou rtesy ofTradesmen's Software Inc.
IUGlobalandlntemationalStudiesBuildlng
IT HAS BEEN TWO YEARS SINCE THE IDEA OF BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING -MASONRY (BIM-M) WAS CONCEIVED, and what it means is still evolving. For many, BIM is 3D modeling taken to the extreme. For others, BIM is a process of designing, constructing and maintaining buildings that is all about information transfer and risk management. BIM-M is all of these applied to masonry buildings.
Year one (2012) of BIM-M meant planning and assessment. An outstanding Executive Commit�tee ofmasonry industry leaders took bold steps into the digital arena. Each envisioned a better mason�ry industry and what BIM-M could do to make that happen. Georgia Institute of Technology was selected as lead consultant under the guidance of international experts Charles (Chuck) Eastman (charles.eastman@coa.gatech.edu) and Russell Gentry (russell.gentry@coa.gatech.edu) of the Digital Building Laboratory. Industry experts offered their advice and input. The result ofall that planning was the development of a roadmap (http://bimformasonry.org/phase-i-roadmap).
24 MASONRY � February 2014 � www.masoncontractors.org The Voice of the Masonry Industry