BIM + Lean + Green

Greg Howell talks about lean construction with Mark Graban of Lean Blog

2011-11-15T12:10:00.000-08:00

Business Case for Building Information Modeling (BIM), Lean, Green and IPD - What we can learn from an Economist?

2011-01-12T01:46:00.001-08:00

Vijay Govindarajan recently caught attention for his recent book "The Other Side of Innovation: Solving the Execution Challenge" published by Harvard Business Review and his work on "Designing $300 Home". He is called the strategic innovation Guru and he is also the Earl C. Daum 1924 Professor of International Business at Dartmouth’s Tuck School in US. He believes that perspiration is more important than innovation i.e. execution of an idea is more important than only coming up with the idea itself.

I will try to explain the advantages of BIM, Lean, Green and IPD by his theory of strategic inovation. He talks about three boxes that large organizations operate into (or where organizations' projects fall into)-

Building Lean and Green using BIM and IPD fall under Box-2 and Box-3 that is selectively forgetting the past practices and creating the future (and here we are talking about 20 years from now i.e. about 2030).

Hear is his talk with Harvard Business Review -

Although, Vijay Govindarajan talks about the strategic innovation in all big companies such as GE, IBM, P&G and considers Google, Amazon and E-bay as the fillers that came into existence because rise of internet and lack of innovation in existing players, the question for us is what AEC industry can learn from his work?

I want to focus this post on more fundamental issue for today's AEC firms - the industry leadership in 2030. I believe that companies listed in BD+C's survey report "Top firms by BIM Project Revenue" and corporate members of Lean Construction Institute (LCI), among other industry innovators excelling in Lean, BIM, IPD and Green & Sustainable construction, have already realized the challenges of industry leadership in 2030. Their business strategies are focused on retaining the existing 'performance engines' and developing the 'innovative execution teams.'

Lets elaborate little more on developing the 'Innovative Execution Teams.' The following illustration serves a good example to explain this concept - adopted from the following talk by Vijay Govindarajan at Dartmouth’s Tuck School -

The following graph shows the four different High Jump Styles (business models) used by Olympic Gold Medal winners in last 100 years.

1) Scissors
2) Western Roll
3) Strabble
4) Fosbury Flop

The most interesting fact is that all new Hight Jump Styles were invented by new athletes and not the existing high performers - meaning athletes expert in "Scissors" did not invent "Western Roll" and so on. One of the reasons for failure was that "Scissors" needs the exercise of different muscles than "Western Roll." For AEC industry, building Lean and Green using BIM and IPD need exercising different muscles (skill sets) than the traditional way of doing things.

If we compare the High Jump Style (business model) innovation explained above with the business models that successful AEC firms are using today, then we come to the conclusion that new innovations will belong to new players in the industry. Interestingly, it is not very strait forward. Companies with a strategy for innovation, that takes into consideration all three boxes shown in the figure-1 above, could still lead in the future.

The solution Vijay Govindarajan presents in his book is "Forget-Borrow-Learn." That is, companies need to forget the rules of the core business, borrow selectively from the existing business model and learn to operate in new entrepreneurial space.

These corner stones of strategic innovation are equally true for AEC firms. Adopting new ideas, business practices and technologies (BIM, Lean, Green and IPD) require a little more attention than the attention given to the core business (the performance engines) but these companies need to develop the 'Innovation Execution Teams' for future competition along with maintaining the present competition.

Leading by example- Ark Hotel Construction shows How Prefabrication can Change the Face of Construction Industry

2010-12-25T17:02:00.000-08:00

This video titled "Ark Hotel Construction time lapse building 15 storeys in 2 days" surfaced only last month on the internet and it was seen more than 3.8 million times on Youtube alone.

And there is a reason for that. It took just six days to build the Ark Hotel in Changsha, China. According to the video, no stationary cranes were used in construction and there wasn't single injury among the site's workers.

The 15-story sustainable hotel already had its foundation but using pre-fabricated columns and modules as well as modern construction techniques, construction workers took just 46 hours to finish the main structural components and another 90 hours to finish the building enclosure.

Construction Details:

Level 9 Earthquake Resistance: diagonal bracing structure, light weight, steel construction, passed level 9 earthquake resistance testing

6x Less Material: even though the construction materials are much lighter(250kg/m2) than the traditional materials(over 1500kg/m2), the floors and walls are solid with surefootedness, airtight and sound-proofing

5x Energy Efficient: 150mm thermal insulation for walls and roofs, triple glazed plastic windows, external solar shading, heat insulation, fresh air heat recovery, LED lighting, yearly HAVC A/C energy consumption equivalent to 7 liters oil.

20x Purification: after 3 levels of purification, the purification efficiency for fresh air reaches 95%-99.9%; air exchanged 1-2.5 times per hour, and indoor air is 20x cleaner than out door air

1% Construction Waste: all components are factory made, construction waste, mainly package materials, result from on site set-up only and amount to 1% of the total weight of the building

(source: http://www.youtube.com/user/differentenergy)

If we believe the sources on the internet, this hotel construction caused only 1% material waste as compared to the building industry average of 10% for in-place steel and concrete construction. Clearly, this well planned, coordinated and executed project sets a perfect example for lean construction community and for the construction industry as a whole to understand the value of eliminating waste from the projects.

A Visit to Toyota Texas Plant in San Antonio Texas and Lessons Learned for Construction

2010-12-02T04:07:00.000-08:00

On November 19th, 2010, I got a chance to visit Toyota Texas Plant. It was truly a great experience. One because it was a Truck Manufacturing Plant and second because I got to see Toyota Production System (TPS) in action. Toyota is where the concept of 'lean' was first born in 1930's. This visit was very significant for me as I was reading about lean in manufacturing throughout my masters at Texas A&M and this was a time to see how things actually get done at Toyota plants.

