bim

AutoCAD Revit MEP 2010 API - Design BIM to Manufacturing BIM. Autodesks new 2010 API opens the door for Estimating and Manufacturing directly to CAM-Duct and other TSI integrated solutions. Working with Autodesk development team we have bridged the gap between Design BIM and Manufacturing BIM by providing a direct path from design files created with AutoCAD Revit MEP 2010 HVAC, Pipe, and Plumbing to truly integrated database solutions CAM-Duct, CAD-Duct, EST-Duct, CAD-Mech, EST-Mech using new FAB-Duct and FAB-Mech software provide by Technical Sales International (TSI) 866-493-6337.Thanks Erik Lewis for pointing this out. This will be very interesting.http://whosafraidofthebigbadbim.blogspot.com/2009/07/revit-mep-to-fabrication.html

Within the building industry there is a growing interest in integrated project delivery (IPD) and the role building information modeling (BIM) can play in promoting integration among building professionals and improving design outcomes.

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is a process built on behaviors and contractual relations that enables early collaboration between owners, architects, engineers, construction managers, fabricators, and end operators. The IPD process is greatly enhanced through the technology-based process of building information modeling (BIM).

To learn more about IPD, here are some additional resources. You will be hearing more and more about this technique.

Autodesk IPD Whitepaper

Autodesk IPD Website

IPD & BIM Blog

Laura Handler said:
There isn't just growing interest in IPD; it is actually in practice today. In fact, Autodesk has taken the lead by utilizing IPD (tr-party contracts) on 2 projects: an office in San Francisco, and the new Revit HQ in Waltham, MA (designed by KlingStubbins and built by Tocci Building Companies..I couldn't help but plug 'our' project with Autodesk!).

Scott Brisk said:
Yes, there are a number of projects in our area using IPD as well. I think people are going to want to find out more information about it as we start to see more of it.

My friend Todd from the CAD Shack has written a blog about the release of new AIA documents which include BIM, IPD, Design Build and Scope of Services documents. Here is a link to Todd's blogs about the announcement.

See the official announcement here.

The new documents will be available electronically in AIA Contract Documents software beginning October 17, 2008, as well as in paper form (E202-2008 will only be available in AIA software). The software allows users to generate and customize Microsoft Word files for easy collaboration and distribution.AIA Contract Documents software can be purchased at www.aia.org/docs. Documents in paper form are available through the AIA’s full service distributors. For a listing of full service distributors and pricing information, please visit www.aia.org/docs_purchase.

AIA Contract Documents
E202™–2008 Building Information Modeling (BIM) Protocol Exhibit

• E202™–2008, written by practitioners from across the industry, provides the contractual structure for managing the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) across a project. It also is the first AIA document written exclusively to advance the use of BIM on building projects.

• From the outset of a project, E202-2008 creates an environment that encourages model authors to share their models with downstream users, designers, contractors, schedulers, cost estimators and fabricators.

• The E202–2008 is a practical tool for the industry that:

• Specifies who is responsible for authoring each element of the model at each project phase, so no major design elements are missed or left unaddressed.
• Defines the extent to which downstream model users, such as contractors and fabricators, can use and rely on the model for scheduling, pricing, fabricating and construction.
• Assigns management of the model to a specific party by project phase, so there’s no confusion about who is managing the model at any time.
• Clarifies who owns the model and who has the right to use it.
• Allows easy modification to add or delete model elements and to revise the required levels of development on a project-by-project basis.
• Establishes standards and file formats to promote interoperability across the project.
• Provides common definitions for terms to avoid confusion.

• Through a table the parties complete for each project, E202–2008 assigns authorship of each model element by project phase.

• E202-2008 was written primarily to support a project using Integrated Project Delivery. However, it may also be used on projects delivered by more traditional methods.

• E202-2008 is not a stand-alone document, but must be attached as an exhibit to an existing agreement for design services, construction or material.

