Many design and construction firms are just getting their feet wet in the Building Information Modeling (BIM) world — going to conferences, buying software and getting trained to use BIM tools.
So, the current problem facing our industry is not learning to use BIM tools; it’s figuring out how to integrate BIM into our established processes. We are trying to find ways to enhance our own BIM processes but are not taking the next step to improve each other’s capabilities.
To become “BIM Proficient”, we must look toward an integrated project delivery philosophy as a means to an end. By forming collaborative project teams that openly share building information models, we can efficiently learn from each other and establish a mutually beneficial BIM process, such as with design-build.
Understanding that the industry has much to learn about BIM, Balfour Beatty Construction’s design-build Central Campus project illustrates how to take advantage of both BIM and our integrated project delivery philosophy.
Fort Lee, Va.
At Balfour Beatty Construction, we found that our traditional projects could only hope to grab the “low-hanging fruit” of BIM. To enhance our ability to implement several BIM tools and processes, we formed a team with an integrated project strategy for this design-build pursuit at Fort Lee, Va.
Designers, engineers and subcontractors were dedicated to using and sharing building information models throughout the entire design and construction process. As a result, BIM and integrated project delivery has greatly enhanced our team’s ability to deliver a large facility in a very short period.
Proposal and Preconstruction
The Central Campus project first used BIM during the proposal phase. A reduced RFP response time required quick generation of design information and allowed only a minimal time for establishing a fixed-price proposal.
After receiving the RFP, architect HNTB replicated the owner’s program information into their BIM design software, allowing them to analyze and reconfigure the facility several times to find the most efficient spatial configuration. The team then met two days later to review the design options and determined that the owner’s preliminary design concept had inefficiencies that we could improve upon, thereby reducing cost.
Since HNTB used BIM design tools for this analysis, they quickly generated revised floor plans only a few days later, which enabled Hankins and Anderson, the civil, structural, mechanical, plumbing and electrical engineers, to develop schematic documents for the building systems only a week after receiving the RFP. Meanwhile HNTB started detailing the buildings, loading more RFP data into the information model and generating several exterior elevations for budget analysis. The BIM model was used to: select the exterior envelope scheme from three different options, generate room data sheets to verify RFP requirements, create instant quantity take-off information used for budget analysis and create renderings of the interior and exterior of the facility.
BIM Design Use
After the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded the project, they became an integral part of our team, and as owners, important to the successful execution of our delivery philosophy. We then used BIM tools and our existing models to finalize the schematic design. Quick, decisive approval of our design scheme was a critical step to maintain our design and construction schedule.
BIM design tools allowed HNTB to immediately start using the existing model to generate full schematic design to obtain owner approval and buy-in for the project. Our team was able to come to the owner’s design charette with several design options ready for review and approval. In addition, HNTB brought design models to the meeting and was able to make minor changes to the design schemes for instant owner verification. Consequently, a process that might normally take a month or more was completed in just one week — largely due to the power of the BIM tools that were at our disposal.
Subsequent design meetings used various BIM tools to verify room adjacencies, finalize the architectural appearance, generate revised renderings and produce virtual building walkthroughs.
BIM Design Detailing
The design-build process made extensive use of experience and feedback from the mechanical and electrical specialty contractors, ColonialWebb and Truland Systems. Contracted as design-assist partners, they had weekly meetings with Hankins and Anderson to review the constructability of the MEP design. This level of communication naturally led us to bring clash detection to the design process.
Bringing clash detection to the design verification process enabled our team to verify the constructability of the MEP systems before our mechanical and electrical subcontractors started their modeling efforts.
We used the engineer’s 3-D models to fully coordinate the structural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, lighting and telecom systems prior to design completion.
In addition to clash detection, all of the engineer’s final models were transferred to each of the respective subcontractors for their use in generating their own 3-D models that were later used to generate shop drawings.
This 3-D information transfer helped reduce the duration required to generate shop drawings. While the team was unable to reuse all 3-D information, the engineer’s models provided important guides for detailers — something unavailable with traditional 2-D CAD files.
BIM and Construction
Teaming with specialty contractors who possess 3-D modeling capabilities ensured that our team could take full advantage of BIM benefits during construction. Balfour Beatty has established a clear process and workflow over the past year, and this project has already reaped the benefits of a progressively improving system.
The overall goal of clash detection for this project is to produce a “clash free” model that helps execute the installation of the work and aids in material prefabrication. As the construction team has just begun the bulk of the clash detection process, we anticipate using BIM to also enhance weekly specialty contractor meetings, scheduling and installation sequencing review (possible 4-D scheduling), material tracking, RFI and design clarifications, site utilization planning and showing proposed workflow to field foreman/superintendents with a coordinated model.
As-Built Documentation
In addition to traditional as-built documentation, this project has a unique requirement: an as-built BIM model. Both the design and construction teams will be required to combine their information at the end of the project into one composite model. While we are still in construction, the design team and specialty contractors are continually updating their models with current information in anticipation of this requirement.
All of these enhancements to the design and construction of the Central Campus project are possible due to the upfront BIM effort by our entire team through our integrated project delivery philosophy. The result of our BIM efforts is an information model that serves multiple purposes throughout the life of the project and potentially serves a purpose in maintaining the facility long after our roles as a design-builder is complete.
Jason Reece is assistant integrated project manager for Balfour Beatty Construction.