Recently while I was out on a job site taking progress photos I came across and issue where the fire sprinkler was conflicting with some masonry embeds in (3) different stairwells on a (4) story building… (12) spots. I’m guessing it will probably be about a $3,000 issue. I thought I would take this opportunity and talk about how Building Informational Modeling (BIM) will help catch and resolve these conflicts on paper before they become issues in the field.

BIM is a great tool because it allows users to build their project at full scale inside their computer. The construction industry is one of the only places where the final product is built for the first time at full scale. The Manufacturing Industry builds prototypes and refines their process before the product is mass produced on the assembly line. In construction the majority of projects are built from a series of plans and shop drawings that are not always coordinated at the same time. BIM changes this and provides a platform where mechanical drawings can be integrated with structural drawings and shop drawings at the same time to help identify where different trades are conflicting with each other.

Had BIM been used on this project there would have been a good chance of discovering that the Sprinkler Shop Drawings were conflicting with the Masonry Embed Shop Drawings in the stairwells. Had the issue been identified during the planning process it may have only cost $300 to correct instead it cost $3,000 to correct the problem in the field. You don’t have to go to college to see why BIM is worth having on your next project. Just think if you were able to catch a $20,000 issue, now you’re getting into some real savings.

… it’s always about the money.

Tags: BIM

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 15th, 2009 at 12:16 pm and is filed under Construction Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.