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required to achieve it?” before putting a certain use in the contract. every team member has a different answer to those questions, because each member has a different interest and uses information differently throughout design and construction.
in Figure 2.14 you can see these various goals. the designer wants to know things like aesthetics and code compliance, the contractor wants to know counts for pricing, and the facilities manager wants to know where to order new hinges.
Owner
THE OWNER REQUESTS A
DOOR
• Where was the door sourced?
• How many doors?
• When am I supposed to oil the closers?
• Where do I order replacement parts?
• Who do I call when the doors malfunction?
• Who do I call for warranty service?
• What type of doors?
• How much do the doors cost?
• When do the doors arrive?
• How do I properly install them?
• Will it meet code requirements?
• What color is the finish and hardware?
• Which way does it swing?
Designers Contractor Facilities Management
Figure 2.14 Life‐cycle information for a door
as we’ve discussed, huge amounts of information can be embedded or linked to BiM, so how do you decide which goals are more important and align the team? that’s what the goals and Use/objectives chart aims to do. this chart, shown in table 2.4, is a basic spreadsheet in both the Penn State and autodesk templates, but it guides the discussion of the team to align the expectations of BiM for a project. in so doing, the team is able to “begin with the end in mind,” which gives direction and focus on what’s important to achieving the desired outcomes. once the goals and uses have been ranked and selected, they can be inserted into the contract or BiM addendum.
▶ Table 2.4 Goals and Use/Objectives chart
Priority (1–3) Goal: What is the value? Required BIM use
1 More efficient installation of MEP systems Model‐based coordination 3 Track billing and schedule with model. Model‐based scheduling 2 Use the model after construction for facilities
management.
Model‐based facilities management 2 Do cost trending during design with the model. Model‐based estimating
1 Do a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis with the model for natural ventilation study.
Model‐based analysis Based on the Penn State Project Execution Planning Guide
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the Penn State and autodesk templates have shaped the industry standards for BiM planning. Most BiM specifications or owner standards will reference certain sections of these guides. the rest of this chapter is a roadmap to developing a BiM execution plan.
if your company has not yet developed an execution plan, these documents are a good starting point:
⦁ Penn State BiM Project execution Planning guide: http://bim.psu.edu
⦁ autodesk communication Specification: http://www.thecadstore.com/pdf/
autodesk_communication_specification.pdf
Communication
Seamless communication is the first priority of the execution plan. if all members understand this, the expectation and organization will fall right into place. this one aspect can make or break the efficiencies of a project. you can define the goals, determine all the uses, and have the most experienced BiM team in the world, but a breakdown in communication—verbally among people or virtually in the software environment—will destroy a project.
People
the next time you’re in an airport, look around at the people waiting for their flights. you’ll notice that technology has indirectly handicapped two of our most powerful senses of communication and created an antisocial behavior. Most people are now fixated visually and aurally to their laptops or mobile devices with complete disregard for their surroundings. now go out to a jobsite and look around. it’s a little different perspective and necessitates the need of social cues. there are signs, backup bells, lights, hand signals, yelling, and radio communication. to get the job done, the workers must be in constant communication. you’ll never see a jobsite foreman take a picture of a problem, walk all the way back to his trailer, and e-mail the superintendent, “Will you come look at this issue when you have a minute?” that’s just not practical, so why is it considered practical when you’re virtually building a structure? the reason is because BiM is technology driven and is challenged by the hypnotizing effect of the glowing screen. Modelers will default to e-mailing one another essays on an issue before they pick up the phone, which can waste time and effort, and can be misinterpreted. technology has made many professionals believe it’s more effective to send verbal communication in a digital form. however, not all e-mails are bad; it depends on the situation.
Different avenues of communication can be used effectively depending on the purpose of the communication and the clarity of information. robert lengel and richard Daft write about these different avenues in their paper “the Selection of communication Media as an executive Skill” (Academy of Management Executive
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[1988, 2(3)]). they say that “each channel of communication—be it written, telephone, face to face, or electronic—has characteristics that make it appropriate in some
situation and not in others.” this theory is commonly referred to as the media richness theory. For example, writing an e-mail to document an event when there’s little room for misinterpretation would make sense.
During our meeting on Wednesday 9/16/15, innovative architects agreed to export 2D caD backgrounds every tuesday.
this information is direct, documents a task, is easy to understand, and can be sent to all affected parties in one click. however, the majority of conversations that need to occur while virtually coordinating a building are more vague.
if i move my duct 5" north in the south corridor, will that give you enough room to route your fire sprinkler main over the plumber’s storm drain?
this information is convoluted. What part of the south corridor? What storm drain? it involves multiple parties (mechanical, fire protection, and plumbing) and, depending on the answer, could lead to e-mails back and forth between all parties involved. this type of communication is better handled in a social atmosphere where feedback can be delivered quickly between the parties. Figure 2.15 shows that as social cues deteriorate, the information’s clarity must increase in order to maintain effective communication.
Face to Face Video
conference Phone
Call Text
Message Email
Antisocial Social
Vague Clear
Use when confusion exists and multiple discussions or iterations are required for clarity.
Use when information is clear and connot be misinterpreted.
Information Social Cues
createDby Dave Mccool
Figure 2.15 Effective communication
BiM involves communication and collaboration just like the jobsite. as shown in Figure 2.15, having the entire team co-locate in a space for coordination is the most effective way to virtually build a project, “because it has the capacity for direct experience, multiple information cues, immediate feedback, and personal focus”
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(lengel and Daft, “the Selection of communication Media as an executive Skill”).
this is not always possible and, depending on the size of a project, may not be cost effective. BiM is a global technology, so the geographic location of team members can make face-to-face communication impractical. When working remotely, all team members should be able to easily access one another’s contact information. this information should be located at the beginning of the execution plan. the autodesk communication Specification prioritizes the core collaboration team on the first page of the plan after Project information. typically this contact sheet is a Microsoft excel spreadsheet. table 2.5 shows a contact sheet example.
▶ Table 2.5 Sample of a People and Software Communication Sheet Joe’s Mechanical Phone number E-mail
Software and version
File exchange formats Name: Jim Mynott Office: 310‐213‐1234 [email protected] Revit 2015 RVT, DWG, IFC
Title: Lead detailer Cell: 310‐854‐9654 Navisworks
Manage 2015 NWC Name: Brandon
Kelly
Office: 710‐456‐8514 [email protected] Revit 2015 RVT, DWG, GBXML Title: Detailing
engineer
Cell: 949‐219‐8794 Navisworks
Manage 2015 NWC Based on a contact sheet example from McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.