We were very well received by the plant management at the Visitors' Center and taken to the assembly lines later after a short presentation on Toyota Texas and TPS. This plant started manufacturing trucks (thats what Texans like the most) called "Tundra" and "Tacoma" in year 2006. Both trucks are manufactured on the same assembly line with the help of automatic changing dies (that typically take 5 min on avg) and about 400 robots. The plant works in 2 shifts and produce around 860 vehicles every day.

I got to see the Toyota truck production first hand and as I mentioned earlier it was amazing. The tour guide was a very kind lady who knew the in and out of the plant and showed us around with every possible detail she could in 45 min duration. However, I couldn't stop my mind by comparing lean in manufacturing and lean in construction throughout those 45 minutes.

One very interesting thought revolving in my mind was "how much revenue Toyota is making every day by selling the trucks manufactured on this plant?" After a few searches on Google, I was able to find out that Tundra costs around $24,000 and Tacoma around $20,000. The simple math tells us that on an average Toyota Texas plant is producing trucks worth $19,000,000 every day (assuming equal number of both models). In contrast a $19,000,000 construction project may take anywhere between 1 to 2 years. Obviously, it could be argued that the upfront plant construction costs, technologies used and number of people working in the Toyota plant are way more than what is done on a construction site. However, we can learn a lot from manufacturing, the difference is too big to compare and the concept of reducing the time and cost with improved quality can be taken to a whole new level once this difference is apparent to everybody on the construction team.

In my opinion every team member from a construction project should visit a manufacturing plant once with an aim in mind to learn from the means and methods used there. It may not be possible for everybody to visit the Toyota Plant but a good manufacturing plant itself will be a great source of learning and motivation.

Dennis Sowards on Lean Construction

2010-10-31T20:06:00.000-07:00

Highlights: Lean construction in home building, concepts of "value" in Lean construction thinking, specific examples of "waste" and "value" in construction industry.

New Construction Strategies with Ted Garrison

Dennis Sowards has over 25 years of senior level experience with a record of achievement in Continuous Improvement, Total Quality Management, Industrial Engineering, and Management Consulting. His strengths include proven leadership and technical analysis in problem solving and group facilitation and the ability to function effectively in a rapidly changing technological and organizational environment.

Listen by clicking on play button.

BIM and Lean - A Wave of Change in the Industry Worldwide

2010-10-30T06:40:00.000-07:00

The rise of BIM, Lean and IPD in construction industry during last 2-3 years shows that industry is desperately changing its work practices in these tough economic times. My belief that the tough economy attracted industry's focus towards productivity improvement grew stronger and stronger over last couple of years and especially after seeing the wave of change in the capital asset management practices in public sector. Major government institutions such as General Administration Services (GSA), US Coast Guard, and public works in Wisconsin, Texas, Finland and Denmark made BIM compulsory over the course of last 3-4 years. UK government is also talking about making BIM compulsory for all public projects according to this article - "The use of force: Building information modelling" on building.co.uk

If you are looking for a similar pattern in Lean Construction growth than look at London Heathrow Terminal 5 Project and Sutter Health Projects in California. Both are multi billion dollar construction programs and brilliant examples of Lean Construction applications. BIM already took off three years ago after decades of application in multi billion dollar projects and now next in line are Lean Construction and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). Instead of changing the softwares and tools (such as BIM) alone it would be a change in the operating system (Lean and IPD Systems) of the industry.

The statement that government regulations and owner demand drive the innovations might sound like a cliché but it is relevant for BIM, Lean and IPD in the present times.

Greg Howell on Lean Construction

2010-09-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

New Construction Strategies with Ted Garrison

Greg talks about lean construction principles and its real time applications in the industry. He also talks about the critical role lean construction can play in today's economy.

Listen by clicking on play button.

David McCandless: The beauty of data visualization

2010-09-22T15:33:00.000-07:00

The beauty of data visualization. Equally true for our industry.

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) Contract and Legal Concerns

2010-09-20T17:18:00.000-07:00

Stephen A. Hilger discussed the legal merits of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) contract in ENR article "The Legal Worries Raised by IPD." His major concerns involve:

1. Design and Financial Risk

2. Loss of the Spearin Doctrine

3. Sharing in Means and Methods

4. Losing the Economic Loss Doctrine

5. "Fluff" Language

6. Third Party Design Liabilities

7. IPD Team Members Can't be Sued and

8. Impact on Indemnity Clauses

Greg Howell on Last Planner System

2010-09-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

New Construction Strategies with Ted Garrison

Gregory A. Howell is co-founder and managing director of the Lean Construction Institute (LCI), a non-profit organization devoted to production management research in design and construction. Howell brings 35 years of construction industry project management, consulting and university-level teaching experience to LCI.

Listen by clicking on play button.

Seamless Collaboration is Becoming Inexpensive: Opensource BIMserver v 1.0 Release

2010-09-17T04:02:00.000-07:00

A group of open-source programmers and researches involved in architectural CAD and building information modeling (BIM) tools have developed a working tool called BIMserver. Known as the BIMserver Project from TNO and the University of Eindhoven in the Netherlands, the group’s efforts propose to radically alter the landscape for computerized applications in the AEC (architecture, engineering and construction) industries.

After three revisions of open source BIMserver, version 1.0 is now available for download.

