BIM in Civil Infrastructure Planning, Design, Construction and Management - Report Example

Critical Review: BIM in Civil Infrastructure Planning, Design, Construction and Management by Ian McGregor Student’s Name: Course: Table of contents Introduction 3 Key elements of the Talk 4 Author’s Reference—Other Work 6 Current Literature 7 Critical Appraisal 8 Conclusion 10 References 12 Introduction Autodesk technology is giving civil engineers and architects a facility for planning, designing, managing and construction of infrastructure with a powerful tool that makes work easier. This building information modelling technology reduces the cost of building the entire project ensuring project quality is maintained as well as delivery time is affected positively. Professionals in infrastructure development worldwide have been affected positively by this technology by ensuring their work is improved it ensures project stakeholders are integrated and collaborate during the entire project. It provides support for construction, design and management. According to Ian McGregor Building Information Modelling provides tools for civil infrastructure planning, designing, construction and management. According to him these tools help in planning projects in civil infrastructure sector. The tools provide a medium for planning, designing, building and managing. It helps in avoiding data loss which will be kept in multiple files if Autodesk technology is not used. It has a high return in investments as well as saves project time up to 80%. In other words, BIM is beneficial to both the client and the professionals involved in the project. The main aim of this paper is to critically review the presentation made by Ian McGregor in the topic BIM in civil infrastructure planning, design, construction and management who is a product manager. In his paper he has highlighted the importance of BIM and where it has been applied as well as the work that is involved in. To begin with key elements of the talk will be highlighted. Then it will be followed by the sources that he used in his research that led to the presentation. Then the critical section of the seminar will be discussed where his presentation will be evaluated in terms of content and communication skills employed by the author. Relevant literature will be identified in order to give the reader of this report an understanding of the topic that was covered in the seminar. Lastly a conclusion could be given for the report. Key elements of the Talk To begin with the author has highlighted BIM technology as a technology that can be used to design various items. He has used it to design a picture of a baby under the subtitle Return of the Evian Babies. He has used this to show the extend at which Autodesk can be used in design. This has explained the use of BIM in design. He has explained how it can be used in capturing an infrastructure when it is being constructed. The second element captured by the author or the presenter in the seminar is the concept of planning and designing. He has demonstrated how BIM is used in planning and designing of an infrastructure by demonstrating using various examples. He has shown how it can be used in designing and infrastructure in a city. He has shown structural designs emanating from imaginations of an individual how an infrastructure will look when it is complete. The third key element dealt with talk is how Autodesk is used in designing. The presenter has explained that BIM is data driven design which helps designers perform their work efficiently by employing digital prototyping in their work. Another element mentioned is the number of customers enjoying the services of Autodesk. He has mentioned 800,000 companies with 10,000,000 users around the world. The author has explained how project management has evolved over time and the importance of the current BIM in ensuring that the project is completed successfully. He has explained that the technology has relied on the existence project stages to develop a software that is acceptable. He has given his opinion on how Autodesk has been used in designing and executing the project. He has shown this to be in a form of a graph which shows how the project can be improved by the use of Autodesk. There is an interesting section in the graph which shows how a project is progressing. The graph below has been used in the demonstration by the presenter. The other pillar that is mentioned in the talk is the canon investment to the users of BIM. The users of BIM are expected to experience 80% time savings and a saving of 10% of the contract value. The program is able to accurately estimate the cost and project time which makes the professionals efficient in their productivity. The other point mentioned in the presentation by McGregor British Standards BS 1192: 2007. The presenter has explained how BIM is compliant with British Standards BS 1192: 2007 and constructions are able to use BIM together with BS to be able to have a good infrastructure. The presenter has explained that BS1192:2007 is to combine works of Architecture, Engineers and other construction information professional. The presenter has also talked about the new British standard that are to be released and how they are related with BIM. Lastly the author has mentioned the use of ERP systems in enabling BIM to effectively deliver good designs. With the use of ERP systems data can be captured easily to enable planning and conceptual designing. ERP system can be used in monitoring the construction as well as in designing document. When the project is complete, ERP can be used in managing the assets that emerged from the project. Author’s Reference—Other Work The author has used many sources in compiling his presentation. The sources used by the author have been listed at the end of the presentation and most of them are shown in a form of websites without stating clearly who the authors of the documents used is. The main aim of the presentation was to explain to audience the importance of BIM in planning, designing, construction and management in civil engineering. However, Ian McGregor has failed to