Week 10: Course Reflection

This has honestly been one of the first classes in a while that I enjoyed while attending Drexel University. During the application process to colleges, a sense of creativity and ingenuity is valued in perspective engineering students and is commended during their high school years. However, for a large amount of engineering students’ college career we learn more about standards, codes, regulations, and previously rectified design methods. I feel as though the inspiration of our creative senses and imagination has been bound for so long being told “this is how it should be done.” It was refreshing to finally come across a course that asks its students to take perspective of the advancing world around us and then ask us “how would you do it?” This course reawakened my sense of creativity and has made me more aware of the advances in technology and useful tools that will help me along my career as a professional after Drexel. Also, I learned the value in being a life-long-learning engineer; once you become set in your ways and refuse to adapt to the ever-changing world around you, you slowly become obsolete and invaluable. Having an introduction to Revit and Microsoft Access was very beneficial and I see myself exploring further into these tools to become a more efficient and valuable engineer. I enjoyed learning how far BIM has come and look forward to seeing how far engineers, architects, and contractors will expand its use to further optimize the building process.

Week 7: Movement Sensors

When analyzing movement sensors, they can be broken down into two main types of movement sensors: active motion detectors and passive motion detectors. Active movement sensors utilize sensors that emit a type of signal that is then reflected back and detected. Passive movement sensors do not actually emit a signal like active sensors, but instead detect the signals being emitted by the objects in their field of view and have a predetermined baseline reading for the surrounding area.

Active movement sensors are mainly used in places where a rapid response from a change in detection is needed (ultrasonic or microwave). For example, a motion sensor for a car garage uses an active ultrasonic radar-like sensor that emits sound waves. When the sound waves are emitted, the sensor detects the pattern or the time it takes for those waves to bounce off of its surroundings and return back to the sensor. When an object is approaching the garage door or entering the space under the garage door while it is closing, the sound waves are emitted and bounce off of the object crossing the path of the sensor causing the return time to be faster. This is then computed by the sensing system and tells the garage door mechanism to open so as to allow a car to enter or to prevent the door from closing on something or someone.

Passive movement sensors detect a change in their surroundings by reading the energy of their surroundings. These types of sensors come in various forms, some of the most common being infrared or photo sensors. These sensors detect and measure the energy that is being produced by the objects in their line of sight and are commonly used in home security systems or businesses to warn them of someone entering the facilities. Bodies that generate heat, be they humans or animals, also generate infrared energy (for humans usually ranging between 9 and 10 micrometers). With this range in mind, infrared sensors are programmed to detect emissions within the range of 8 and 12 micrometers with the use of a photo detector. This sensor measures the light being transmitted to it, converts it into an electrical current that is sent to the sensor’s processing core. “The alarm is triggered when the photo detector detects large or fast variations in the distribution of the emitted infrared energy.” (1). This form of detection allows for the movement sensor to ignore slight variations in heat that occur over the length of the day, such as the slow change in temperature of objects in the sensor’s field of view as their temperatures cool down over night.

These sensors are very inexpensive and can offer a very secured environment when combined to cover all entry points of the desired area.

I found it interesting in my classmate Matthew Tedesco's post (http://ae-510-ay12-13.blogspot.com/2013/02/flow-measurement-of-fluids-including.html) how he explained the various applications a specific type of sensor may have. Movement sensors aren't limited to only sensing movement, but as Matthew described, optic sensors (which are a type of movement sensor) can also be used to measure mechanical flow, fluid velocity and flow.


Sources:

(1) http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4596955_motion-sensor-work.html
(2) http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/household-safety/security/burglar-alarm2.htm
(3) http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/household-safety/security/question238.htm

Week 6: Uses of Databases in Construction Firms

Databases are very useful in keeping an organized record of information and there is a vast range of types of information that can be stored in these databases. Construction firms many times look to keep record of their construction equipment, designs, construction members within designs, previous projects, clients’ contact information, materials and/or their costs and manufacturers, elevations of a construction site, rainfall data of a subject area, and lots of other valuable information they may look to store away for later use. A lot of times a database is put together for information that is no longer of urgent use but that may be of value to access at a later date in time.

In addition to simply accessing the raw data that is stored into a database, certain programs are able to use these databases to analyze the data and output referenced analyses. Programs such as ArcGIS are able to use databases in order to spatially analyze the data and create maps that show the stored information in ways that can be useful for the needs of the user. For instance, a construction firm could use a database that has the addresses or coordinate locations of material manufacturing plants to find the closest plant to their construction site and even find the quickest, shortest route from the plant to the site. Another example could be analyzing a database that has the cost information for specific types of a common construction material over time. With a database of this information, one could find the trend or growth rate of the cost for these materials and come up with an estimate for the price of the material in the future when a project will actually enter the construction phase.

I found it interesting in Issa’s post (http://ae-510-ay12-13.blogspot.com/2013/02/databases-in-construction-firms.html) to see that databases have been in use since the 1970’s and I too have seen first-hand at some of my co-op’s the transition from paper to electronic copies of files. The progress that has been made over the years is vast and much room is left for advancement in the use of these databases and how we can implement them to our advantage in construction.


