8.2. SR 04-06-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ENRICHING LIVES AND STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES | 54  BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING & VIRTUAL REALITY A TECHNOLOGY-INFUSED PROCESS Shared Information Modeling. BKV Group uses 3D building information modeling (BIM) as its default process to develop conceptual documents at the early planning stages through final construction documents for all our projects. As a fully integrated architectural/engineering team, our process includes structural, mechanical, plumbing and electrical using the same model. As our primary design tool, BIM offers our project team the ability to immediately see the implications of their decisions in 3D and to easily coordinate the various disciplines so ducts and steel beams aren’t occupying the same space, for instance. The result is that the project team has a much better opportunity to understand the project, weigh its pros and cons and evaluate the design. All BIM software is designed to include (or easily tie into) green building analysis tools that model energy usage against standard benchmarks, providing an early estimate of energy costs. By factoring in latitude and longitude and incorporating “typical meteorological year” data for weather estimates, these kinds of analyses provide energy use estimates precise down to the hour for the selection of mechanical equipment, baseline code approval, and verification for third-party certification organizations. These tools also allow the design team a way to “tune” the building for lifecycle optimization of strategies like shading devices or window transparency that have a positive effect during cooling season but a negative effect during the winter. Virtual Reality. We have incorporated in our design process a transformative technology - Virtual Reality. This tool utilizes the 3D BIM model we develop (no extra or parallel work/time) and allows us to better decipher a client’s expectations, everything from a building’s natural lighting to the choice of color or materials that can be actively assessed at any point in the design and construction process. This is particularly important for public safety projects – reviewing movement and flow of staff and equipment for efficiency – an invaluable tool. Construction Sequencing. BKV Group will share its BIM model with the owner’s construction manager to develop the construction sequencing schedule. This is especially important with the complexity of this project with multiple phases and maintaining operations of the existing facility. Working in this way is enormously helpful when it comes to planning work to ensure it is safely, logically and efficiently sequenced. Being able to prototype how assets come together before ground is broken on site allows for feedback at an early stage and avoids wasteful and costly on- site design co-ordination and rework. Cost. In conjunction with the construction manager, we will utilize the components of the information model to provide quantities to extract cost information. The benefits of a costing approach linked to a model include the ability to easily see costs in 3D form, get notifications when changes are made, and the automatic counting of components/systems attached to a project. The accuracy of any cost calculations is, of course, reliant on the data produced and shared within the common data environment. The CM’s quantity surveyors and estimators will check the accuracy of information and will help to interpret and fill information “gaps”. The benefit to extrapolating cost from the information model is the fact that the data can be queried at any time during a project and the information that feeds cost reports is regularly updated. This ‘“living” cost plan helps teams design to budget and because cost managers are engaged from the start of a project this allows for faster, more accurate reporting of costs at the early stages of a project. Compare this to a traditional approach where a cost manager’s report may be updated a few times during the early stages of a project with completed designs only fully costed at the end of the project team’s design process. BIM - Project Lifecycle Information. Owners and taxpayers have traditionally been focused on the upfront capital costs of construction. Shifting this focus to better understand the whole-life cost of assets, where most money is proportionately spent, should make for better decisions upfront in terms of both cost and sustainability. This is where