With the new year before us, we could not help but wonder what kind of news can we expect from the fields of technology and construction. We asked an expert in BIM Technology to tell us more in detail about the latest developments in this area.
Enjoy the insightful read prepared specially for you from M.Sc.Arch. Maja Meglenova, an engineer in BREON.
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BIM adoption has significantly grown during 2020, and it is a process that won’t stop evolving. Concerning bigger construction industry trends, 2021 is set to be a year that shows some common themes becoming more evident globally.
Here are seven to watch! All of which will influence the construction industry and the engineers.
Peripheral hardware is linking the virtual BIM world to the physical construction world. The continued development of laser scanning, photogrammetry, drones, augmented, mixed and virtual reality systems, and portable computers are enabling data transfer in both directions between BIM and construction sites.
Rapid improvements in the areas of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality are particularly significant peripheral tools for BIM. Architects can use AR to show the various options of a building model on their tablet, and VR can be used to give the client a walkthrough of every part of the building so they can choose the specific features they want.
Most new buildings and facilities are undergoing redevelopment. According to research, green buildings will remain the main trend in the construction industry in 2021.
Green building is demanded by a public conscious of the threats of climate change. BIM helps the building designers achieve environmentally sustainable construction by providing tools for the analysis of energy needs and for accessing and specifying building products and materials with low environmental impact.
While historically, the focus has been on the “M” of BIM (modeling), now the focus is on the “I” (information), and the increasing ability to share it more easily is enabling project teams to work together in ways never before possible.
Even though drawings will likely never disappear completely from the design and construction process, at least in our lifetimes, a Connected BIM process generates drawings as an outcome of an integrated schema of models, analytical tools, big data, and collaborative infrastructure. This interconnected constellation of computational technologies brings with it a new set of workflows and capabilities.
Automated model verification tools for checking program and code compliance are the subject of continuing research and development. Companies such as Solibri, KUBUS, and SmartReview, have developed model-checking software using IFC files and are determined on extending their capabilities. Coordination between complex building systems using superimposed 3D models is becoming common, and checks go beyond the identification of physical clashes.
For BIM modelers – If you aim to create high-quality BIM models without any issues, you absolutely need to validate model quality, analyze data to find design flaws, and to verify solutions. You can use some from already defined check-up rules of the software, or define your own rules.
This kind of software can completely change the building permit process. The architect can present a certified plan review report along with the BIM, instead of waiting weeks for a building official to make a decision on whether the plans comply and the permit can be issued.
Software to have a look at – Solibri Office and BIMcollab Zoom.
Lean construction and BIM are developing together. When applied to building design, lean thinking means reduced waste through the elimination of unnecessary process stages that deliver no direct value to the client, such as producing drawings, concurrent design to eliminate errors and rework, and shortened cycle durations.
A particular challenge structural engineers face is that exchanging data between different modeling tools and structural software packages, can be difficult or incomplete. During this process, information can be lost, forcing engineers to recreate different stages of the project and wasting time redoing work.
SCIA developed a solution called SCIA AutoConverter, which perfects the traditional reference model workflow. This means that the structural engineer and the architect are working on separate models, but they share a reference model with each other which is synchronized in a federated model environment.
SCIA AutoConverter was designed to automatically create the analysis model using data from the centrally managed federated model.
The workflow is built on the cloud-based Allplan Bimplus platform and using the Bimplus Cloud Technology and Open BIM, 3D models from a range of disciplines and programs can be brought together to create a unified, federated model and then exported to structural analysis solutions, all without losing data. Similarly, models can be imported back after the structural analysis is complete and then integrated into the federated model with all data intact and enhanced where appropriate. Structural engineering thus becomes integrated within the BIM design workflow
The productivity gain for the documentation of design implies downsizing of drafting staff in building design practices of all kinds. Alternatively, many architects, engineers, and construction professionals are now needed for building information modeling roles. Architectural designers can effectively develop well-defined models that can support different assessments for energy or cost/value. Engineers who can extract the analysis models needed to carry out structural or energy analyses and propose improvements to the building model design are in demand. Construction engineers who can leverage the information in a model to takeoff quantities, estimate costs, plan construction using simulations, and manage and control production on-site are sorely needed.
