Consulting-Specifying Engineer - November 2008 - (Page 17)

M/E Roundtable Londenberg: Hard numbers are elusive. The costs are easier to identify, such as the cost of initial learning and implementation of the new tool. Each project also is likely to experience higher upfront costs because you are putting more information into the building model. The payback begins to appear when it comes to documentation; some of the most time-expensive tasks, like generating sections or 3-D/isometric views, become effortless. Most importantly, well-modeled designs lead to far fewer issues in the field. We have seen significant reductions in the requests for information (RFI) for our BIM projects. Workman: Users tell us the biggest cost is not the BIM software but rather the training and, more importantly, the change associated with the new integrated practice processes. As was explained in the CURT white paper, the BIM process moves more work in the project to the initial project phases. In this case, the MEP engineers will be involved with the architect earlier. As a result, their input and design can have a greater influence in the design compared to previous methods. For example, Sauda Hydro Power used BIM to automate the cre- ation of more than 450 drawings with repeated recreation of all drawings—resulting in time saved of approximately 30%. GHAFARI Associates’ design and construction of a General Motors plant used 3-D models to integrate facility systems and eliminate thousands of design conflicts prior to construction, and to produce highly coordinated construction documents and installation drawings for architectural, structural, and MEP systems. Settlemyre: BIM holds the promise of developing one model that can have multiple drawing views that generate to develop a drawing set, with the added bonus of updating automatically across the views if changes are made. Therefore, the benefit can be reduced production time to create and maintain a set of drawings. However, as with any tool, it is not the solution in and of itself. The key determining factor is how it is used and the rigor involved. Just because a firm uses BIM software does not mean it will realize the benefits. CSE: How does BIM contribute to greener buildings? What evidence is there to support your answer? 25142 FGGCZ_RiseShine ad_half_ConSpeEng.indd 1 Input #210 at csemag.com/quickResponse 9/12/08 10:48:05 AM http://www.fbcbuildingsolutions.com http://www.csemag.com/quickResponse

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Consulting-Specifying Engineer - November 2008 Contents Viewpoint News M/E Roundtable Comissioning Lighting Controls Prevent Plugholing: Smoke Control Done Right Commercial Geothermal Heating and Cooling System Design Codes &�Standards Case Study New Products Equipment Lifecycles Advertiser Index Green Space

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - November 2008

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