TM BIM and its implications for the “average” design practice Glenn Cunnington Humphrey &...

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BIM and its implications for the “average” design practice

Glenn Cunnington

Humphrey & Edwards

Revit Technology Conference 2010

What’s my story?• I’m an architect by trade• I have been working with CAD for over 20 years!• I switched to Revit (from AutoCAD) about 5 years ago.• Humphrey & Edwards are a practice of about 15 with a broad portfolio

including commercial, retail, hospitality and residential projects… Predominantly “one off” bespoke projects.

• We have recently completed several larger (circa $10 million), complex projects all designed, developed and documented exclusively using Revit!

• We are currently working on a broad range of projects including a $100 million mixed use project… Exclusively in Revit!

• My primary interest is our work… • Revit, BIM and all it’s accessories are the tools and techniques of our

trade.

Introduction


BIM Maturity• Globally, the adoption of BIM capable tools is steadily on the

increase.• The trend in Australia is in a similar direction.

Introduction


BIM Maturity

• The CRC for Construction Innovation and various project participants from all aspects of the construction industry developed the National Building Information Modelling Guidelines in July 2009.

• Where are you on the path to BIM maturity?

Introduction


The “average” design practice• By “average” in this instance I’m

referring to “typical”• The issues we face on the path to

BIM maturity are common to us all

• Of course our experiences will be different and are dependant on a variety of variables that shape the contexts for each of our practices. E.g.

– Our people– Our projects– Our clients– Our working methods– etc

Introduction


Putting ourselves in perspective

Globally, we exist in a time where:• Material consumption and waste

generation is steadily increasing• Productivity in the construction

industry is extraordinarily low by comparison to other industries

• We coexist in an increasingly more global economy

Future prosperity depends upon our ability to:

• Improve resource efficiency• Improve productivity and • Manage our impacts on the global

community

BIM… So what’s the point? The big picture


The construction industry presents challenges to progress

The construction industry is characterised as being:

• Craft based (overly reliant on manual labour)

• Difficult to standardise, maintain consistency and quality

• Highly fragmented• Poorly systemised• Over regulated• Reliant on highly variable

environmental conditions• Adversarial, and• Litigious.



The architectural and building design industry presents further challenges

• We generally maintain a traditional approach to our working processes.

• based on old technology... Principally the 2D drawing

• The collective intellect of the design team is infused in lines on a page or drawing.

• Subsequently, this documentation usually fulfils one purpose only... construction!

• Documentation requires reinterpretation through the construction process and consequently is prone to misinterpretation!

• It is not really possible to extract the design intellect, from lines on the page, for future use.



Productivity

Productivity in the building industry

How is it that a structure as complex as a plane, performing a task as optimistic as flying can do so with “generally” such high reliability and I

cant even get two tiles to line up on a wall?


Productivity


Planes are maintained by humans...

And construction is undertaken by humans… But not necessarily

to the same standards!


Productivity


• The implications of a failure in aviation can be catastrophic…• And similarly catastrophic for the construction industry!• And if not catastrophic… Damn distressing none-the-less?


Productivity


• despite the quality of the design provided, the accuracy of the documentation produced, the care taken to ensure its coordination and the time taken to communicate intent most projects suffer dramatically from time, cost and quality issues.


Productivity

Productivity in the design practice

It is extremely difficult to measure the productivity of a design practice! Due to:

• Lack of consistency across the industry. In fact, in my experience, consistency is difficult to maintain across an individual practice.

• Differing, industry-wide, work processes• We practice in different contexts, in diverse geographic locations

under variable environmental conditions• We are very reliant upon the skills and talents of individuals, and• Projects are realised by a variety of procurement techniques.

Where are we with our implementation of BIM?• We are doing more, with less people, and• To a higher general standard of design and service quality than ever

before.• But this has not translated to any substantial increase in profit!


Is collaboration the key to progress?

• “Collaboration” is being widely proclaimed as the solution to all our problems.

• It has been suggested that the “effectiveness” of BIM in practice relies on successful collaboration.

• “Effectiveness” is difficult to measure as there is very little empirical research into “effectiveness” in practice.

• However, Kathleen Liston (2008) has undertaken research into the qualitative assessment of the “effectiveness” of “collaboration” in practice.