state clearly the sources of his work apart from the mentioned websites where authors are not included. The main aim of the sources provided by the author is to assist the audience carry out interactive activities with the website and understand the source of the table he has used. The first reference by the author gives CAD standards guidance. This source is particularly important because it provides guidelines on the work of the project management how it is managed, and procedures which help contractors avoid conflict with clients. He has indicated that most of his work has relied on materials from this website. He has provided this website to enable individuals interested to access the standards. The website he has given is http://www.constructit.org.uk/pages/CSAND/Develop%20Your%20CAD%20Standards.pdf The other source McGregor has used is AEC CAD standards for layer naming v3 which has strengthened the first source. This source has been used to show the audience that BIM cannot be used without complying with laws of the country. The source has explained standards accepted in the United Kingdom when constructing when making architecture using CAD. The author has relied on his work in explaining the usefulness of BIM, although most of this information is sketchy in the slides provided. He has managed to rely on his work because he is a product manager infrastructure modelling meaning that he is one of the individuals who have carried out research in the subject. Current Literature There are many sources available for building information modelling which have been developed since the year 2001. The sources explained the importance of computer aided design in producing drawings which are useful in the civil infrastructure industry. CAD as it is referred led to emergency of BIM which enables interactive and collaborative drawings. It enables all professions in the building industry to share information of an infrastructure which they are building. Hermund A., (2009) in this article the author has provided information associated with Denmark’s Architects adoption of building information modelling. According to the article, the government of Denmark is encouraging construction professionals to embrace information technology to maximize and improve information sharing as well as reduce the cost of construction of infrastructure in the country. Eastman et al (2008) this book has described the use of BIM in the construction industry and it has shown the importance of BIM in construction. The book has introduced concepts of BIM by showing various definitions of the model. It has given a comparison between BIM methods and traditional methods. It has also mentioned BIM methods that are used in helping to integrate data as well as produce workflow diagrams. The book has also mentioned the benefits of BIM on construction. It is an interesting book to any profession in the building industry. Gadde et al (2001) this paper was made in a conference in Norway and it talks on implications on productivity by information technology. The paper does not refer to BIM technology but it discusses the importance of introducing that technology as compared to traditional method. The other source that has been used in this paper is Kenley et al (2010) which show how the management of a project can be done by all professionals using BIM without going to the location of the project. This source is extremely very bad because it provides necessary information which encourages the user to understand the importance of the BIM. Hartmann et al (2007) has enumerated the importance of ERP in the construction industry. The paper was presented in New Orleans in April, 2007 with the aim of encouraging construction industry professionals to adopt eConstruction in their work. eConstruction has been described in the paper as beneficial to both the client and the contractor. Reinhardt (2009) has described CAD tool as extremely very important in BIM design process. The author has shown that BIM adoption and implementation requires process and policy change. He has also mentioned the change in mind and culture but I find it necessary to mention process and policy changes. The book acts as a guide to professionals who want to use BIM in their work. The British Standards Institution (2012) has information how managers can use it in the management of a construction or infrastructure under construction to reduce the risk associated with it. Jernigan (2007) the book has shown stages in building information modelling in practice. The book has shown stage I to stage III of BIM framework. The book has shown how transformation was done from 2d to 3d then to BIM system. It has managed to show how an integrated system was adopted during the change process. The author has stated that BIM cannot work the right way if management aspects are not incorporated. Institution of Civil Engineers, 2012 has information on how BS 1192: 2007 ensures Construction Information is shared among the construction professionals providing summary of new code. Critical Appraisal Ian McGregor was able to convince the audience with his communication skills and presentation of the materials of his paper. He proved that without proper communication skills any research materials for the seminar will be valueless. He was specifically concise and to the point where we avoided many details relating to the topic which could have confused non-technical audience. In the midst of the audience there were people who were no conversant with Building Information Modelling but they were able to appreciate the presentation made by the order. The author began with greetings and then he introduced himself as Ian McGregor production manager infrastructure modelling. This is usual in every seminar and it will be very difficult for the audience to listen to you even if you have a very good presentation if you fail to introduce yourself. The author was categorical on the sources of his presentation something that help him to steer away from accusations of plagiarism. He thanked the team that helped him to do the research that he was presenting. He mentioned them by