huangyhg

bim (building information modeling)
i've been tapped to lead my organization into implementing bim. exciting, eh?
i did not want to post this thread on the microstation or autocad forums because i want the opinions of structural engineers on:
i say that bim is cad. that is, it's computer-aided design.
dave,
everything i've gathered (i was "tapped" like you) is that bim is really a huge database that happens to be linked into a form of cadd.
so instead of a 3d model of lines and elements that happen to have information tagged to them, bim is really a huge gathering of information that has the capacity to display that information graphically.
it also uses ifc's which are essentially rules regulating how the software organizes that data such that a large array of other types of software (such as structural programs, cost estimating programs, facility mangement programs, etc.) can utilize the data.
jae,
have you actually used it and "extracted" 2d plans and such? i'm interested in "full blown" use of bim. i'm interested in anecdotes, successes, failures, etc.
anyone else?
we have not taken the plunge. but i've read where a number of firms "out there" are using it. mostly they are single discipline architectural firms. i do know that many of the a/e firms in our city are starting to move in that direction. also, i think that walter p. moore in houston is also getting there.
my organization will take the plunge...
i am aware that louisville district, us army corps of engineers has taken the plunge and rather successfully, too.
one thing i've found out it does is force a "lock" on a scope of work.
bim is a fancy way of saying object based drafting. you can take it one step further and attach the analysis and detailing models/agorithms to it; but the basic idea is you aren't drawing lines anymore.
a line is not just a line with such and such lineweight; it is a w14x22, grade 50 steel, with 22 shear studs and 1" of camber. internally, we have had some gung-ho people develop our standard profile so the transition will be moderately less painful; and i am fully confidentif you don't pick it up quick, you'll be left in the dust.
i have several friends at wpm, and they are at about the same stage we are; and that stage is the early/mid learning curve; preparing for our clients that are requiring bim across the board by 2007.
locking the scope of work sounds like a god-send; we try to limit scope creep; it's the clients and contractors that squeeze it out of you.
this process has been evolving over the last 15 years or so. it is similar to some of the building management information systems that were first developed for roofs and other pieces and parts. it can be taken to any level you want, but essentially is an object based database.
the way we have implemented this in the past has been through a gis based system intertwined with cad and other graphics. there are several systems on the market, arcsoft has one that is relatively easy to use and can incorporate all sorts of data from bar codes to graphics to photos to cad.
the corps of engineers developed a system called "builder" which is like their "roofer" and "paver" programs.
school districts love this stuff....helps them keep track of all sorts of things.
limiting "scope creep" is where the project managers really earn their money. if they're not successful, they lose money - if more bosses realized this, endeavors like bim would have a high success rate.
anyway... my vision is to keep bim engineer-oriented, rather than architect-oriented. that is, while i support the architect as "master builder" and my job is to capture their vision in my structural design, a bim effort - that is, a team effort - has to be dominated by good engineers: and i want an architect who thinks like an engineer (we have two of them on my team, we're blessed).
i also have a vision (i have visions...), that i'm sure we all share, of a bim project going from the charette to o&m and back again when time for renovation comes.
what i see as the toughest obstacle is forcing those in project management to embrace this technology (in the sense that they'll pay for it) and let us work things out. some of the pms, those whose last engineering project got them a "c" in senior design, automatically see bim as just another widget to sub out and check off a milestone. granted, that's good for the subs, but then someone has to review the bim - or do they? the final product that's been paid for is a set of plans and specifications, how those were produced doesn't matter to the bottom line.
now, if we engineers are going to be "faster, better, smarter" how can we justify spending the several months of intense activity learning bim to the point where we are good at it, when there's some specialty company that already is the master of bim? it's hard enough to justify the need to enforce cad standards (who cares? everything is black and white in the end!), this bim stuff might be a wash...
as a structural, the idea of getting in on the charette is appealing because i can "sell" the customer (and the architects) on framing options early, instead of at the 35% stage - when i find out that certain framing isn't appealing, and i didn't quite know that because the charette report was never finalized...
dave, just being picky here, but i don't think you spend months learning bim. bim is not necessarily a piece of software. its more like a conceptual method that many different software products support. yes, we have to learn the software, but we as engineers are always forced to learn new methods, codes, specs, and electronic tools.
and i tend to believe that bim is not an "architectural" or "structural" thing either. its a full range concept of integrating all the different disciplines and uses of bim into one model - one where multiple programs can use.
jae,
how long do you think it should/would it take for a bim team to get up to speed where they can create bim products? what i'm thinking about is that the bim team needs to get their personal dynamics in order, learn the software (we're a microstation shop and with v8 and nothing else, we can't create a bim from which we'd extract plans, etc.), and at the same time keeping our plates clean?

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