Read more about opensource BIMserver here -

BIMserver | Architosh | StressFree

AGC, Lean Project Delivery and Last Planner System

2010-08-12T19:29:00.000-07:00

AGC recently released the white paper "Integrated Project Delivery for Public and Private Owners." Lean Project Delivery is mentioned as a related industry trend. Following is the excerpt from the white paper:

"Lean Project Delivery: Another term often used to refer to a form of Integrated Project Delivery is Lean Project Delivery System ™ (LPDS), a term developed by the Lean Construction Institute (LCI). Many of the principles attributed to Lean Project Delivery are similar to those attributed to IPD. In fact, in this era of evolving terminology, many refer to IPD as ―Lean Project Delivery‖ where the application of ―lean thinking‖ and lean principles are applied throughout the project.Followers of IPD treat lean principles along with the resulting efficiencies and elimination of waste as givens. Followers of lean treat collaboration and the use of technologies as givens. In the end, lean and IPD are both striving for the same ultimate outcome, just two different paths to get to the same place: to a project that has been optimized to maximize the value. Whether the project is optimized by applying lean principles first, then IPD principles, or by applying IPD principles, then lean, does not matter. Early adopters of both have shown that the application of both lean and IPD principles is natural and will lead to more successful outcomes.The ideal application of lean begins during the design with the value stream and project schedule mapped by the team. Production of documents proceeds based on the commitments each party makes to the team. This process develops a sense of camaraderie amongst the team that should carry through the construction phase of the project. During construction, the project is scheduled throughout as a team from the milestones developed during the pre-construction phase. Each ―pull-planning session‖ results in a more detailed schedule that clearly and accurately shows all of the activities that must occur prior to or concurrently with the next activity.The key to the increased efficiency of lean is the measurement of adherence to the project schedule. Each party reports on its ability to meet the schedule commitments made the previous week. If commitments are not met, constraints are identified and removed by the team. The power of peer pressure, built on a foundation of mutual respect and understanding over the course of the project is a powerful motivating force for team members to meet commitments. Each party is incented to be the project leader rather than the project laggard in an effort to move the project forward towards successful completion as defined by the value stream."

AGC clearly mentioned the importance of commitments and collaboration resulting from "pull scheduling" and commitment planning (weekly work plans in Last Planner). In other words use of Last Planner System is highlighted as a industry trend enabling integration. I particularly pointed out Last Planner concept mention at AGC's white paper, because I wanted to point out the increasing influence of lean philosophy in the construction industry. Construction industry is talking more and more about lean construction. Leading organizations such as CURT, AGC and magazines such as ENR wrote about lean construction from last couple of years now, apart from International Group of Lean Construction (IGLC), European Group of Lean Construction, and Lean Construction Institute (LCI).

Are we Moving into a World of Collaboration?

2010-07-31T16:16:00.001-07:00

Howard Rheingold talks about the coming world of collaboration, participatory media and collective action -- and how Wikipedia is really an outgrowth of our natural human instinct to work as a group.

Interestingly Howard Rheingold gave the examples of Toyota, Google, Wikipedia, Amazon and Ebay - companies that are enriching others to enrich temselves. By doing lean construction and integrating the whole project team into one, and training them, companies will enrich themselves in this new world of collaboration.

Develop the Future and Past Positive Time Perspectives in Your Project Team Members by using Last Planner System

2010-07-26T12:34:00.000-07:00

The psychological framework on which Last Planner System is designed could be explained by looking at the methods Phil Zimbardo and John Boyd recommended in their book "The Time Paradox." People having Future perspective are reported to be having higher success rates in their lives as compared to extremely present oriented individuals.

Finishing the project on time is very critical for both the client and project team in the construction industry. On schedule project delivery and future and past positive orientated people can make a project successful on all dimensions (time,quality,cost,safety etc.).
Last Planner System is a tool that makes project team future oriented by embedding reverse phase scheduling, 6-weeks look ahead and weekly work plans in its planning process. This exercises orient the whole team to future and as Zimbardo and Boyd write in the book, project participants' attitudes towards time can be changed, Last Planner can change the time perspectives in the project team.
"The Time Paradox" also explains that having past positive time perspective, meaning having positive memories of past and learning from past mistakes, is also necessary for success and it is also practiced during Last Planner System planning process. The percentage plan complete (PPC) and reasons charting develop a past positive time perspective in project participants.
Both (future and past positive) time perspectives are attributes of successful people and hence by implementing Last Planner, we can develop successful people in the organization. Who will deliver a successful project.
Repeatedly it is pointed out that benefits from Last Planner implementation can not always be quantified. But qualitative benefits could be explained to some extend by using psychological framework described in this book.

Target Value Design and Honda's "Kick Out the Ladder" Philosophy

2010-07-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

Lean construction community sees target value design as a value generation tool. That could be useful to produce value for the client and reduce wasteful outcomes. However, target value design is not seen as a convenient tool and blamed to be hindering creativity and innovation in design. Honda Motor's "Kick Out the Ladder" philosophy inspires to "do the impossible" and thus inspires to achieve seemingly impossible results. This video produced by Honda illustrates this philosophy and employees' thoughts about achieving the desired outcomes successfully.

Future of prefabrication to become leaner using modern technology - concrete printing

2010-06-22T12:21:00.000-07:00

Watch this interesting video presentation.

Importance of Collaboration in Construction Industry and Tim Brown's Idea on "Thinking Big"

2010-03-20T00:36:00.000-07:00

Tim Brown says the design profession is preoccupied with creating nifty, fashionable objects -- even as pressing questions like clean water access show it has a bigger role to play. He calls for a shift to local, collaborative, participatory "design thinking."

Lean Project Delivery System (LPDS) /Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) calls for collaboration from all project stakeholder -owners, architects,engineers,general contractors, subcontractors,suppliers ......... Tim Bron's idea on "Thinking Big" calls for the same in every design.

Tim Brown's generic idea about importance of participation in design (product design or process design or service design or .... any other design) spells out clearly that greater participation brings better products and same is true for collaboration in construction. Collaboration during design and delivery of any construction project brings new ideas on table and discussions among participants makes them more open about their approach to solve any problem. People who are practicing collaboration have reported many successful cases and number is increasing exponentially. For more collaboration case studies visit this blog

First Run Studies of "Last Planner System" and Tim Brown on "powerful relationship between creative thinking and play"

2010-03-20T00:21:00.000-07:00

At the 2008 Serious Play conference, designer Tim Brown talks about the powerful relationship between creative thinking and play -- with many examples you can try at home (and one that maybe you shouldn't).

