Should CADS make a full transition to Revit?

You’ll probably have gathered from previous posts that CADS is very keen to keep up-to-date with the newest technology. CADS Space Planning team are no exception. As a department we have recently been taking steps into investigating the use of Revit to deliver our projects. I’ve been challenged with investigating what benefits the use of the Revit programme would bring to the office and ultimately to our clients.

Having worked in-situ with a client recently it appeared that they had made a complete transition to Revit and that although the cross-over period had been a slow one, other programmes had eventually been completely phased out.

The question is should CADS make this full transition too? Or should we remain multi-software users, adding Revit to our arsenal to stay flexible in our market?

Given the nature of what we do, I think we’d be wrong to phase out our other planning tools completely, in favour of Revit. Our projects are led from the top through Architects and/or Trusts. They specify how the project is run and dictate what programmes and methods they require. As suppliers, CADS has to adhere to the requirements.

So there are a number of benefits of our working knowledge of multiple programmes, and on live projects this has meant that we are adaptable, able to understand the clients sometimes difficult requests, and can put a strategy into action using the full toolkit of AutoCAD, Micro station and Codebook in conjunction with each other.

In trying to meet a clients’ requests recently it actually proved useful in discovering that we could use a greater amount of codebook tools than previously thought on other projects, such as creating link code schedules and room labelling.

So, how should we be responding to the changing market place and the introduction of Revit? My recommendation is to carry on with what we’re doing – up-skilling team members to become advanced Revit users, without losing our existing expertise in the other tools. But will these tools eventually become redundant? What do you think?

Steven Ellis

C A Design Services

Can BIM benefit the Facilities Manager as well as the Designer?

The answer is most definitely yes!

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is much more than a design tool employed at the start of a project’s life. In fact, BIM is a process of building management that covers the entire lifecycle of the building, and can deliver major benefits throughout its’ operational phase.

Since occupancy and operations form the longest timeline in any building lifecycle, a Facilities Manager could receive a number of benefits by embracing the BIM process. I’ve summarised what I believe to be the key benefits below:

1. Communication

Centralising key data in a standardised BIM format improves communication, reduces response times, lessens wasted time searching for information, and makes communication easier between colleagues, consultants, contractors and suppliers.

By allowing other stakeholders instant access to the same information, with the certain knowledge that it is accurate and up-to-date, BIM enables the facilities manager to greatly reduce errors and minimise the level of misunderstandings.

2. Space Management

Allowing other departments (such as HR, mail rooms, accounts, etc.) access to real time building-related data ensures that the organisation can instantly track changes in layouts and staff movements. This reduces building vacancies and so helps to improve spatial efficiency.

Changes in space usage can also be identified and audited allowing the internal accounting functions to be kept accurate and up to date.

3. Energy Efficiency

Another benefit for the facilities manager is how BIM can help to improve the efficient use of energy. A BIM model can facilitate the analysis of alternative energy solutions that could dramatically reduce the environmental impact and operating costs of the building or estate in question.

4. Change Management

A well maintained “live” BIM model should provide a true reflection of the building, and can therefore be used with confidence when planning changes to layouts during the operational cycle of the building.

The BIM model’s 3D representation of the building makes communicating these changes easier to understand for the employees, suppliers and contractors, and provides better information about the existing condition of the building. In short, this reduces the usual uncertainty, providing more cost certainty before the works commences.

5. Costs and Budget Planning

It is also possible to store information in the BIM model regarding the life expectancy and replacement costs of various building components. This will assist the facilities manager or building owner to understand the cost benefits of investment in materials and management systems.

6. Existing FM Systems

Finally, remember that BIM models are not there to replace FM systems. In fact the BIM model can be linked to an existing FM system to provide accurate and complementary “real-time” data that makes asset management faster and more accurate.

To find out more about BIM visit our dedicated BIM webpages: www.cadesignservices.co.uk/bim

Our BIM specialist division Cadnet have just posted a list of the most authoritative BIM white papers and publications on the web. Check them out here: Cadnet’s BIM resource list

BIM is the process of generating and managing a buildings’ data during its life cycle.  As a 3D visualisation professional, I want to talk about the relationship between BIM and 3D visualisation.

