Ever have that nightmare where you’re at a swanky party and suddenly realize you forgot to put on pants? And everyone is staring, but there’s nowhere to hide and nothing you can do?
BIM Integration – Why It’s Critical To Your Project
That’s just a bad dream, but failing to integrate your construction practices with new technologies could happen in real life, and be far more embarrassing.
The time to put away the drafting tables has come and gone, and those nifty mechanical pencils are old news. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has dramatically improved how buildings, infrastructure and utilities are planned, built, managed and maintained. And with the global BIM market predicted to grow at approximately 17% annually over the next five years, BIM is the party to be at. The key is to ensure you, and your company, are dressed for BIM success, and integration is the key.
The good news is there’s plenty of room on the BIM guest list and integration has become the life of the party through all phases of the building lifecycle. Being able to locate shut off valves from your Exact-Built® photos linked to your BIM model will not only have facility maintenance team’s high-fiving you down the road, but BIM integration will be a hit during construction as well. The ability to validate your BIM models with actual on-the-ground information and conditions helps you recognize, prevent and solve problems during a build – because, at parties or jobsites, there are always differences between what’s planned and what really happens.
To bring an element of reality into the 3D models, Multivista launched its BIM Integration Program in April 2015 that links comprehensive construction photo documentation directly with Autodesk® Revit®, Navisworks®, and BIM 360™ Glue/Field. Integrating comprehensive photo documentation with your BIM model allows for immediate comparison of what is supposed to be happening with a project, and what is actually happening.
Kyle Goebel, Virtual Construction Engineer for Hunt Construction Group recently worked on the construction of a new stadium in Miami using the Multivista BIM Integration Program.
“Our decision to engage Multivista’s BIM Integration Program has proven to be both rewarding and paramount to the success of our QA/QC processes,” Goebel says. “The ability to review the existing conditions and progression photo documentation from the BIM model during coordination meetings is a significant benefit for us. By allowing us to review the photos from the model, the project team is saving countless hours of physically walking the site to verify conditions.”
As more and more construction professionals around the globe recognize the long-term savings benefits, the BIM integration party is going multinational. And the United Kingdom is set to be one of the first countries through the door. The UK government recently introduced legislation mandating that all public sector projects use BIM by 2016, with the goals of reducing the cost of social infrastructure and becoming a world leader in developing the construction industry’s skills, standards and tools. [It’s no secret that Brits know how to party— just ask Keith Richards, or the Spice Girls— so it makes sense the UK is leading the charge to become the VIPs on the BIM scene.]
To help prepare for the UK BIM mandate, Digital Construction Week takes place October 20-22, 2015 in London, England. Leading suppliers from across the construction industry supply chain will gather to demonstrate how integration of advanced construction practices with BIM and other new technologies is changing the face of the built environment. Multivista will get the party rocking with a demo performance to show-off the benefits of their own BIM Integration Program.
“We welcome the new legislation,” says Multivista Scotland franchise owner Alan Bryant. “BIM is pushing the industry forward and the simplicity of using the Multivista BIM Integration Program opens a lot of doors for us. We always say a picture is worth a thousand words but our documentation plus BIM gives you the complete picture, not just a virtual one.”
They also say the future belongs to those who prepare for it now, and technology programs like Multivista’s BIM Integration are fast becoming an industry best practice. One thing is certain: if your teams aren’t BIM-ready you risk being late to the party (or being caught with your pants down).