First run studies (as lean construction defines) are "used to redesign critical assignments, part of continuous improvement effort; and include productivity studies and review work methods by redesigning and streamlining the different functions involved. The studies commonly use video files, photos, or graphics to show the process or illustrate the work instruction. The first run of a selected craft operation should be examined in detail, bringing ideas and suggestions to explore alternative ways of doing the work."

Tim talks in this video about the importance of role play and creativity. Same concept is true for 'first run studies.' The first run of the craft operation or design done in a playful manner may create innovative solutions.

Lean community, by being more playful in each and every activity (implementation and practice of lean techniques in construction) can actually bring the change in traditional project management practices and help construction industry reduce waste and increase value on projects.

Diffusion of Innovation and a Beautiful Piece of Art

2010-03-10T16:57:00.001-08:00

It has been argued since long that diffusion of innovation takes time and typically follows a curve as shown below.

Same is the case with BIM at the present times. Experts employ different tactics to make transition more smooth and make people more conformable with the new ways of doing things or new thinking for instance (ex. lean management in construction). They share stories, create games and do all sorts of things to make learning and transition, from traditional practices to new, more fun and easier for early adopters.

Making something fun is a work of art and it requires creativity. So this makes one point clear that managers have to be artists at some point of time.

I came across this wonderful piece of art, a story, by James salmon that clearly identifies and highlights the importance of BIM and common standards for delivering a BIM to the owner - a BIM that owner can use for facility management. The story is so compelling that I was lured to share it with you.

The story of "Katy's Birthday"

Katy is Daddy's little princess and she wanted a Castle for her birthday. Daddy told her, "Honey, you cannot have a real Castle," and she cried. So Daddy rented an inflatable Castle, which was better than nothing and Katy was still upset. So Mommy invited Katy's friends to bring their wooden toy blocks to the party and build her a real Castle.

Johnny brought BIM blocks by Revit, Sally brought Bentley BIM blocks, little Susie brought BIM blocks produced by Tekla, and half a dozen other children brought special BIM blocks built with their favorite software application. The children built a beautiful Castle and Katy loved it.

As the party was winding down Johnny's Mom said, "Grab your blocks Johnny, and let's go." Johnny ran to the table and began grabbing his blocks, causing Katy's Castle to collapse! Katy began to cry, upset at the sight of the collapsed Castle. The parents gathered in the corner whispering, and the decision was made to leave all the blocks with Katy.

All the blocks were placed in a single box, Revit Blocks, Bentley Blocks, Tekla Blocks and half a dozen other brightly colored BIM blocks. Smiling, Johnny handed Katy the box, saying, "Here's your Castle Katy!" Katy stared sourly at the box and mumbled. "Thanks" in a very ungrateful tone of voice.

Katy retreated to her room and sat staring at the box of blocks, trying to remember how the beautiful Castle fit together, but she was unable to rebuild it by herself. Her departed friends were the only ones who knew the secret of how the Revit, Bentley and Tekla blocks fit together. Almost none of her friends knew how the special notches in the remaining half dozen blocks fit together. Katy could never rebuild the Castle.

Owners face Katy's dilemma at the end of every project. They are handed a "box" of BIM blocks that don't fit together and the owner has now idea how to put the Castle together again. Of course, those are the sophisticated owners who know enough to demand BIM in the first place. Most owners allow the Castle builders to walk away with the BIM blocks and are left with nothing.

Ultimately, owners need As-BUILT-BIM with flexible mechanisms for managing the vast amount of information contained therein, connecting that information to and leveraging it over the Web and treating the information like the valuable digital asset it is. New entrepreneurial business processes will emerge as owners and others leverage these new digital assets to add value to the underlying business purposes the facilities / infrastructure were constructed to fulfill. When owners learn to leverage these new digital assets real demand for true As-BUILT-BIM will skyrocket.

A conceptual BIM of a church building

2010-02-18T08:35:00.000-08:00

Built this model last semester as a practice of bidding a church project.

Last Planner® System as a problem solving framework

2010-02-15T19:19:00.000-08:00

Last Planner® System (LP®S) reduces uncertainty and brings stability. However, when we put LP S in a problem solving framework we realize that the core of LP®S is based on two problem solving techniques: (1) Root Cause Analysis and (2) GROW model (Goal-Reality-Obstacle/Option-Way forward).

During the LP®S use-

We set milestones for an activity - We set goal (G)
We do the reality (R) check during the brainstorming sessions and look ahead planning
We look for obstacles (O) i.e. constraints analysis and find options (O) to deal with the constraints
We go ahead and execute the plan that’s our way forward (W)
Next we ask "why" five times which is a popular root cause analysis technique

LP®S planning protocol can be explained using these two problem solving techniques and they encompass George Pólya's method in "How to solve it?”
Pólya suggests the following steps when solving a mathematical problem:

1. First, understand the problem.
2. After understanding, make a plan.
3. Carry out the plan.
4. Look back on your work.
5. Analyze, how could it be better?

There is a scope of future research in applying different problem solving techniques and models to the problem of unpredictability of production plans and testing if other approach gives better results.

Why Last Planner® System and Building Information Modeling First?