names. This gave him an edge over other presenters who fail to mention the people behind his research. This was a good impression to the audience. At the presentation, he begun with a photograph of a baby standing beside a radio something that excited the audience and made them view and think about the presentation in a positive way. He moved to show the baby and the parents under survey or capturing the “as-built”. This further increased interest in the subject he was presenting. This prepared the audience psychologically and had self belief. The author employed visual aids that were helpful to the audience something that made his presentation interesting and lively. This is unlike most presenters who use visual aids as a show off. Most of the presentation techniques discussed so far can be considered as common and that are expected in almost every presentation. The presenter included only relevant information necessary to allow people from a wide range of educational background to understand his work, avoiding the in-depth technical details. The presenter used his time management skills well by keeping his talk in the time limits and allowing time for questions. He had realized early that the available time was not enough for presenting all of the prepared slides and he had chosen to skip some slides, by briefly saying what the slide was about, and devoting his time to the most important elements. This was clearly an advantage since he was not stopped in the middle of his talk without having discussed all the important elements. Finally he was more than willing to answer any questions but also to discuss further with people wanting to learn something more for his work. In addition after answering a question he was making first clear that the point had been fully covered before moving to the next question. To conclude this section it has been a very well organized, prepared and most importantly delivered presentation, which has achieved its purpose, to communicate to an audience with different educational background. Conclusion The presentation aimed at providing information to the audience regarding the importance of BIM in civil infrastructure sectors. BIM technology is very helpful to both professionals and clients as it is easier to manage a project from any area. The author employed good communication skills as well as updated literature in his work. From the presentation, it was noted that McGregor was prepared to make his speech in a concise manner. This was important as it kept the audience interested in the subject matter. He cracked jokes in between which made the presentation was lively. It has been noted that any presentation whether good or bad research can be interesting if the speaker becomes clear and simple. A well structured presentation leaves the audience with interest in the topic covered. The presentation had relevant visual aids and was structured presentation with some technical details. The presenter used simple and friendly with the audience, by giving only that information necessary to establish the framework of his work and by giving directions for those interesting to learn more arousing the audience interest. To conclude it can be said that it is not the amount of the technical details that will be included in a seminar that will make the people interested to the subject but rather the opposite. When someone introduces his work to an audience for first time it should try to give the main framework of his work trying to make them interested to this. Then each individual can search for the technical details alone at his own pace. At the end of the day it can be said that it is not only what you present but most importantly how you present it and this is something that cannot be learned. References Eastman C., Tiecholz P., Sacks R. & Liston, K., 2008. BIM Handbook. New Jersey: John Willy & Sons. Gadde L. E & Dubois A., 2001.The Construction Industry as a Loosely Coupled System Implications for productivity and innovativity. Paper for the 17th IMP Conference, 9th-11th September 2001, Oslo, Norway. Hartmann T. & Fischer M., 2007. CIFE. eConstruction Roundtable. New Orleans, April 17, 2007 Hermund A., 2009. Building Information Modelling in the Architectural Design Phases-- And Why Compulsory BIM can Provoke Distress among Architects.Ph.D. Denmark: Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts School of Architecture Institution of Civil Engineers, 2012. British Standards BS 1192: 2007. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 02 December 2012] Jernigan F., 2007. Big BIM little BIM: The Practical Approach to Building Information modelling- Integrated Practice Done the Right Way! 2nd ed. 4Site Press Kenley, R. & Seppanen, O. 2010. Location Based Management for Construction. New York: Spon. Mulenga K. & Han Z., 2010.Building Information Modelling: Optimising BIM adoption and mind set change. [Online] . Available from: [Accessed 30 November 2012]. Reinhardt, J., 2009. “Appendix C: BIM tools Matrix.” The Contractor’s Guide to BM. 2nd ed. AGC of America. Salazar, G. F., 2010. “Building Information Modelling.” BIM CE590 Lecture Series. Worcester. Jan. 2010. Lecture. Schroeder, M. 2010 “Schedule Connect (BIM Jet),” Message in the author. Dec. 2010. E-mail. Tessema, Y. A., 2008. BIM for improved building design communication between Architects and clients in the schematic design phase. Master. Texas: Texas Tech University. The British Standards Institution, 2012. New BSI standard provides building managers with guidance to improve facilities management and reduce risk. [Online] . Available from: [Accessed 01 December 2012] Tse K., Andy, W. & Wong. F. 2005 the utilization of building information models in modelling: a study of data interfacing and adoption barriers. ITcon Vol. 10 (2005), Tse et al, pg.85 USGNN, 2010. Lessons in Building Information Modelling Adoption. [Online] Available at: http://www.usgnn.com/newsBIM20100225.htm [Accessed 01 December 2012] Woo, J.H., 2007. BIM (Building Information Modelling) and Pedagogical Challenges. Proceeding of the 43rd ASC National Annual Conference, Flagstaff, AZ, April 12-14. Read More