Collaboration


The relative effectiveness (performance) of various collaboration techniques are tested and compared with the implementation of BIM processes, graphic adapted from Liston 2008.Refer to the table ,summarised from Liston [2008] and included in the handout, which highlights the positive and negative factors that contribute to the success of, or detriment of, an integrated approach to design development!

Collaboration


BIM… Why should we bother?

When properly implemented BIM:• Supports collaboration • Encourages an integrated

approach to design and documentation

• Eliminates the necessity for multiple data entry– Reduce errors and

omissions– Maximise efficiency

• Improves the clarity of communication of intent– The built reality = the

design intent• It allows us to work more like

designers

Moving forward


But there is a catch…

This process requires:

Greater accuracy, more design consideration and better

preparation

This requires more effort

Which translates to increased (initial) costs

• Bespoke design may be well supported, but

• Out-of-the-box, the BIM design approach favours highly systemised design and documentation processes.

Moving forward


• Moving on... BIM implementation• Information exchange• Resource allocation• Redistribution of effort• Resources

– Staff capability and capacity– Human resource Issues associated with BIM in practice– Technological resources

• Project management and the collaborative working environment

• Educating clients and managing expectation

• Contractual relations and liability• Risk• Intellectual property and copyright• Your “smarts”... templates, family libraries

etc• Managing innovation risk• Mayhem in the 4th dimension• Moving forward... New business

opportunities

The big issues


• There will inevitably be an implementation cycle of elation and frustration

• You’re no longer working with a drawing package… your modelling!• Select the appropriate staff

– They must be capable, interested and engaged. – Ensure that senior staff are represented on your team of initial adopters.

• Establish a “sensible” implementation strategy– Start with simple projects where possible– Don’t forget... You will still have deadlines and commitments– Begin with the basics

• If you’re not the champion... You will need one!• Also refer to the “BIM implementation fundamentals” adapted from Smith

& Tardif [2009] and included in the handout

Implementation


Resource allocation

Our experience

• We are doing more, with less people

• We have seen a general reduction in total time spent on comparative projects

• We are generally performing to higher standards of design and service delivery than ever before;

But• There has been a negligible

reduction in total project cost. • Consequently no substantial

increase in profitability

… At least not yet!

We’re Here


Resource allocation

Comparison of hours and costs associated with two substantially similar projects... Traditional CAD vs BIM

Staff Resource Hrs CAD Hrs BIMHrs %

change

Director 50Hrs 25Hrs -50.00%

Project Director / Associate 150Hrs 250Hrs 66.67%

Architect 250Hrs 400Hrs 60.00%

Technician Architectural 400Hrs 250Hrs -37.50%

Technician Drafting 400Hrs 125Hrs -68.75%

Totals 1250Hrs 1050Hrs -16.00%

Staff Resource Costs CAD Costs BIMCost % change

Director $5,000 $2,500 -50.00%

Project Director / Associate $9,000 $15,000 66.67%

Architect $12,000 $19,200 60.00%

Technician Architectural $16,000 $10,000 -37.50%

Technician Drafting $12,000 $3,750 -68.75%

Totals $54,000 $50,450 -6.57%


Resource allocation

Comparison of hours and costs associated with two substantially similar projects... Traditional CAD vs BIM

-16.00%

-6. 57%


Profitability

What’s the hindrance?

Amongst the multitude of business issues... Those that relate directly to the implementation of BIM include:

• Whilst we are doing more with less people, these people are generally more skilled, experienced and difficult to find. • Increasing reliance on more BIM “capable” staff• Increasing staff costs

• Increase in efficiency is being reinvested into our projects.• Consequently it is difficult to capitalise on the value we are able to

bring to projects. • Basically our clients are getting more than they pay for!

• Our productivity is being harnessed by other participants in the project• E.g. other consultants, contractors and even sub-contractors who

benefit, typically at no or minimal cost, from the smarts we are able bring to a project.


Profitability

The transitional reality as we strive for increased interoperability

Diagrammatic representation of "ideal" interoperability in comparison with the "actual" scenario resulting from a lack of interoperability


Information exchange• Interoperability will be the

backbone of collaborative practice.• We will live and die by the

efficiency with which we are capable of exchanging information to support our collaborative practice.

• The rate of information generation Information will continue to increase.