The Autodesk Green Building Studio analysis tools, now available at http://www.autodesk.com/greenbuildingstudio, provide improved design insight through whole building energy, water and carbon-emission analysis, helping architects and designers to maximize building economic and environmental performance. The tools are compatible with Autodesk design software as well as software from other industry providers through the Green Building XML (gbXML) schema and can now be directly accessed from within the Revit platform for BIM with a new plug-in now available for download. Green Building Studio Inc. launched the Green Building Studio web service in 2004.The Autodesk® Green Building Studio® web-based energy analysis service can help architects and designers perform whole building analysis, optimize energy efficiency, and work toward carbon neutrality earlier in the design process. With faster, more accurate energy analysis of building design proposals, architects and designers can work with sustainably in mind earlier in the process, plan proactively, and build better. With the Autodesk® Green Building Studio® web-based energy analysis service, architects and designers can evaluate building components for impact on energy consumption as well as improve economic and environmental performance early in the design process. Compatible with Revit MEP The Autodesk Green Building Studio service is an analysis tool that interoperates with Revit® MEP and other compatible energy-analysis software and facilitates team collaboration and information sharing at all stages of design. Evaluate Energy Profiles of Building Designs Green Building Studio tools enable architects and designers to evaluate the energy profiles and carbon footprints of various building designs. Files are shared between engineering software programs and among engineers and architects early in the design cycle, making sustainable design more efficient and cost effective. With Autodesk Green Building Studio tools, you can

• Capture early sustainable design analysis to support the process of reducing or eliminating negative environmental impacts.
• Communicate among the extended building design team using Autodesk design applications and other compatible energy and green analysis software.
• Gain a competitive advantage with increased client satisfaction and improved environmental performance.

Autodesk Green Build Studios Q&A (pdf - 52Kb) Autodesk’s acquisition of Green Building Studio’s assets was completed on May 1, 2008. They've completed the migration of the web service to Autodesk’s hardware. New users and existing Green Building Studio customers can now access the web service in the following manner.

• Current ‘pay-as-you-go’ customers can take advantage of a limited free trial period scheduled to conclude on or about June 30, 2008. Log into your existing account, accept the new Terms of Use agreement, and start realizing carbon neutral design with free analysis on up to two building projects per account.
• New customers can take advantage of a free 30-day trial period. Create a new user account, accept the Terms of Use agreement, and start realizing carbon neutral design with free analysis on up to two building projects per account.
• Returning annual subscription corporate customers can continue to use the Autodesk Green Building Studio web service as usual for the remaining term of your original subscription purchase. Just login to your existing account and accept the new Terms of Use agreement.
• To purchase single user annual subscriptions ($745) and 10-user corporate annual subscriptions ($4,995), login to the Autodesk Green Building Studio web service, accept the new Terms of Use agreement, and select the Upgrade link on the Project List page. Please note, PayPal TM payment services are no longer available. A note to Graphisoft users, the ArchiCAD add-on is temporarily unavailable while we are making updates to our new servers. We do expect availability soon and apologize for the inconvenience.

Users of Autodesk’s Revit®-based software applications who register for the Autodesk Green Building Studio service can now access the service directly with a plug-in available from our Downloads page after login. If you have questions about a new or existing account, please contact their technical support staff directly via email. Technical support can be reached at support@greenbuildingstudio.com.

Clear, concise understanding between architects, engineers, construction professionals, facility managers, and owners is the key to any successful project. To be on the same page, you have to be in the same book or, in the case of building, the same model. Autodesk building information modeling (BIM) software solutions provide teams with tools to keep information coordinated, up-to-date, and accessible in an integrated environment.These videos, articles, and white papers provide detailed information about the advantages of BIM—for predicting a building’s real-world performance before construction, creating sustainable designs, increasing efficiency, enabling new ways of working, and more.Click on the link below to read more articles on BIMhttp://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=9970899

Building information modeling facilitates complex processes and analyses that were previously too laborious or expensive to perform. This white paper details how Autodesk's purpose-built BIM solution supports key aspects of sustainable design and "green" certification.Download Whitepaper from Autodesk about Sustainable Design