2010-02-13T06:11:00.000-08:00

I will begin with discussing the history of lean thinking and then discuss the most compelling and promising tools enabling lean thinking.
The very concept of lean construction originates from Taichi Ohno's innovative management philosophy - Toyota Production System (TPS). Precisely, the same Toyota Production System is known as "Lean" in western world.
Ohno states in his book - Toyota Production System- Beyond Large Scale Production - the two most important building blocks of TPS are Just-In-Time (JIT) and Total Quality Management (TQM).
JIT in a layman's words is an approach with the objective of producing the right part in the right place at the right time. And TQM is a management philosophy that seeks to integrate all organizational functions (marketing, finance, design, engineering, and production, customer service, etc.) to focus on meeting customer needs and other organizational objectives.
Last Planner® System (LP®S) of production control is a tool based on JIT philosophy. Frequently applied by lean constructors in planning process and more precisely in scheduling process. LP®S encompasses the principles of JIT and utilizes the concept of Kanban too. LP®S makes plans more reliable and it is a building block of lean philosophy into construction just like JIT in TPS.
Second building block of TPS is total quality management (TQM) that is concerned with quality management, as the name indicates and for doing so its focus is on value creation. Repeat work is a big waste in Ohno's book that we all agree. Rebuilding a wall wrong built or redoing the MEP tasks because of defective drawings and so conflicts is certainly waste and poor quality management. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a technology that enables integration and visualization of the facility in virtual world. Contractors use BIM to detect conflicts and Architects use it to communicate their design rationale to all the stakeholders.
Lean is a philosophy but you need methodologies and tools to make lean a reality. Last Planner® System and Building Information Modeling are serving the purpose. Despite several cultural, training, educational, leadership, contractual and legal barriers these innovations are diffusing in the construction industry.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Lean Construction for successful project management

2010-02-07T23:26:00.001-08:00

Recently I came across this article by Dennis Sowards "BIM and LPS improve project management". Dennis explained LPS-Last Planner System and Building Information Modeling (BIM) fairly well.

However, in my opinion there is no point in asking the question "Should we choose BIM over Lean or Lean over BIM?" As Dennis explains in the article that before asking this question "you need to consider what each process offers before choosing one over the other", I would say: lean is a management philosophy and BIM is a technology for effective management of project information. In other words lean is a way of management and BIM is a tool for management.

Lean construction is based on a simple principle "reduce waste and increase value." To reduce waste (of time, material, labor etc.) a number of initiatives have been taken, for example Last Planner System (LPS) of production control, Value Stream Mapping (VSM), Target Value Design (TVD) etc.

If we closely look at these tools, techniques and methods developed over last two decades the sole aim of these tools is to reduce waste and increase value of a project delivery. This goal translates into the goal of continuous improvement.

At this point this question can be raised "Where BIM comes into picture when we talk about lean construction?" As I said the sole aim of lean construction is continuous improvement, BIM is a tool that brings improvement to the process of project delivery- and thus continuous improvement.

Traditionally design information is shared using 2D drawings. The waste embedded in the process include: change orders, poor information flow, rework etc. BIM does not eliminate this waste entirely but it reduces the waste and so BIM enables lean.

LPS is a tool used for planning purposes, with a goal of making plans more reliable. Making plans more reliable is very important if we look at the waste generated due to broken promises. On the other hand LPS enables integrated project delivery, because "last planners" (foremen/supervisors), GCs, architects, engineers, and trade partners collaborate to make plans more reliable using LPS. Collaboration and integration is the essential condition for the use of LPS.

In conclusion lean construction philosophy and building information modeling technology both are essential to emerging building industry which is facing a downturn due to financial crisis and which is more conscious about sustainable and green construction than it was in the past.

AIA Releases Multi-Party Agreement for IPD

2009-11-29T03:45:00.000-08:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today announced the release of the new C191™-2009, Standard Form Multi-Party Agreement for Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), which provides for a collaborative working relationship among parties involved in a design and construction project and utilizing the IPD delivery model. With this new agreement the parties execute one coordinated and integrated agreement that clearly sets forth the parties’ roles and responsibilities in delivering a project consistent with the principles of IPD. Unlike the C195™-2008, the parties do not form an LLC under the C191-2009 framework.
In addition, the AIA released B108™-2009, Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Architect for a Federally Funded or Federally Insured Project, and a new document, B202™-2009, Standard Form of Architect’s Services: Programming. Collectively called the “4.2 Release,” these three documents expand the extensive library of AIA Contract Documents and build on more than 100 years of experience in defining the contractual relationships in the design and construction industry.
“The design and construction industries are evolving, and AIA Contract Documents continue to guide the way by creating documents and resources that are necessary to lead the industry in new practices and project delivery approaches,” said Michael B. Bomba, Esq., Associate Counsel, AIA Contract Documents. “The AIA’s new Multi-Party Agreement for Integrated Project Delivery reflects the shift away from working in silos and supports new collaborative methods being employed among architects, owners and contractors.”
Paradigm Shifting Approach
With the new C191-2009 Standard Form Multi-Party Agreement for Integrated Project Delivery individual success of each party is directly tied to a project’s overall success. The architect and the contractor, as well as any other non-owner parties, earn profit through the achievement of the owner’s specified goals. This method of compensation promotes “good for the project” behavior and encourages all parties to work through disputes as they arise rather than assigning blame. In addition, the agreement establishes a collaborative management structure that involves all of the primary project stakeholders and is designed to minimize disputes while increasing project efficiency and quality.
Simplifying Government Projects
The AIA Contract Documents team worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to develop an owner-architect agreement that more effectively addresses the needs of these agencies. The result is B108-2009, Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Architect for a Federally Funded or Federally Insured Project. This document is an update to AIA Document B181™-1994, Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Architect for Housing Services, which has been used for years by participants on many federally funded or insured projects.
B108-2009 includes specific provisions related to cost estimating, compensation and other issues, tailored to these types of projects. B108-2009 is a document that will be useful to owners and architects working on federally funded and federally insured construction projects, including those funded by the recent stimulus package.
In addition, AIA Contract Documents has developed the new B202-2009, Standard Form of Architect’s Services: Programming, which is an architect’s scope of services document for programming services in a standard form that the owner and architect can modify to suit the needs of the project. B202 is not a stand-alone document, and to become effective it must be incorporated into an owner-architect agreement. This is a new scope of services document and not an update of an existing document.
“As federal stimulus funds are being distributed for design and construction projects, standard contracts such as the B108-2009 and other AIA documents can be used to help agencies and other project participants move the project along more easily and efficiently,” said Kenneth Cobleigh, Managing Director and Counsel, AIA Contract Documents. “AIA Contract Documents will continue to be most stakeholders’ first choice for standard contract documents because they are the most widely accepted across the industry, have been written to be fair and balanced and provide an ease-of-use that is unparalleled by other standard form documents.”
Availability
The new AIA IPD Multi-Party Agreement, as well as B108-2009 and B202-2009, will be available beginning November 3, 2009. Existing AIA Contract Documents software customers will obtain these new documents at no additional cost when they download the latest software update at www.aia.org/contractdocs.
More information about AIA Contract Documents can be found at www.aia.org/contractdocs. AIA Contract Documents software can be purchased at www.aia.org/contractdocs/purchase. Documents in paper form are available through the AIA’s full service distributors. For a listing of full service distributors and pricing information, please visit www.aia.org/docs_purchase.

