BIM – Big Data, Big Value

BIM – Big Data, Big Value

Building Information Modelling – Big Data making a huge difference

Building Information Modelling Big Data Huge BenefitsHaving been involved in quite a few construction projects delivering the telecommunications and network infrastructures I have seen some monumental misinterpretations of 2D drawings that have added considerable cost to various aspects of the construction project, often impacting on a number of trades. In addition to this there have been many examples of lost productivity due to a breakdown in communication between the various trades. If our cabling teams arrive too early they are working in an environment that is more dangerous than necessary and the cabling is put at greater risk due to the amount of work going on around the cables. If they arrive too late we risk damage to fixtures, fittings and furnishings.

Some years ago I was involved in the relocation of a large City stock broker. The project was running to a very tight deadline to coincide with the physical move of people over the next Bank Holiday weekend. I was project manager for the telecommunications and network infrastructure responsible for ensuring all desk top services were operational on the first morning of business in the new location. The timescales were such that we had to run our cables over the weekends so that our team would not be in the way of the other trades working on the floors and in the ceilings.

“…[we had just arrived] when we bumped into a team of contractors in what appeared to be space suits. “

Every weekend counted for our team. On the first or second Saturday in our programme we had just arrived and were about to start a long weekend getting over 2,000 cables into location when we bumped into a team of contractors in what appeared to be space suits. They were just about to start clearing some asbestos material from the building while we were on site. Needless to say we left the building immediately and would not return until we had been given an ‘all clear’ in writing.

BIM construction sites everywhereOver the years these mishaps and has been a constant dilemma for our project managers who do an amazing job working around the other trades, often under very difficult circumstances.

I must admit when I received notification of our Cito Lecture discussing BIM I didn’t realise just how important the topic was. As we got nearer to the event and hearing my WCIT colleagues discussing what BIM Level 2 was about it suddenly dawned on me impact this would have on the construction industry.

From 2016 Level 2 BIM will be a requirement for all centrally funded projects with the aim of reduced costs and carbon emissions. The government want to ensure public money is invested wisely and is not wasted due to the potential inefficiencies of construction projects. Millions of pounds could be saved through improved communication, clarity of information and collaboration throughout the life of the building or structure.

“…the average construction site loses 50% productivity every single day.”

The presenters at the Cito Lecture aptly named ‘Building Information Modelling: Can it integrate a disintegrated industry’, were John Roberts, Civil Engineering Director of Laing O’Rourke Engineering Excellence Group and David Savage, Partner Charles Russell Speechlys with introductions by John Gavin of G4H. Until this lecture I didn’t realise just how disintegrated the construction industry was. John pointed out that the average construction site loses 50% productivity every single day. I was initially shocked at learning this statistic, however, I should not have been considering some of the problems I have experienced first-hand.

So, what is BIM?

One of John Roberts’ opening statements regarding Building Information Modelling is that it is a ‘cycle of data’. It combines a range of well-defined processes, software and technology to enable efficient construction life cycle management. It can be described as building information management. Given the nature of construction the resulting data is “Big Data”. In fact it is an excellent example of Big Data put to effective use.

The brief overview of the different levels of BIM are:

  • Level 0: Paper based 2D CAD drawings
  • Level 1: File based 2D and 3D CAD drawings
  • Level 2: Federated 3D modelling
  • Level 3: Collaborative cloud shared data

He also referred to BIM 4D and 5D and I found some mention of 6D:

  • BIM 4D: 3D modelling with the time element included
  • BIM 5D: 3D modelling with time and cost included
  • BIM 6D: Facilities Management

Federated 3D modelling includes data on materials, components and systems used during the life of the building or structure including the relationships between them. The 3D modelling and effective collaboration provided by Level 2 BIM will increase the predictability of the outcomes of the construction process, in other words surety of design.

Another source of very expensive modifications during the construction phase are clashes. Taking building in London as an example, there are many underground structures across the city. Underground railway tunnels, telecommunications tunnels, underground shelters, disused underground nuclear complexes (see my blog on the Kingsway Tunnels- click here).

“…clashes can be identified in software long before the first digger gets to site.”

In addition to this there are foundations and footings for buildings. I don’t know much about building construction but I have seen very large piles being driven down to support buildings on what used to be marsh land along the route of the Thames. When the data for all of these structures are incorporated into the 3D modelling process clashes can be identified in software long before the first digger gets to site. From John’s presentation there is even ‘clash detection’ software available to identify these potentially expensive contention points.

