building information modelling
Mobile apps and the cloud An upcoming trend is the use of mobile computing on building sites says Cathy Palmer, AEC industry marketing manager for Autodesk, who adds that many contractors are asking: ‘why is your project team still in the trailer?’ when they could be making informed decisions in real time in the field. With mobile tools and cloud computing, if an unexpected clash arises, designers can make changes to the building design in the field and they then persist in all other drawings. In this regard, many companies have come up with iPad- or iPhone-based applications. For instance, Autodesk is working with
From one model, it’s possible to take different views of a project. Here is an exterior (left), structural (centre) and mechanical systems (right)
Moving model data among packages Although such suppliers have a broad soſtware portfolio, it’s not uncommon for users to want to work with soſtware from multiple vendors, especially with large teams made up of multiple subcontractors who over time have developed their own individual workflows. To make it easier for them to exchange model data, the industry alliance buildingSMART develops and maintains the specification for Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs). Tis open-vendor neutral file format captures both geometry and properties of intelligent building objects and their relationships within building information models. Today, IFCs don’t always carry all the information you might want, but future versions are expected to catch up with this requirement. To give users of its Revit products
additional data-transfer flexibility, last autumn Autodesk made its IFC exporter open source. Users can now customise their IFC file outputs to meet the needs of specific project requirements, and can add custom parameter sets to elements exported to IFCs or add custom quantities to the elements exported. With standards such as IFCs, though,
says Bentley’s Roberts, you are dealing with a lowest common denominator and can lose the advantage of any special tools. So, in addition to IFCs, Roberts explains that Bentley’s DGN libraries and Autodesk’s DWG libraries are embedded in each other’s products. He says that: ‘most large projects use both formats, so we must provide a good user experience.’ He adds that in many cases, a design team
finishes its work and passes results along to another design team in the form of a snapshot
40 SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING WORLD
or milestone. What becomes more difficult, is dynamic data exchange during the work process. For this, Bentley has developed the i-model, which is a container for open infrastructure information exchange and enables bidirectional feedback in dynamic workflows. A key differentiator is provenance: knowledge of its origin and evolution – essentially this is an i-model’s change history. On the desktop, users can directly produce i-models from their preferred design environment including Bentley’s MicroStation and soſtware products, via a free plug-in for Revit and through the Bentley i-model Composer. Another interesting collaboration soſtware
package is Tekla BIMsight, which is distributed at no charge by this firm, which also sells Tekla Structures for the creation and management of 3D structural models covering the entire building process from conceptual design to fabrication, erection and construction management. As for BIMsight, the vendor states that it presents the complete construction project including all necessary building information from different construction disciplines; it is much more than a Tekla viewer because you can communicate using the model with anyone, not just Tekla Structures or other BIM soſtware users.
Further
Vela Systems, which markets the Vela Mobile iPad, and tying it into Navisworks. In this iPad tool, Vela Systems provides an all-in- one iPad construction application, including a document library, checklists for QA/QC, safety and commissioning and issue creation/ sign off for tracking any issues (including work-to-complete or punch list issues) while walking in the field. Palmer adds that it would also be possible to combine building model data with GIS data, and then you could see hidden features such as pipes or structural connections as if you had X-ray vision. Not only are these tools oſten accessing
information:
Digital Building Laboratory
www.dbl.gatech.edu
SmartBIM Solutions
www.smartbim.com
Bentley Systems
www.bentley.com
Autodesk
usa.autodesk.com
Dassault Systèmes
www.3ds.com
buildingSMART
www.buildingsmart.co.uk
Vela Systems
www.velasystems.com
model data stored in the cloud, there are other applications for off-site computing power. Assume you want a high-quality photorealistic 3D representation; doing so locally might take days, but you can send this task to the cloud and get results in hours. Tus, while the construction industry has been later than other sectors to adopt the latest technology, things are now moving at a rapid pace.
References and Sources 1. Eastman, C., Teicholz, P., Sacks, R. and Liston, K. BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers and Contractors, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2. ‘Government Construction Strategy’, published by the UK Cabinet Office, May 2011. (http://
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ resource-library/government- construction-strategy) Richards, M, Building Information Management: A Standard Framework and Guide to BS 1192, British Standards Institution, 2010.
www.scientific-computing.com
Bentley Systems
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