Source

The Big 5 Show - Dubai 2009

2009-11-29T02:30:00.000-08:00

I am not a Tekla executive or any sort of associate with the company but this news is interesting as this mentions one of the important platforms for AEC techs to show their talent and do some business obviously. It looks like a platform similar to Autodesk annual event in Vegas, but a different market.

Event information follows:

The largest trade show for the construction industry in the Arabian Gulf.
One of the most commercially successful trade fairs in Dubai, The Big 5 features National Pavilions from all the major exporting of the world, alongside important local developers, contractors, importers, manufacturers and distributors

The Big 5 is held at the Dubai World Trade Centre a state of the art venue in the business district on the Sheikh Zayed Road.
Disability access has been considered throughout the venue.

Location
Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre
Sheikh Zayed Road
PO Box 9292
Dubai
United Arab Emirates
Website: www.dicec.ae

Contact:
Muneer Abdel Abdel.Muneer@tekla.com

Date

Mon 23 November 2009 - Thu 26 November 2009
11:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Product(s) in the event:

Tekla Structures

For more information visit Tekla

Sketchup 7.1 bug fixes and lifelike facades

2009-11-27T00:35:00.000-08:00

To go along with the nice imagery update yesterday, Google has done a few things to help improve the 3D models found in Google Earth

Update to SketchUp 7.1: This update consists entirely of bug fixes, with no new features present. It fixes some measurement and precision errors, among other things. Here are the full release notes if you're interested. SketchUp 7.1 added a lot of great features, so this update should make modelers very happy.

3D models with detailed facades: Using StreetView imagery, in a way similar to what you can do in SketchUp 7.1, Google has added high-res facades to buildings in five California cities: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Franciso, Berkeley and Stockton. By using StreetView imagery to detail the 3D models, zoomed in areas of the downtown streets look stunning. Here's a quick video showing some of these new buildings:.

I'd expect we'll see this technology find its way over to Building Maker eventually. Having that kind of imagery available in Building Maker would allow them to expand the available area for it much more rapidly.

In the meantime, enjoy the sharp looking cities in California. They're quite stunning and becoming more realistic all the time.

Source:gearthblog

The Solar Shingle

2009-11-15T19:02:00.001-08:00

The Dow Chemical Co. has developed a new roof shingle that doubles as a solar panel. The shingles, which can be incorporated into rooftops alongside traditional asphalt shingles, use low-cost thin-film cells of copper indium gallium diselenide. While Dow expects to profit greatly from the Powerhouse Solar Shingle — the company predicts it will bring in as much as $10 billion in revenue by 2020 — there will be significant benefits for consumers too. The innovative shingle is expected to cost 10% to 15% less than traditional solar panels and will be cheaper and quicker to install.

Read more here at TIME

Rachel Armstrong: Architecture that repairs itself?

2009-11-02T22:20:00.000-08:00

Venice, Italy is sinking. To save it, Rachel Armstrong says we need to outgrow architecture made of inert materials and, well, make architecture that grows itself. She proposes a not-quite-alive material that does its own repairs and sequesters carbon, too.

BIM of a Multi-story Commercial Building

2009-10-12T03:21:00.000-07:00

For the class "Special Topics in BIM" that I am taking this semester, I designed the BIM of a commercial building using Revit 2010.
Designing a building in 3D was not that easy ever. Getting 3D views, sections, plans and elevations were the matter of seconds using Revit Architecture 2010. Revit's parametric modeling capabilities helped me improve my design very early in the project.

I am planning to use Revit's parametric capabilities to map the operations phase of the project. For this I will be using export and import of Revit data and project operations data respectively. The idea is to make planning and scheduling more predictable by mapping very minute details of the operations phase and using it to make the system more effective and efficient. This project is a pilot for future developments on this idea. I will be updating the progress as I move ahead with the project.

Following are some renderings of the current model.

Exterior

Interior

William McDonough on Eco-Friendly Design

2009-10-12T02:45:00.000-07:00

William McDonough, founder of design firm William McDonough + Partners and author of Cradle to Cradle, discusses environmentally friendly design.

Insightful thoughts on sustainability and design.

Texas Adopts Building Information Modeling (BIM) capability for State Design and Construction Projects

2009-09-22T23:50:00.000-07:00

Austin - The Texas Facilities Commission (TFC), the agency within the State of Texas that oversees the state’s real estate development as owners and operators of state facilities, today announces its adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for state design and construction projects. For over a year, the Facilities Design and Construction (FDC) division within TFC has diligently worked to standardize the use of BIM for its future projects. FDC is responsible for overseeing the design and construction of state facilities throughout Texas. Currently, FDC manages 125 projects valued over $500 million, in addition to maintaining the Facilities Master Plan. In an effort to promote workflow efficiency, streamline productivity and increase the return on investment for the State of Texas, FDC has adopted and encourages the use of BIM’s digital design technology.more

TED talk by architect Bjarke Ingels- Good examples of Sustainable and GreenConstruction

2009-09-19T17:57:00.000-07:00

"Danish architect Bjarke Ingels rockets through photo/video-mingled stories of his eco-flashy designs. His buildings not only look like nature -- they act like nature: blocking the wind, collecting solar energy -- and creating stunning views."-TED

BD + C's 2009 Giant 300 Survey

2009-07-31T09:03:00.001-07:00

Building Design + Construction published 2009 Giant 300 Survey. List includes:

• Top 50 Architects
• Top 50 Architect/Engineers
• Top 50 Engineers
• Top 50 Engineer/Architects
• Top 80 Contractors
• Top 20 Construction Managers

Access it here

Reed Construction Data Launches SmartBIM

2009-05-07T12:38:00.001-07:00

(source)

Video

ATLANTA -- Reed Construction Data, a leading provider of construction information, has launched SmartBIM solutions for the architecture, engineering and construction communities. This first phase of SmartBIM will include SmartBIM Library™, SmartBIM Objects™ and RSMeans™ Quick Cost Estimator.