• In order to ensure that this information remains manageable it will be essential that information is:

• Structured• Meaningful; and• Computable

• Software and hardware vendors must support open standards for information exchange


Redistribution of effort

The redistribution of effort and its implications on project viabilityfrom Collaboration, Integrated Information and the Project Lifecycle in Building Design,

Construction and Operation, The Construction Users Roundtable, August 2004, p4.

The relationship between the ability to implement design change and the relative cost of implementing those changes at the various stages of project procurement.


Redistribution of effort

The redistribution of effort and its implications on project viabilityAdapted from Collaboration, Integrated Information and the Project Lifecycle in Building

Design, Construction and Operation, The Construction Users Roundtable, August 2004, p4.

the relationship between the ability to implement design change and the relative cost of implementing those changes at the various stages of project procurement.


Resources

Staff capability and capacity• Staff who “engage” with the BIM process

develop faster• Previous experience, is not so relevant• Our experience suggests that any staff

member who is genuinely interested will be working in some productive capacity in a very short period of time;

• Staff who “engage” with the BIM process become increasingly more valuable because:

• The BIM design process promotes engagement between participants

• Real engagement ensures a thorough understanding of the project

• Accordingly they become more reliable and consequently more capable of managing additional responsibility


Resources

Staff capability and capacity• Skill and experience developed on one

project translates well to subsequent projects

• Accordingly capacity to work more efficiently improves rapidly

• Consequently the traditional role of the drafting technician is becoming obsolete.

• Demand is increasing for more highly skilled staff... There’s is less and less place for plodders!


Resources

Human resource issues associated with BIM in practice• Where you remain working on multiple

platforms, the knowledge gap widens between staff working in CAD and BIM

• Interest in maintenance of your CAD system wanes as your tech staff lose interest in it in preference for the BIM system

• Staff become so engrossed in development of the model that the quality of contractual deliverables, e.g. drawings for construction, suffer. After all it does not really matter how good your design or model is if the design intent does not translate to construction on site.


Resources

Human resource issues associated with BIM in practice• Hand drawing skills (sketching) are being

forgotten as staff become more confident with BIM. This seems to be particularly evident in the younger generations!

• Sketching will remain an instrumental communication technique for designers for the foreseeable future

• The sheer quantity of tools and information we need to maintain proficiency with is constantly increasing

• This issue is exacerbated by the proliferation of non-integrated software;

• Excessive non-productive time and energy is required to keep up-to-date

• It has never, at least in my experience, been more difficult to find appropriately skilled staff.


Resources

Technological resources

Increasing pressure on technological resources:

• Hardware must be of sufficient capacity to meet the demands of your software;

• Software must be kept up-to-date,

• Staff must be kept up-to-date • Networks must be maintained and

of sufficient capacity to support increasing data exchange requirements;

• Security of data is critical• IT support dependency is

increasing• 3 year “active” service life for

most technological resources


Project Management

PM in the collaborative working environmentManagement considerations closely aligned to successful BIM project management include:• Organisation at project Initiation• Use of appropriate template files• File management structure• Establishing modelling guidelines• Ensuring the necessary family support is

available• Establishing exchange Protocols• Implementing and ensuring practice

standards are maintained• Determine output Conventions


Project Management

• Establish and maintain quality control procedures

• Set up model checking procedures to ensure model integrity

• Monitor linking and merging of models to ensure that amalgamated information is current and complete

• Conduct clash-detection to ensure architectural, services and construction co-ordination

• Review deliverables to ensure accuracy and comprehensiveness of documentation, including drawings, schedule, specifications, exports etc.

• Maintain backup and archive models regularly and at key project milestones.


Educating clients

Managing expectationWe might not think they are as smart as they think

they are... But they’re the one making all the money!

At least I hope my clients are making money!

• The client’s principal objective is completion• As quickly as possible• As cheaply as possible

• This is understandable as:• Typically, it is not until project completion

that revenue is generated• Everything else that occurs between

conception and completion is an impediment to the client’s business and is likely to result in increased costs reducing the profitability of their enterprise.


Educating clients

Managing expectation• Consequently Clients often disregard long term

consequences of design decisions• And… “Added value” is totally an optional

extra!• Timely performance is almost always priority

1• One of my favourite clients actually refers to

our BIM approach is as…“…Funky S**t…”

• This may be a short-sighted attitude in the context of the expected life cycle of their project.

• We must ensure that our clients understand the potential...

