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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 jmynott@jmechanical.com Revit 2015 RVT, DWG, IFC
Title: Lead detailer Cell: 310‐854‐9654 Navisworks
Manage 2015 NWC Name: Brandon
Kelly
Office: 710‐456‐8514 bkelley@jmechanical.com 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.
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80 in Word 2010, you can save a file seventeen different ways. each file format serves a different purpose. this same concept exists in BiM software. if you took autodesk revit, for example, you’d find that there are at least 13 different export (save as) formats besides the rvt, or native, format (see Figure 2.17).
each format serves a different purpose in communicating with other BiM software platforms. let’s take gBXMl (green Building XMl Schema), for example.
this format is used to support model-based analysis for whole-building energy simulations. in our discussion of model-based analysis, i talked about the ebb and flow between the architect, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer. in order for these three parties to know where to adjust their designs, they have to communicate information from a revit model to an energy analysis program like autodesk green Building Studio. this is done by exporting their content from revit (rvt) to the gBXMl format. once their content is imported into green Building Studio, they can do an analysis to determine what adjustments they need to make to their design in the revit model, and the process repeats until the owner’s goal is met. this import-export communication barrier exists in all of the other fundamental uses of BiM as well:
⦁ in model-based coordination, you might have to export as iFc.
⦁ in model-based scheduling, you might have to export as DWFX.
⦁ in model-based estimating, you might have to export as DWg.
⦁ in model-based facilities management, you might have to export as the programming language oDBc (open Database connectivity).
now that you’re thoroughly confused, let’s complicate it a little further.
the various BiM platforms also have trouble communicating between versions of the software. this means that revit 2013 will not read revit 2014 files, so if the mechanical engineer was using revit 2013 and the architect was using 2014, they Figure 2.16 Save As options in Word
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Figure 2.17 Revit export formats
would not be able to communicate back and forth unless they both moved to the more recent title. When you look at the combination of file formats needed to communicate on top of versions 2012–2015 and all the different team members on a project who need to communicate, you end up with the potential for a chaotic mess of versions and miscommunication, which will cause roadblocks. that’s why the information exchange plan is an important part of the BiM execution plan.
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as a best practice, information exchange plans begin with the desired “end state” of information delivered and pull backward through construction and design to ensure that information is delivered at the right time and in the correct format. Because some people are visual-spatial learners and others are analytical-sequential learners, information exchange plans may be shown in different ways. Some people can understand the flow by reading, but some need to visualize the flow. once the team members
determine a required use of BiM, they must create an information exchange plan in narrative and/or visual form. the purpose of the plan is to describe where the information is created and how information will flow between team members (Figure 2.18).
Schematic Design
Phases Alignment Alignment No
Yes
Alignment Results of Energy Analysis
Alignment
Export
Export
Export
No
Yes
Results of Concept Analysis
DOC DOCRVT RVT DOCGBXML
Owner Energy Goals
Energy Analysis ProcessInfo. Exchange
Design Development
Design Model
Design Model
Design Model Mechanical
Engineer Model
Architect Start Buy-In
Buy-I n
Buy-In Goals
Achieved? Goals
Achieved?
End of Analysis Architect Third Party
Consultant Electrical
Engineer
Word Revit
2015 Revit
2015 Green Building
Studio 2015 Word
(narratives and graphics) Word
(narratives and graphics)
Third Party - Energy Consultant
Figure 2.18 Information exchange plan
information exchange plans don’t have to be as complex as the one shown in Figure 2.18. although this is a robust example, the point is that the team needs to fully understand the version of software and the file formats to be exported to ensure the different uses on the project will be successful. if not correctly planned for, what could end up happening is that the BiM manager will feel obligated to export file formats for everyone to keep the project moving, which hinders the manager’s ability to focus on other tasks. each team member needs to understand what is required to communicate across the various software platforms being used on a project.
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in table 2.5, earlier in this chapter, you’ll notice that the contact sheet has personal information as well as software exchange information. the autodesk communication Specification separates this chart into core collaboration team and Detailed analysis Plan. however, it is useful to have them combined. it serves as a final check for communication and understanding. after the information exchange plan has been discussed and finalized (usually at the BiM kickoff), the BiM manager or information manager can send out a blank spreadsheet similar to table 2.5 and have the lead modelers fill out and return it. the BiM manager or information manager can compile all the spreadsheets and quickly scan a single spreadsheet to make sure everyone is aligned on the version (2014, 2015, etc.) and the file formats (rvt, Dgn, DWg, etc.) required for seamless communication between people and software. once reviewed, the information exchange plan is inserted into the execution plan.
Expectation
at this point in your project-specific plan, you have identified goals; the personnel and software you need; what has to be modeled (the loD); and an information workflow (information exchange plan). randy Deutsch, in his book BIM and Integrated Design: Strategies for Architectural Practice (Wiley, 2011), states that’s the easy part.
“People-oriented factors are a greater challenge than solving the software, business, and technical problems of BiM implementation.... People are the crux—the key—to advancing BiM and integrated design.” to have successful implementation, you have to address the human element. What are the expectations of the team?
Defining expectations is much harder than most people think and has a tendency to be overlooked or not communicated well on projects in general. in psychology there is a term called selection bias. Wikipedia defines it as “an error in choosing the individuals or groups to take part in a scientific study” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Selection_bias). the term roughly means that any given sample of individuals you choose has the potential to be unevenly balanced, which could skew the accuracy of the results of a scientific study.
one of the reasons why expectations are overlooked or miscommunicated in BiM is what i call expectation bias. it’s defined as an error in expectations of the individuals or groups who take part in a BiM project. What tends to happen on a project is that due to the expectation bias, the BiM manager or information manager will unintentionally assume everyone has a basic understanding of what is expected for their project without ever communicating what the expectations are. this biased assumption could be due to a number of factors:
⦁ Familiar team members
⦁ team members with robust resumes
⦁ team members with positive reputations among the BiM community
⦁ an assumed understanding due to parties signing a contract that required BiM
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however, you’ll quickly realize that you’re only as good as your weakest link and every job has a different approach. in a phone conversation with craig Dubler, the project manager for Penn State’s BiM Project execution Planning guide, he said: “BiM is only as good as the...least technical person. you bring them up or everybody else gets to that level.” one person who doesn’t follow or understand the procedures, shows up late to meetings, doesn’t upload models on time, or doesn’t maintain the coordination schedule will cause the whole process to stumble and affect the morale of the team.
the expectations have to be universally understood and communicated. Do not assume that everyone understands your expectations. communicate the expectations for every use of BiM and define them in the execution plan.
each use of BiM requires different roles and responsibilities. let’s continue to use the energy analysis example. the information exchange plan may have shown that the third-party energy consultant oversees the process from SD to DD, but what does that mean? it hasn’t been defined, has it? is the consultant the right person to lead the effort? Maybe the consultant should just run the energy model analysis and the mechanical engineer should lead the effort. you’ll want to discuss with your team past experience, lessons learned, and best practices. remember, you’re all in the boat and you’re only as good as your weakest link, so it’s in your best interest to get everything on the table up front.
how you organize the expectations of the team is up to you. it can be a chart, narrative, or a graphic, similar to the information exchange plan. the sidebar “energy analysis” shows an example.