With the launch of SmartBIM, Reed Construction Data seeks to further enhance the Autodesk™ Revit™ user experience through its comprehensive object-organization solution (SmartBIM Library) while providing high-quality, parametric BIM objects (SmartBIM Objects) and enhanced ability to value a project (RSMeans Quick Cost Estimator).

"We are taking 3D design to the next level by combining high-quality objects and powerful software tools with RSMeans Cost Data," said Iain Melville, CEO, Reed Construction Data. "The movement into 3D design has led to a number of advancements, including greater design and change-order flexibility, enhanced project delivery through better collaboration, and more cost-efficient and safer designs. SmartBIM addresses the challenges and opportunities that this new technology presents."

Reed Construction Data's SmartBIM Library is a companion product to Autodesk Revit that enhances content management by allowing design firms to organize, manage and locate BIM content more easily and intuitively. It also allows users to generate libraries from data and objects that they currently use, and drag and drop objects directly into Revit models. In addition, SmartBIM objects will be able to link directly to RSMeans data for costing and other analyses.

Reed Construction Data is also offering SmartBIM Objects for Building Product Manufacturers (BPMs). SmartBIM Objects are high-quality objects designed to simulate the actual product and embed critical product data and specifications in the Revit model.

"Building Product Manufacturers can leverage BIM to showcase their products in a building in the design phase if they have high-quality objects in the hands of the architect," said Richard Remington, vice president, product development, Reed Construction Data. "The SmartBIM object-creation program provides BPMs with high-quality BIM objects that can be distributed through many channels to end users, which increases the opportunity to be specified into the building."
Reed Construction Data is also offering the RSMeans Quick Cost Estimator within Revit to instantly calculate the estimated value of a project specific to its location. RSMeans data will be integrated with all SmartBIM applications and will offer unique data for its users' models.

Sage Advances BIM Capabilities With First Autodesk Quantity Takeoff Plug-In

2009-05-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

(source)

BEAVERTON, OR - With advancements in Building Information Modeling (BIM) creating new opportunities for architects, engineers, contractors and owners (A/E/C/O) to significantly improve efficiency, integration with related systems is vital to realizing the potential gains. Sage today announced the market's first integration with Autodesk Quantity Takeoff 2010, providing a critical link with Sage Timberline Office Estimating. The new integration will enable users to automatically export quantity information from Autodesk Quantity Takeoff 2010 to Sage Timberline Office Estimating and generate a cost estimate with one click, resulting in faster and more accurate cost estimating for BIM users.

"The beauty of BIM is that it gives designers and contractors the ability to quickly identify and resolve issues in the model, helping them avoid issues in the field where they're more expensive and time consuming to resolve. We're adding another layer of efficiency by automating cost estimating from the BIM model with absolute precision using the Sage Timberline Office Estimating plug-in to Autodesk Quantity Takeoff 2010. This will save real dollars on every job," said John Geffel, Senior Vice President and General Manager Sage Construction and Real Estate Solutions.

Autodesk Quantity Takeoff 2010 is the highly anticipated design-to-cost tool that enables cost estimators to collect and quantify multi-format design data and high-quality images seamlessly with the Autodesk Revit platform for BIM. The new link to Sage Timberline Office Estimating is already in use at selected customer sites and is the first plug-in with Autodesk Quantity Takeoff on the market. It will be made broadly available in Summer 2009.

"Since the BIM process is built on the use of coordinated, reliable design information, Autodesk feels that providing an accurate link from design to cost estimation is a critical step in the process," said Timothy Douglas, Industry Segment Manager, Autodesk Construction. "Our customers can now pull data from the model directly into Sage Timberline Office Estimating and use that quantity and cost information throughout the design and construction process."

John Tocci, chairman of the Associated General Contractors BIM Forum and an ENR Top 25 industry newsmaker in 2008, sees this type of innovation as vital to progressing BIM.

"We were pleased to play a role in bringing together two of the construction industry's most important software firms," said Tocci. "The smooth exchange of vital cost and quantity information between the industry's leading BIM application and estimating software is a major advancement toward our goal of a fully integrated virtual construction tool. This collaboration will measurably advance the promise of BIM and Integrated Project Delivery to eradicate waste, propel productivity and restore relationships."

The plug-in is the latest in a series of new developments from Sage over the past six months designed to deliver improved customer experience through usability and performance enhancements in Sage Timberline Office, including 64-Bit compatibility, estimating with multicurrency functionality, and an innovative integration between Estimating and Project Management.

O3D as an interior design visualiztion tool

2009-04-28T08:55:00.000-07:00

This seems a powerful 3D visualization and user friendly tool.

O3D Plugin by google

2009-04-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

Google launched O3D browser plug-in on April 21st 2009. This would enable useres use javascript to design 3D objects in a browser only.

BIM+IPD+LEAN (Reinventing the Design and Construction of Buildings)

2009-04-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

This article by George, that discussed very much the same buzz words in which everyone from AEC industry is interested today, is a good explanation of all the terms together. All these tools, practices and methodologies of construction (BIM, LEAN and IPD) are often being discussed in the industry now a days. But the only eye to see all these together is seeing future. LEAN, BIM, GREEN and IPD are going hand in hand in US building construction industry. In one way or another they are associated to each other and successful AEC professionals are practicing it right now on actual projects. George in his article discussed all these inter-relationships and brought a worth reading article.