Source:
http://pmbook.ce.cmu.edu/14_Organization_and_Use_of_Project_Information.html

Week 5: Term Project - BIM through the Life Cycle

My term project is based on exploring the benefits of using Building Information Modeling throughout the entire life cycle of a building project. This will include all traditional phases of a project, including the Bidding phase, Design phase, and Construction phase. However, much more can be done with BIM to assure the building continues to run at an optimal efficiency and maintains its effectiveness at servicing its users.

Through some of the research and blog posts that have been done up to date, we can see some of the benefits that will be elaborated on within my project for the use of BIM during the design phase. Some of these include the collaboration between contractors and the ability to have interdisciplinary building information. Also, while there may be various “hands in the pot” during the design of a building project, the use of BIM will allow for clash detection and in turn save lots of time and money. Along with the same idea in mind of saving time and money, using BIM in the design phase can help with construction planning and estimating along with the prefabrication and procurement of construction materials. The more that can be established prior to reaching the construction site, the more time and money can be saved. During the construction phase of a project, one can use BIM for onsite verification and guidance along the way. Also BIM can be used to keep track of any additions or modifications a contractor may make during construction in order to have a log of any and all changes to previous designs.

What many people may not usually associate design programs and Building Information Modeling with is the life of a building after it is already constructed. This is where I believe the majority of my term project will focus so as to look into new ways and ideas in using BIM to give a building a better future, last longer, and keep up to date with the fast-changing world around it. BIM can be used to plan schedules for and track maintenance, optimize operability, and help maintain a building’s serviceability to its users.

I believe there is a long future ahead for BIM and that many more advantages (and challenges) will arise as our technologically advancing world continues to strive for efficiency.

Week 4: The Future of BIM

I believe that BIM in the future will become the benchmark for the construction industry and will be the standard form of managing the critical design information of a building or any design project at hand.

When researching the future of BIM, I came across video I liked that was posted to www.archdaily.com featuring Patrick MacLeamy, Chief Executive Officer of HOK, and his description of the uses of BIM both now and in the future of projects to come. In summary, MacLeamy comes up with the mega acronym of “BIM-BAM-BOOM” to describe the various aspects of a construction project that BIM has come to be used for and can, when used correctly, optimize all facets of a building project. The original building design is supported by BIM and its ability to develop and test different design ideas. After designing, contractors use BIM as a Building Assembly Model or “BAM” allowing better scheduling and the facilitation of subcontractor coordination and cost control. Finally, over the lifetime of a building an owner can use BIM and BAM to optimize the building’s operation. In this stage of a project, the owner can put benefit by using BIM as a Building Operation Optimization Model or “BOOM” to manage the energy consumption of the building and schedule maintenance in an orderly fashion.

With this mindset, the use of BIM in the construction industry is almost limitless in its uses and becomes an ongoing method of optimization for a building as a whole. BIM has already come quite far in the construction industry and has become a very useful tool that continues to seek improvement to better serve its users’ needs. For this reason, I see BIM continuing to strive and becoming a crucial part of any and all construction projects.

I found my peer Lorena Alvarado's post this week (http://ae-510-ay12-13.blogspot.com/2013/01/bim-in-future_29.html) to be very interesting and have some key important statistical facts. As she mentioned, one of the main concerns of BIM at this current time is the "learning curve" and the training necessary for companies to efficiently make use of BIM programs. However, the increase from 43% (in 2008) to 60% (now in 2013) of architects in the United States using BIM shines a light of hope for the future and is proof that BIM will only move forward from here.

Sources:

http://www.archdaily.com/262008/the-future-of-the-building-industry-bim-bam-boom/

Week 3: BIM for the Construction Industry (Ch. 6)

This week's topic for Group E focused on the advantages of the use of Building Information Modeling in the construction industry and how contractors can benefit from its uses. Chapter 6 of the BIM Handbook supplied us a lot of supporting evidence of the benefits of using BIM for contractors along with some of the challenges that may be faced along the way.

I believe that the Handbook best described the benefits of BIM by saying that “It allows for a smoother and better planned construction process that saves time and money and reduces the potential for errors and conflicts.” Many times contractors are forced to come up with designs for a construction project with very limited information on the building in question because they have to provide these designs in time for the bid meeting. It is not until after winning a construction project that contractors are given much more detailed information to then refine their original designs in order to create building plans (with the traditional design-bid-build approach). These building plans are then limited in what can be done because some of the significant information on the building is not available to the contractor during the design phase. However, with BIM efforts in place early in the design phase of a construction project, contractors and subcontractors are able to coordinate and accurately plan the construction of the building as the project moves along instead of coming across clashes and corrections while in the field and in turn delaying the progress of construction along with increasing the cost of the project as a whole.