John referred to an example of where 3D modelling had enabled more efficient tunnelling causing the least disturbance to the footings of a well know London building – Battersea Dogs Home – as well as the least possible disruption to its residents.

“Our cable installation teams have suffered serious loss of productivity as a result of all of these issues.”

John mentioned effective stock control in his presentation and it easy to see how effective collaboration can lead to more effective stock control with materials being delivered at the right time to the correct access point. Materials arriving too early create a storage problem and run the risk of getting damaged as other trades have to work around the materials. The storage may prevent some trades accessing parts of the site resulting in additional days on site to complete their work. Materials arriving too late wastes site time again resulting in more days on site to complete the work. Delivery to the wrong access point also impacts on productivity through wasted time locating materials. Our cable installation teams have suffered serious loss of productivity as a result of all of these issues. This is all the result of a lack of coordination that effective collaboration resolves.

Having all of the relevant data available and using it effectively is key. There is still some way to go before full single project collaboration in Level 3 BIM. Collaboration in a cloud environment will make all project data available to all stakeholders at all times ensuring everyone is working on the current plan. Placing all of this data in a cloud environment will enable individual stakeholders to extract subsets of the overall project data relative to their interests. This will significantly improve construction efficiency reducing costs even more.

When taking on refurbishment or a total fit out of existing structures Laing O’Rourke (and other construction organisations) use 3D scanners and point cloud software to establish an accurate 3D representation of the existing structure. This data can then be fed into the new design incorporating the new construction works. As with new builds, clashes can be identified and remodelled prior to construction commencing.

“…3D modelling avoided a major embarrassment …the counter-weight of the crane would have collided with the building”

London construction sites BIM Big DataAnother significant point John mentioned in relation to the 3D modelling and collaboration is the inclusion of construction plant. Construction plant such as cranes, temporary lifts and power plant are essential to the construction process. They are also expensive and need to be used efficiently. Having a full understanding of the capabilities of the available plant combined with 3D modelling as to where the plant will be sited and the working area around the plant required enable much faster resolution of clashes. It can also be used to ensure plant does not get misused. For example, roads can be planned for each crane to ensure the maximum load limit is not breeched. John demonstrated how the 3D modelling avoided a major embarrassment on one site where a crane was due to be sited as the counter-weight of the crane would have collided with the building rendering the crane useless.

Temporary works can also be included in the 3D modelling making it easier to identify and resolve health and safety issues. In my opinion the visualisation provided by 3D modelling combined with effective collaboration can only improve site safety for all trades and site visitors.

During John’s presentation it became fairly obvious that to make the most of the available data and to compare construction development with 3D modelling then connectivity is key. During the event this led onto a conversation with one of our construction customers about the need for rapid deployment connectivity providing secure voice, data and video communications to corporate systems along with public internet access. The ideal solution would make use of whatever was available in the area for the internet backhaul, whether that is 4G, wireless WAN, DSL or satellite.

3D representation of construction sites is a major element to enable all stakeholders to visualise the construction and see what they are going to be working with. This will certainly enable those less used to working from 2D drawings work more efficiently. However, by far the greatest benefit must be the sharing of data and collaboration between trades to ensure a smooth workflow leading to greater productivity.

“…organisations failing to use BIM effectively could lose out completely to those who are”

This collaboration doesn’t stop when construction ends. When the construction is complete the building owner will be handed the physical and digital assets. There will be very useful data within the digital assets that could feed into a facilities management platform enabling more efficient running of the building throughout its life cycle. BIM is a cradle to grave process from conception through to demolition.

BIM and Big Data cranes across LondonAlthough at this stage there is only mention that government contracts require BIM Level 2 by 2016. It is feasible that this could become more widespread and become the norm for all projects. If construction companies get this right and make full use of BIM for all projects they could be so cost efficient that it would make it difficult for companies employing traditional techniques to compete. John mentioned Laing O’Rourke had put over 4,000 staff through some kind of BIM training. Our customer made the point that his organisation were already receiving project packs with BIM data but were not making use of it at the moment. He also raised the point that organisations failing to use BIM effectively could lose out completely to organisation who are due to their ability to complete projects that fully meet customer expectations for significantly less cost. A sobering thought!

Building Information Modelling: can it integrate a disintegrated industry was high value, thought provoking, educational content delivered by first class speakers. The venue and hospitality were also first class thanks to Charles Russell Speechlys.

I thoroughly recommend the The Cito Lectures and the Brown Bag Lunch presentations (see my previous blogs Mobile Mobile Networks part 1 and part 2. The proceeds go towards the running of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologist Thames Cutter ‘Cito’ and our other charitable causes.

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