Integrated Practice and Lean Construction

2009-04-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

Recently I read the article "Project teams find integrated project delivery very helpful" by Kate Moser here

This article defines close relationship between integrated practices and lean construction objectives. It has also been mentioned that BIM process lies in heart of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) system.

“It’s not perfect here, but people are working together.”
— Gregory A. Howell, co-founder, Lean Construction Institute

“In normal project execution, innovation gets pushed out by the question of who pays and who gains.”
— Glenn Ballard, co-founder, Lean Construction Institute;
and director, UC Berkeley Project Production Systems Laboratory

“There’s a humbleness that comes with integrated project delivery. There’s no sense of bravado that this is easy.”
— Will Lichtig, construction attorney and shareholder, McDonough Holland & Allen PC

Green Collar Jobs

2009-04-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

USGBC promoting Green Building Movement.

BIM + LEED

2009-04-17T22:24:00.000-07:00

All this has to be done in coming years. It looks like the future of AEC industry.

BIM+LEAN "A New Breed of Construction" (From DPR Newsletter Spring 2006)

2009-04-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

Groundbreaking work on 250,000-sq.-ft. outpatient medical facility for Camino Medical Group showcases benefits of LEAN construction, paves way for new form of project delivery

Rising from the debris of an abandoned department store is a new 250,000-sq.-ft. medical office building that will not only provide progressive outpatient healthcare services but also, according to DPR's Dean Reed, set new standards in the design and construction of facilities.

The more than two-year project for Camino Medical Group (CMG), a division of the not-for-profit Palo Alto Medical Foundation, which is an affiliate of Sutter Health, is currently past the mid-way point and being delivered using LEAN construction techniques designed to maximize overall production value and reduce waste while maintaining the highest quality. Months before construction began in late February 2005, with the demolition of the vacant Emporium building on the 9.9 acre site in Mountain View, CA, the CMG project team, including the owner, architect, DPR and all major subcontractors, worked closely together to design the delivery process in conjunction with the facility—a key step in LEAN construction management.
"As a team, we broke down every step of the construction delivery process and examined ways to promote a more fluid transition, creating a better, more reliable work flow between various trades as work was handed off from one party to another," said Reed.

Virtual design and construction technologies, such as three-dimensional (3-D) and four-dimensional (4-D) models, also are being used throughout the project, along with LEAN construction practices. Early on, the virtual building models, which incorporate the element of time into 3-D computer-aided design drawings, helped communicate sequencing issues during design coordination, allowing the project team to best understand and take advantage of potential time and space conflicts. More recently, the virtual building models developed for the project have enabled subcontractors to prefabricate most of the MEP materials for a just-in-time delivery.

"Our use of virtual building technology, coupled with a LEAN approach, is resulting in a more efficient installation of MEP systems," said Reed. "The first section was completed in early February without any field issues, and based on conversations with many of our key subcontractors, the process has improved productivity by as much as 20 percent on this portion of the job."

The team anticipates that productivity will only increase.

"Usually the time estimated for MEP installations is based on people's previous experience, and we expect a small learning curve at the beginning that puts us slightly behind schedule," said DPR Superintendent Ralph Eslick. "The idea is that once we work out the initial 'kinks' in the process, productivity improves and the time is made up. In the case of CMG, we have the learning curve behind us, and we finished that portion ahead of schedule. It should only get better."

The project also includes simultaneous construction of a 400,000-sq.-ft. parking garage adjacent to the facility. The two structures take up 8.5 acres of the 9.9 acre lot, making for a very constricted construction site and creating an additional challenge for the project team.

"The accelerated schedule and tight site required a sophisticated, phased logistics plan," said Eslick. "We used the five months of the demolition and mass excavation phase of the project to plan every future step."

The team broke the parking garage into three phases, with the middle section finishing up last. As a result, the parking structure can be completed on time without impacting the critical path to the office building and limiting access to the site.

Once complete in February 2007, the new three-story medical office building will house offices, exam rooms, urgent care center, outpatient surgery center, pharmacy, laboratory and diagnostic radiology services, and according to CMG's CEO Richard Slavin, M.D., the new space will bring together nine of CMG's 15 clinics for "greater ease of access by nearly 200,000 patients."

Team Players
Client: Camino Medical Group
Architect: Hawley Peterson & Snyder Architects

Sometime in near Future

2009-04-13T23:31:00.000-07:00

Excellent Video portraying the future of BIM+Green

BIM LEAN and GREEN

2009-04-11T10:13:00.000-07:00

It seems that recession is bringing new opportunities to test and practice emerging technologies in AEC industry. Having lesser projects in hands, AEC professionals and owners are looking towards experts and academicians to come up with innovative solutions to effectively implement new technologies and management philosophies to increase efficiency, increase labor productivity, reduce waste and decrease environmental impact in the overall life cycle of a project. In order to achieve this milestones contribution of BIM, LEAN and GREEN movements appears appreciable.

Building Information modeling (BIM) is helping project participants collaborate and at the same time it is helping to reduce waste (by conflict detection), increase performance (by energy analyses) and visualize the project. BIM is emerging as a tool that is helping integration of overall project delivery.

Lean production system introduced first time by Onho in Toyota car manufacturing unit is emerging as a management philosophy applicable to wider range of industries. AEC industry being one of them is coming forward to embrace lean thinking and increase profits to their organizations.

Green movement is an initiative to decrease impact of human activities on the environment. US Green Building Council (USGBC) introduced LEED rating system to measure the greenness of buildings. Although LEED doesn't address all the issues of sustainable construction and is not perfect but it is a good initiative towards a sustainable future.

Apart from very ideal portray of any of BIM, Lean or Green in building construction, increased productivity, energy efficiency and increased building performance will surely affect the bottom line in a positive manner.