3-D model sharing prevented a few problems during the metal framing design and fabrication of a 12,600-square-foot Molycorp Inc. truck maintenance facility in Mountain Pass, Calif.
scanned the model for joist reference points, established by Garco, and inserted Dynamic Joist components at those locations. The components were then used throughout the joist detailing and design process. New Millennium exported the joist system to an Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) fi le for delivery to Garco. IFC is a data model exchange format from buildingSMART International.
Major time savings According to Ricky Gillenwater, information tech- www.metalconst ruct ionnews.com
nology director at New Millennium, although this was not a “full” BIM project in which all contract- ing fi rms shared 3-D fi les, even on a smaller scale the practice can save a lot of time and money in metal building construction. “We don't see [BIM] as just modeling—
we really see it as a strong coordination and collaboration process or concept,” Gillenwater says. “We see it as a way to give more value to the owner in the end and to reduce all of those [Requests for Information] that come through
and make the project go a lot more smoothly. Since we’re supplying this information in the BIM model, we’re talking to other trades and having coordination meetings with the mechanical con- tractors and contractors that we haven’t talked to in the past.” For its part, Garco had been involved in
BIM projects in which all of the contractors shared design files. This was the first project in which it coordinated girder and joist modeling, however. Kyle Beebe, district sales manager