When I was at Autodesk University this year, they showed us this video on where the future might take us to giving us "on-the-fly" LEED ratings of a building as design changes and design options are created and modified allowing architects and engineers to find better ways to make a building more efficient.Designing a Greener BuildingThe LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is a national standard for developing resource-smart, sustainable buildings. As adoption of the standard grows, many owner/operators are requiring that their new building projects achieve LEED certification, which rates a project based on site design, indoor environmental quality, and efficient use of energy, materials, and water. A high LEED rating recognizes the quality of a green building design and also qualifies the project for an array of state and local government financial incentives – an important benefit for the building owner.Complex engineering analysis of the design project is critical to achieving LEED certification. Some design firms outsource engineering analysis - as it is time-consuming and costly to do in-house. But now, building information modeling solutions such as the Revit Architecture and Revit MEP provide design models containing the necessary level of detail for the analyses. Design data can be extracted from the building information model and input to various analysis programs. With the recent release of the Green Building Studio from GeoPraxis, Inc., this process has been streamlined to the point where architects and engineers can perform energy analysis in-house, reducing the overall cost of the design process.Autodesk and the USGBC are committed to a future where design process and technology are integrated in support of our common goal - a sustainable tomorrow. Over the past year, the “Project Chicago:Green Research” team investigated how modeling, analysis, and sustainable validation could converge into an improved design process. Using scenarios from BNIM Architects’ Lewis and Clark State Office Building in Missouri, a research team of experts developed alternative concepts for sustainable design environments and studied their impact on the design process. This video showing the results of this research suggests a compelling future.Autodesk and the USGBC plan to work on several initiatives to make sustainable design easier and more efficient through the use of technology such as the Autodesk Revit platform for building information modeling (BIM), ultimately reducing the causes of climate change by increasing the number of green buildings that emit less carbon dioxide. As the first step, Autodesk and the USGBC plan to develop an educational curriculum for architecture and engineering students. As part of the agreement, USGBC and Autodesk will explore opportunities to integrate Autodesk’s technology with the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, to help the building industry more easily and rapidly meet goals for reduced carbon dioxide emissions. Potential areas for collaboration may include consulting, joint development of new technology initiatives and industry education. To facilitate rapid adoption of sustainable design practices, Autodesk and the USGBC plan to share the knowledge and results of their partnership with the building industry. Click here to view the Video This video may include information concerning future technology, but is not intended to reflect any planned or future development efforts or be a promise or guarantee of future delivery of products, services or features. Click here to download an Autodesk Whitepaper about Greener DesignsThe cornerstone of BIM is the high-quality design information it provides. This paper delves into a practical example of how architects can use this information to quickly and accurately perform energy analysis on early-stage building designs, for data that supports construction of "green" buildings.

This is something I read that I found really interesting. It’s a long article, but I summed it up below. This is something that I see with our customers right now, and how they are re-drawing projects because of the inability or reluctance to share data.The link to read the full article is here.-Scott BriskInteroperability is the ability to manage and communicate electric product and project data among collaborating firms such as architects, engineers, contractors, owners and building product manufactures. Also the ability to implement and manage collaborative relationships among members of cross-disciplinary build teams that enables integrated project execution. If all members of a build team can freely exchange data across different applications and platforms, every member of the team can better integrate the project delivery.Interoperability issues are gaining attention with the increased use of BIM. In order to optimize the use of BIM, it is critical that the BIM data be shared between build team members. As a result, interoperability of technology is an important factor. Re-entering data from a BIM into another application or platform used by the build team creates wasteful and costly duplication.About 3% of project costs are related to software non-interoperability. As construction values have risen to record high levels, productivity within the industry has come under scrutiny. The industry generally perceives lack of interoperability as an impediment to improving productivity.Conventional delivery methods have often promoted a divide between build team members, as work is handed off from one member to the next throughout the process. As team members work closely together during the design phases, they have a greater ability to impact costs before the project progresses into the construction phases. In order to reap the full benefits of BIM’s ability to promote integrated project delivery, build team members will increasingly need to have interoperable solutions.While industry groups are often working toward the same interoperability goals, these groups are sometimes following different paths to a solution. A majority of the industry lists software incompatibility issues as the primary factor impacting build team members ability to share information across software.As a significant portion of the industry adopts BIM and explores its uses, concern over interoperability isuues will grow. If a limited number of firms use BIM, the need to seamlessly share data between BIM and other applications being used on the team remains in important issue.Interoperability within the built environment will be achieved through a combination of solutions spurred by people and technology. As build team members create and reference these data-rich models, the advantages of sharing data between disciplines become clearer. With adoption of BIM heading toward a tipping point in 2008, more users of this technology may seek solutions that facilitate data exchange. Competitive pressure could drive this dynamic. Build team members believe their competitors may be adopting BIM more quickly than they are. To avoid the risk of falling behind, more firms will adopt BIM and possibly push its limits to create their own competitive advantages.While use of BIM is on the rise, looming legal issues threaten its use within an interoperable environment. As a new technology, there are limited legal and contractual frameworks to clearly define liability. BIM offers a dynamic exchange of data, yet within the legal community contracts are often established using language based on 2D drawings. In some contract language, if there are discrepancies between electronic files and printed files, the printed files govern. Within a model-sharing environment, data need to flow from one party to the next electronically with all parties trusting their accuracy. Without a framework to allay concerns about indemnity in such an environment, build team members will remain hesitant to collaborate using BIM. (Patrick J. O”Connor, Jr., “Productivity and Innovation in the Construction Industry; The Case for Building Information Modeling.” Pp. 35-41)Conclusions

