Ronald Park (B2) - BIM for Architects and Engineers

BIM has been a very big contributional asset to both Architects and Engineers in today's world of construction. BIM software in today's world includes Bentley Systems, Revit, Autocad, etc. With BIM, architects and engineers can draw and easily collaborate with fast drawn, but just as accurate, shop drawings. BIM's impact in the construction world can be summarized in three points:

Conceptual Design - Assisting with the fundamental design, which is the foundation of all designing with BIM. The BIM can also produce multiple assessments form a single model, including number of floors, total floor area, inside parking area, maximum ceiling eheight, etc. The BIM software also communicates automatically with the ASTM standards, so it will know the limitations and design contraints for the initial design. Initial concept design can also be edited very quickly for collaboration as it is also used for easy illustrations during meetings with owners and contractors. Pleminary design can also come in 2D or 3D form for easy visuals.

Combining Engineering Skills - Most engineers are capable of executing various skills towards designing, including structural analysis, checking, simulation, etc. HVAC in mechanical engineering requires sizing and thorough calculations, as does structural engineering for columns spacing and load calculations. Analysis/Simulation software is mostly used that is also tied into specific engineering skills. eQuest can perform an entire analysis for the building's energy performance, while SAP 2000 can help analyze the building's structural integrity.

Construction-Level Modelling - In the construction world, a building project relies on close collaboration between experts situated across the spectrum of building construction knowledge, as well as particularly close collaboration between the design team. BIM offers an even bigger change for the construction industry than CAD software offers. BIM also becomes more of a function for the engineers/contractors, it can also serve as a maintenance system long after construction has been completed, so the use of the software is limitless.

BIM can overall, change the world of construction/engineering, making the design process much quicker with more accuracy and much less liquidated damage with schedules made all in one place. This will require new staff members in the firm that should be BIM-savy, and have years of experience, but it would not replace the CAD software, but simply merge with it, giving the engineers and architects a better view of the 2D and 2D dimension of the design.


References

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=YmltLnR3fGJpbV9zdHVkeV9ncm91cHxneDo2YjE3NTVkNTQ3NWU5ZDdi

http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/How-building-information-modelling-is-changing-the-construction-industry

http://www.buildingenergysoftwaretools.com/software/equest

https://www.csiamerica.com/products/sap2000

Comments

Andy Dinh (link) - I liked how you in detail explain the pros and cons of the BIM software entering the world of industry. BIM certainly does have many benefits including cutting down time and money cost, although it does take time to transition from just CAD software to BIM. Staff in the firm would have to go through extensive training for the BIM software, which will take time, but in my opinion, would be worth it for the future in construction/engineering.

Kerianne Vogler (link) - I agree with you that BIM can take on scheduling and estimating, all part of the multifunctions of the design software. This is why this software is high demanding, not only for architects and engineers, but also to people in the construction industry, as scheduling is one of the main steps in the building process. BIM can easily outdate the CAD software, as BIM can also take on several calculations, such as structural analysis and energy analysis.

Nick Pawlikowski (link) - It is interesting how you explain interoperability in a file format sense that NASA was telling the CAD companies that they were making translation betweeen their data access easier thanks to them. I also like your post about the propierty file exchange formats where you explain how companies are able to utilize the applications to share their data to others easily.