• And most importantly understand the other implications including work flow, redistribution of effort, contractual consequences, risk apportionment, program implications and the like... And that with every benefit there is a cost!


Sugarmill, Kings Cross• The problem: Redesign cladding insitu yesterday!

Funky s**t


Sugarmill, Kings Cross• Developed design options for client approval

Funky s**t


Sugarmill, Kings Cross• Simultaneously… Modeled panels for cutting and fabrication

Funky s**t


Sugarmill, Kings Cross• Simultaneously… Produced documentation for approval and schedules for construction

Funky s**t


Sugarmill, Kings Cross• Less than two weeks later… Job done!

Funky s**t


Contractual relations and liability

• Traditional contractual relationships and forms of liability insurance do not really suit the specific circumstances of new and evolving collaborative work processes.

• New collaborative forms of contract are necessary to meet the needs of these collaborative processes.

• The preference is for consultant and/or contracting teams to establish a type of “joint venture” arrangement.

• And for liability to be managed on a project by project basis.

• It is suspected that these sort of agreements will become more commonplace in the construction industry as BIM, integrated project delivery and the like mature into commonplace procurement techniques.


Contractual relations and liability

• The adversarial culture of contractual relations should dissolve as contractual arrangements are based on sharing the pain and the gain appropriately.

• Project Alliancing Agreements have been in existence in Australia for many years.

• They are most commonly used for infrastructure projects.

• In fact $65 Billion of Alliance Projects have been successfully delivered in Australia over the last 12 years according to the Department of Treasury and Finance, 2009 [Raisbeck et al, 2009].

• Development of new standard form building construction contracts have advanced further in the US and UK than here where standard form contracts have already been amended to cope with collaborative procurement methods.


Risk

The construction process is defined, contractually, by obligations, risks and rewards. Collaborative procurement presents many questions including:• How are obligations, risks and rewards

apportioned?• Under what circumstances can liability be

limited?• How long does the period of liability

last?• Where does the responsibility lay for

coordination?• Who is responsible for the accuracy and

reliability of the model and its components?

• To what extent are you responsible for a model that you authored when it is no longer in your control?


Risk

The authors of information should be rightly concerned by the potential to assume undue risks. For example, an architect who provides a contractor with a model which is subsequently utilised by the contractor to take-off quantities, may be held liable for the accuracy of the quantities.Two ends of the spectrum• The information author is held

completely accountable for the information issued regardless of their potential to control the information once transmitted; vs

• The information recipient accepting the information at face value, assessing its veracity and ultimately accepting responsibility for its utilisation.


Risk

• Of course the premise of this is that we all work in an integrated and collaborative manner. But it is likely, in the interim, that we will be practicing in circumstances of partial collaboration. This only assists to muddy the water further.

• Ideally information ought to be generated by the party with the greatest authority and most expertise to do so. This may take some consideration but the potential benefits for all parties to better understand each other are enticing.

• Be sure to review your insurance where it is planned to participate in any form of knowledge sharing.

• Despite several enquiries we have yet to receive conclusive, consistent advice from our insurers.


Risk

Some of the issues are summarised following:Role reversal• As the design team become more involved

with program, method of construction, construction schedule and the like to what extent do they begin to assume what was traditionally the contractor’s liability?

• Similarly, where the contractor is more involved in the design process to what extent does the contractor begin to assume liability for what was traditionally the designer’s responsibility?

Standard of care• If the BIM process delivers improved

reliability and reduced error through improved coordination... To what extent will the standard of care of the ‘reasonable” architect be elevated by these new standards?


Risk

Priority• What takes priority specifications, 2D

drawings, 3D drawings or the model itself?

• If we disclaim responsibility for the model we defeat the purpose of integration!

• Clarity is required in the definition of what, and to what extent, reliance is to be placed upon the model and/or associated drawings and specifications.

Reliance of other project participants• Where full coordination is not in effect it

is becoming increasingly more common for consultants, contractors and fabricators to establish their own “derivative” models from the main project model.

• To what extent does the author of the original model’s liability extend to the “derivative” models of others.


Risk

Management• In a situation where a party other than the main

author manages the model, who assumes liability for the management of the model?

Interoperability• Where does responsibility lie in regard to the

interoperability of hardware and software? Future utilisation of the model• When and where is liability limited for future

reliance on the BIM?Insurance• Forms of insurance need to be carefully reviewed

to ensure that they address concerns such as these!