• BIM Experience will breed awareness and drive demand.
• Owners increasingly will take leadership roles
• Users will lead the way to define tangible benefits of interoperability
• Universal interoperability between all applications will not be the near-term solution
• Major software companies will respond to market demand for interoperable solutions, but at their pace
• This environment will spawn unprecedented entrepreneurial opportunity. Companies who can think of cost justification and user requirements, and these technology firms who do not have the baggage of legacy data structures and installed foundation to support targeted solutions that come out of the box, will be ready to enable existing tools to play nice with others.

A White Paper from AutodeskIntroduction to Building Information ModelingBuilding information modeling—an innovative new approach to building design, construction, has changed the way industry professionals worldwide think about how technology can be applied to building design, construction, and management.Building information modeling supports the continuous and immediate availability of project design scope, schedule, and cost information that is high quality, reliable, integrated, and fully coordinated. Among the many competitive advantages it confers are:

• Increased speed of delivery (time saved)
• Better coordination (fewer errors)
• Decreased costs (money saved)
• Greater productivity
• Higher-quality work
• New revenue and business opportunities

For each of the three major phases in the building lifecycle—design, construction, and management—building information modeling offers access to the following critical information:

• In the design phase—design, schedule, and budget information
• In the construction phase—quality, schedule, and cost information
• In the management phase—performance, utilization, and financial information

The ability to keep this information up to date and accessible in an integrated digital environment gives architects, engineers, builders, and owners a clear overall vision of their projects, as well as the ability to make better decisions faster—raising the quality and increasing the profitability of projects.Although building information modeling is an approach and not a technology, it does require suitable technology to be implemented effectively. Examples of some of these technologies, in increasing order of effectiveness, include:

• CAD
• Object CAD
• Parametric Building Modeling

This paper will describe what building information modeling is, how it confers competitive advantages, and how it can be achieved using a flexible range of technologies.What Is Building Information Modeling, and What Are Its Key Benefits?Building information modeling is an approach to building design, construction, and management. It supports the continuous and immediate availability of project design scope, schedule, and cost information that is high quality, reliable, integrated, and fully coordinated. Though it is not itself a technology, it is supported to varying degrees by different technologies.Building information modeling is, essentially, the intersection of two critical ideas:

• Keeping critical design information in digital form makes it easier to update and share and more valuable to the firms creating and using it.
• Creating real-time, consistent relationships between digital design data—with innovative parametric building modeling technology—can save significant amounts of time and money and increase project productivity and quality.

What follows is a more detailed look at how building information modeling works, as well as the benefits it offers in the design, construction, and management phases of the building lifecycle.Building Information Modeling Benefits in the Design PhaseDuring the course of a building project, an architect must balance the project scope, schedule, and cost. Using building information modeling techniques, all of this critical information is immediately available, so that project-related decisions can be made more quickly and effectively.Building information modeling allows a project team to make changes to the project at any time during the design or documentation process without laborious, low-value recoordination and manual checking work. This gives the team more time to work on design and other high-value architectural problems. In addition, all of the building design and documentation work can be done concurrently instead of serially, because design thinking is captured at the point of creation and embedded in the documentation as the work proceeds.Whenever a change is made to a project, all the consequences of that change are automatically coordinated throughout the project. The automatic coordination of changes offered by building information modeling eliminates coordination mistakes, improves the overall quality of the work, and helps companies win more repeat business.Building Information Modeling Benefits in the Construction PhaseIn the construction phase of the building lifecycle, building information modeling makes available concurrent information on building quality, schedule, and cost. The builder can accelerate the quantification of the building for estimating and value-engineering purposes and for the production of updated estimates and construction planning. The end result is that more of the owner’s construction dollar goes into the building than into administrative and overhead costs.Building Information Modeling Benefits in the Management PhaseIn the management phase of the building lifecycle, building information modeling makes available concurrent information on the use or performance of the building; its occupants and contents; the life of the building over time; and the financial aspects of the building. Building information modeling provides a digital record of renovations and improves move planning and management. Physical information about the building, such as finishes, tenant or department assignments, furniture and equipment inventory, and financially important data about leasable areas and rental income or departmental cost allocations are all more easily managed and available. Consistent access to these types of information improves both revenue and cost management in the operation of the building.Potential for New Services and Revenue SourcesWhen building information modeling is used effectively, architects can make use of a project's digital design data to provide new services and gain new sources of income. Owners are increasingly demanding digital models, and paying for them. Architects can also offer new and expanded services—such as move management, energy analysis, digitally integrated cost estimating, and renovation phase planning—for additional fees.What Technologies Can Be Used to Implement Building Information Modeling?Although building information modeling is an approach and not a technology, it does require suitable technology to be implemented effectively. Examples of some of these technologies, in increasing order of effectiveness, include