Let’s begin by saying that at CADS 3D we’re big fans of Autodesk. We use their AutoCAD software as well as their 3DS Max piece of kit. It has therefore made sense for us to explore Autodesk’s BIM offering first. The product is called Revit, or more precisely ‘The Revit Platform’.

According to the clever people at Autodesk: “It (The Revit Platform) is a purpose-built solution for BIM. Applications such as Revit Architecture, Revit Structure, and Revit MEP built on the Revit platform are complete, discipline-specific building design and documentation systems supporting all phases of design and construction documentation”. [1]

So how will BIM, and Revit, affect the 3D Visualisation industry? To understand this, it will help to understand the process of creating a 3D visual or video. Here it is in a nutshell:

1. Take the 2D CAD plans/elevations, import them into 3DS Max, then create the 3D model
2. Apply the necessary textures
3. Set up the lighting rig
4. Line up the necessary cameras and do the renders

We’re always trying to streamline this process, and BIM achieves exactly that by removing the need to create a 3D model. Revit does that for you. This not only saves time and enables us to keep our pricing competitive, but it also enables us to spend more time improving the realism of the 3D visualisation.

I believe that as BIM becomes more commonplace amongst architects and other industry stakeholders, 3D visualisation will become an even more specialist field. It will focus even more on the interaction between material and light.

In addition, where 3D visualisation has previously been kept for final, high-quality marketing images, it will now infiltrate its way right through the building management process. Design will well and truly be revolutionised as the impact of design decisions on lighting, and materials can quickly and easily be tested.

I’m excited about BIM and am looking forward to really getting to grips with the process and the various tools such as Revit.

Paul Hatton

C A Design Services 3D Team Leader

[1] BIM and Visualisation white paper 2008

The real benefit of BIM is customer satisfaction

Our retail clients spend a lot of time trying to understand what their customers want, like and need in order to make them happy and loyal. In the construction industry prioritising and monitoring customer satisfaction is often absent from the project objectives, not recognised as a key performance indicator (KPI), and rarely a shared vision.

There is a lot of speculation about how Building Information Modelling (BIM) will benefit the construction industry and there is no doubt that by automating processes there are many efficiency gains to be had. But while individual supply chain members seek to understand the benefits BIM makes available to their own part of the process and what they personally will gain from it, the overall benefit that BIM offers to the industry is overlooked. This overall benefit of BIM is customer satisfaction.

BIM by its nature is client-centric and can, used well, deliver a better service.  Some of the most pertinent benefits of BIM include:

• Making contract documents more accurate
• Improving communication
• Reducing the costs associated with errors and coordination problems
• Providing the client with better visibility and certainty of the outcome
• Improving project budgeting and cost management
• Improving safety
• Reducing the need for meetings and RFIs
• Speeding up scheduling processes
• Ultimately producing a less defective end product

Meanwhile, customer satisfaction comes from exceeding expectations, that means not just meeting the basic need for a building, but also providing services that meet and exceed their specific individual requirements, as a result delivering something extra. By placing too much emphasis on the financial gains made from small improvements in process and management, the opportunity for real change using the BIM process will be lost. It is time to collectively focus on the client.

Take a look at the BIM model animation below. This shows the BIM modelling process for a large supermarket. At each stage of the modelling process the client is able to interrogate data, simulate, expand, enhance and coordinate the model.

Video supplied by our BIM specialist division – Cadnet

The key to successful BIM is collaboration. This does not necessarily mean that individuals are participating in the BIM process, but they can work with their modelling team to ensure that the BIM model continues to meet their needs and offer building intelligence throughout the lifecylce of the building. Many traditional industry divisions and constructs will need to be overcome for the collaboration to happen.

There is a shortage of independent advice and support available to the construction industry, and this is where we fit in. Our experience in BIM implementation allows us to advise and support clients, professionals and contractors either collectively or individually to deliver a better service and not just a better building. We want to ensure that clients make a real gain from their investment in BIM, and ultimately that they have a satisfied customer.

Mark Johnson, National Accounts Manager – C A Design Services