Intellectual property and copyright

• In the absence of contractual provisions to the contrary, normally the original author of a piece of information would remain the owner of the copyright to that information.

• The difficulty here is that it is likely that much information will be the product of multiple authors.

• Furthermore they will be creating and varying data at differing times throughout the development of a project.

• And a BIM is likely to be imbued with much more intellectual property than a traditional CAD file. For instance one project file could include thousands of hours of template and family development alone.

• Some means of securing data seems necessary… But the process of securing data is somewhat in contradiction to the intent of collaboration!


Smarts

Templates, family libraries and the like

• These are the by products of the implementation of BIM.

• We will develop proprietary techniques, templates, families etc. that are repositories of you and your client’s intellectual reserve.

• They are likely to be exquisitely tailored to suit project requirements and working methods.

• We’re dealing now with much more than a good CAD standard and an extensive block library!

• Your BIM resources need to be appropriately organised, managed and maintained

• Development of resources needs to be communicated to your staff. E.g. How to use a complex family.


Managing innovation risk

“Once a new technology rolls over you,

if you're not part of the steamroller,

you're part of the road.”

Stewart Brand (American writer)



• Where are you on the innovation scale?

• A pioneer?• A straggler?• Or somewhere in between?

• Pioneers differentiate themselves as “pioneers” and are able to utilise this advantage to offset their increased risk

• Most of us will follow somewhere behind the true pioneers. But ideally we will follow closely behind.

• It is worthy to consider your position in regard to innovation. We have developed a strategy to assist to manage innovation risk that is adapted from advice in Smith and Tardif [2009].



• Regularly evaluate emerging technologies

• Remain constantly on the lookout for anything that will assist you to operate more efficiently and/or effectively

• Identify, and only implement new technologies, processes, methods etc (not necessarily limited to BIM) that:

• Assist to improve efficiency, quality, consistency and/or reliability in the delivery of core competencies

• Compliment or augment core competencies

• Improve communication and/or collaboration

• Reduce costs



• Establish a means to monitor and assess the benefit (return on investment) for newly implemented technologies, process and methods

• Avoid new technologies that require excessive development or customisation that may not be of direct benefit

• Deploy technologies only after they have been properly tested

• Avoid experimental technologies

• Participate and contribute to technological development, but in a capacity that has direct relevance to your core competencies and to an extent that is manageable.


Mayhem in the 4th dimension

The ability for the BIM to understand time and support scheduling is an immensely useful and powerful function. But management of the 4th dimension can be a mine field.


Moving forward… Future business opportunities

Concept design services:• ESD analysis• Cost analysis• Operational simulation• Lifecycle cost analysis• Option exercising (which

basically involves detailed analysis of many options)

• Visualisation;• Planning efficiency• Waste minimisation

Integrated design and construction capabilities:• Construction

coordination• Clash detection

• Quantity take-off and cost estimation

• Programming, sequencing and scheduling

• Fabrication, including direct offsite fabrication

• Temporary work design, programming and scheduling

• Verification• Model management

control... Project leadership (A role that probably involves more than that of a traditional “lead consultant”)

Portfolio and Facility management services,

including:• Progressive life cycle

assessment• Maintenance scheduling• Environmental

performance monitoring

And, new services will be supported by newly developing technologies:• Laser scanning

(surveying)• Machine guidance• GPS• Radio frequency ID tags

(Tracking)

Value added services… Just some ideas


Summary

As our we progress on our path to BIM maturity nirvana, we’re all grappling with similar issues, albeit in different contexts and circumstances and with different priorities.Our five key issues are:1.The need to be prepared for and to foster

collaborative procurement

2.To better manage, from a business perspective, the redistribution of effort implicit in BIM process

3.Determine how we can capitalise on our potential to “value add” to our design services

4.Establish measures to protect our intellectual property and copyright whilst contributing to an open exchange of information

5.Develop ways and means to more effectively educate clients on the benefits of BIM design process and collaborative procurement.

What are your five key issues?

“We cannot solve problems by using the

same kind of thinking we used when we created

them” Albert Einstein


Glenn Cunnington

Questions

Special thanks to Tony Hoffman for his invaluable contribution to this presentation and to my many friends in the Revit community who

have all assisted to get us into the mess we’re in today!

TM BIM and its implications for the “average” design practice Glenn Cunnington Humphrey &...

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