• CAD
• Object CAD
• Parametric building modeling

CAD TechnologyThe gray line in the chart represents CAD-based software; that is, software that is based on the familiar geometry-based CAD technology used in the industry for several decades. This technology supports drafting automation very effectively and with little effort. However, to achieve increasing levels of efficiency, this technology requires greater and greater levels of effort. Higher levels of administrative and management overhead are introduced, layer and naming standards must be maintained and enforced, and the quality of the information coming from the CAD-based files depends heavily on the discipline and reliability of the users entering the data. Very high levels of effort, including programming and partner product development, can achieve effectiveness in the building information modeling range. However, the level of effort required is so high that CAD-based technology is rarely used at this level.Object CAD TechnologyObject CAD seeks to simulate building components in a CAD-based environment, focusing on the 3D geometry of the building, the generation of 2D documentation from that 3D geometry, and the extraction of object data from the building components to provide information about quantities and object properties. This technology can be applied very effectively to help coordinate the various representations of the building in documentation, and because it carries rich data about the building in the object structure, it can also be extended into building information modeling.Object CAD technology also allows for great variety in levels of use, and because it is based on CAD, it can be particularly easy to implement—and often yields immediate benefits—with little or no process change. However its effectiveness remains contingent on user discipline and reliability, and it cannot ensure the presence of the high-quality, reliable, integrated, and fully coordinated information required for the highest levels of building information modeling benefits.Parametric Building Modeling TechnologyParametric building modeling combine a data model (geometry and data) with a behavioral model (change management) that gives meaning to the data through relationships. This provides an integrated system that can be used to simulate the behavior of a real-world system—in this case, a building. Examples of the most advanced features of this kind of system are real-time self-coordination of the information in every view, and the assurance of the quality of the information coming from the system.Some other important characteristics of software based on parametric building modeling technology include:

• Information about the entire building and a complete set of design documents are stored in an integrated database. All of the information is parametric and therefore completely interconnected.
• Any change to the relationships among objects is always instantly reflected throughout the rest of the project—in all representations of the project.
• All relationships within the model are available for user definition—not just relationships (such as a window hosted by a wall) that have been preprogrammed by the developers. This includes graphical definition by the end user of parametric objects.

Just as a spreadsheet is a tool for thinking about numbers, software built on parametric building modeling technology is a tool for thinking about buildings. And just as a change made anywhere in a spreadsheet is expected to update everywhere with no further intervention from the user, so a change made anywhere in a parametric building modeler is immediately reflected everywhere.Only a purpose-built integrated data architecture built around a parametric building model can provide the immediate and fully coordinated representation of a project across all views, drawing sheets and schedules that is necessary to eliminate errors and provide clarity and confidence in decision making.Autodesk offers products based on all three building design and documentation technologies, and fully understands the pros and cons of each. Parametric building modeling technology is uniquely suited to supporting the highest level of building information modeling effectiveness at the lowest level of effort. Parametric building modeling uniquely offers the concurrent and immediate availability of all of the important information about the building that results in higher quality work, greater speed and productivity, and decreased costs. However, this technology requires the wholesale adoption of building information modeling to put it to use. There is no way to use this technology in a traditional, non-building information modeling environment. Using this technology can deliver tremendous business benefits, but doing so requires a departure from traditional ways of working. Moving from CAD-based technology to object CAD technology can be an incremental or evolutionary change, but moving to parametric building modeling technology for building information modeling requires a new way of working.