Although there are many fields within the construction industry, with the use of BIM prior to construction all of these fields may be tied together in a building information model and the collaboration of all types can be accurately represented in a more organized and timely fashion. BIM application allows contractors to use the model for “estimating, coordination, construction planning, fabrication, procurement, and other functions.” Also, besides having benefits for pre-construction efforts BIM can be used in the field during construction for onsite verification, guidance, and to track the current or previous construction activities as they take place. In conclusion, although the efforts in order to have a construction project effectively use Building Information Modeling and the transition from traditional drawings may be extensive and a bit complicated at first, the benefit of using BIM in construction is immense and I believe BIM will become a very widely used and almost mandatory process in the very near future.


One of my peers Ryan Krall's post on the use of BIM for the Construction Industry (http://ae-510-ay12-13.blogspot.com/2013/01/week-3-ch-6-bim-in-construction.html) made an interesting point in mentioning that "If the model can include every discipline’s drawings within it than there is the potential for not only a zero clash project but also a tool that can be handed over the owner for future maintenance and alterations that they may want to make later on down the road." I thought it was interesting to take into account the uses of BIM in the future of a construction project rather than just during the design and building phases of a project. BIM can be used to keep order to the building's complete life cycle way after construction and far into the future of its maintenance and changes that are made as the building's purpose and uses may change with time to better meet the needs of its users and/or the goals the owner wants to meet with the building.

Week 2: Future of Computer Hardware Technology

The future of Computer Hardware Technology I believe is going to be focused on the way users interact with their computer. I believe this will include advancements in both the interface and in new methods of input. Some of these advancements will include 3D displays, hologram displays, further advances in touchscreen technology, augmented displays, voice controlled computers, and other computer hardware advancements that will make using a computer feel more natural for the user. The future of computer hardware is looking to create a more intuitive experience for the user where little to no training on using the computer is needed. The goal is for the user to be able to do whatever they feel and for the computer to be able to pick up the user’s instinctive actions and interpret it as a logical input that the computer will comprehend and perform a task according to that user’s action. In addition to a more user-friendly atmosphere, the future of computer hardware technology I believe is looking to be able to cross from platform to platform and work in uniform with most other forms of technology. In essence, I agree with an article from Computerworld “Future shock: The PC of 2019” where in the near future data on a main computer at home can be transferred to a smaller, portable version of a computer (similar to a smartphone) and this device can then unlock your car, have access to personal information on the go like checking bank accounts or stock portfolios, and then this same device can be plugged into a station at work for a business meeting and display your presentation to your clients. With the increasing amount of devices that use software similar to what they call a “cloud” or online place to store information that can be accessed on the go by mobile devices, I believe that we are very close to a future where we can access any and all information on the go and control them in ways similar to floating visual touch displays that we thought we’d only see in sci-fi, secret agent type movies.

I am in agreement with my classmate M Lorena Alvarado’s post on the future of computer hardware technology where she describes how the “better” and “improved” products of the future will be smaller, lighter, and more portable to act as a commodity for the user. However, I believe that new smartphones and such to come are done being marketed as being smaller than its predecessor, but will rather focus on being more productive and efficient than ever before.

Sources:

http://www.infoworld.com/t/computer-hardware/the-future-computer-user-interfaces-178762

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/334799/Future_shock_The_PC_of_2019

http://www.phoenix.edu/colleges_divisions/technology/articles/2011/02/anticipating-the-future-when-will-all-computer-hardware-become-obsolete.html

http://kangaroojase.hubpages.com/hub/The-Future-Of-Computers-Hardware-Roadmap-To-2015

Group E Is this the future?

We thought this video showed us how construction can be automated, can lower construction costs, labor costs, construction time, can increase efficiency. We think this kind of technology can be used in the future but most likely to be used along side traditional construction techniques. By looking at the video there seemed to be different sensors, such as on the ceiling and the rovers most likely had sensors to know where they are. It could also show that different materials might need to be used if a building were to be constructed by automated machines. The blocks that the rovers were picking up had white painted strips on each end which was either a marker or a kind of glue. It is the future of construction!

Evan Rosario - Intro

My name is Evan Rosario; I am a 5^th year senior at Drexel University majoring in Civil Engineering. I was born and raised here in Philadelphia, where I plan on staying for work after graduation most likely with one of my previous Co-Op employers. My BIM experience comes from my two most recent Co-op experiences with HNTB Corp. and Jacobs Engineering Group. There I dealt with drawing revisions and some minor CAD modeling within AutoCAD and also MicroStation.

Through this course I expect to gain a better understanding of how our further advancing technologies can be integrated in the intelligent design of buildings.

My definition of an intelligent building is a structure designed to monitor and enhance its efficiency in energy and utilities use as well as a building designed to cater to its user’s needs in the most efficient manner.

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Students

Here is the list of Civil Engineering undergraduate students in the course.  This post is also used to create a "label" for each student so it's easy to label your posts later.

Group	Last Name	First Name	Major
E	Alvarado Bastidas	Maria	Civil Engineering
E	Haddad	Issa	Civil Engineering
E	Krall	Ryan	Civil Engineering
E	Lin	Dong	Civil Engineering
E	Rosario	Evan	Civil Engineering