Chapter 6 Review

As expected after reading chapter 6, BIM can off the construction industry a lot but it still far from perfect. BIM can offer detailed building information and representing temporary components important to the project. However, contractors do need things that BIM cannot provide such as component specifications, design and construction status, and data according to performance and constraints. The construction industry does use the model information for certain procedures. BIM can also help with design errors with clash detection. This can help in construction for example if there are conflict between mechanical and structural systems. BIM is also able to give out data like “area, volume, materials used, and to plot them as schedules. This kind of tool can help with cost estimates. There are limitations however. It is still important to have on hand estimators for projects. BIM for example give the amount of concrete used for footings but cannot give the amount of reinforcing steel used for the footings. What is probably the most interesting thing I read was using BIM to track ongoing construction activities. Errors can be found during construction if there was every anything done that did not match the virtual plans. This can be done through laser scanners, GPS, and RFID tags. Also since BIM can log what materials are used, contractors can send the information to the fabrication centers so as to have these components when needed. By reading the post from Wang Chunyi, it seems that chapter 2 can be directly connected to chapter 6 especially when dealing with clash detection and being able to change the design. I agree with Chunyi that programs like AutoCAD will become obsolete at least when it comes to large projects because the user has to change the design manually rather than automatically with a BIM program. I think that using BIM can be very helpful with the Senior Design project in which I am involved with. We could definitely use BIM to account for the dimensions, materials used, etc and putting them into schedules. I also like the idea of clash detection. It can really save a lot of money, time, and energy to catch the mistakes beforehand.