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FUTURE:
[Building

Seeing the

Information Models]

BIM
BIM inspires evolution in design, construction and operation philosophies.
Building information models (BIM) are the hot topic in the architectural and engineering field today. But the critical questions facing facility owners havent changed. How can this make my facility design, construction and operation better, more efficient and sustainable?

BIM products deliver owners greater value from the design and construction process ranging from visual coordination and confirmation to graphic models that contain complete project documentation. This model of the Gainesville Regional Utilities Energy Center South allows project stakeholders to see not only the structure but also how it integrates with the surrounding area.

From the Beginning

The BIM label appeared on the radar in 2002 with the concept of capitalizing on design and construction phase efforts to develop a coordinated physical facility model populated by characteristic information gathered during the process. Recent growth in the field is enhancing visualization for clients, improving discipline coordination during design, and enabling client system integration and interoperability in ways that extend the benefits of BIM far beyond construction and design, says Steve Cline, structural engineer and BIM services
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director for the Burns & McDonnell Aviation & Facilities Group. The immediate benefit for clients is a shift in the project timeline. With BIM, initial design is faster, allowing greater flexibility for revisions during the time when design changes have the best opportunity to impact project construction costs, Cline says. Owners are able to visualize their facilities live, in 3D, rather than with still renderings and plans. For example, a client can navigate the model of an interior space at

30 percent design and identify changes in layout, lighting or functionality that would traditionally have gone unnoticed until 65 percent completion or even 90 percent. Thats a huge value to our customers.

Expanding Benefits
The greatest BIM benefits are only beginning to be realized. When you add construction scheduling capabilities into BIM, it creates a dynamic of enhanced collaboration between design and construction teams, Cline says. The level of

detail and sophistication that can be achieved in construction sequencing increases significantly. The use of BIM allows tight site coordination between designers, contractors and subcontractors, resulting in fewer people on site, which reduces the risks of injury. As stakeholders build trust in the model and work collaboratively to detect and

resolve design conflicts early, there is greater opportunity to fabricate components off-site, reducing construction site personnel, Cline says.

and other site information will identify projectspecific characteristics like heat loads and energy costs to assist in system selection and energy analysis.

Into the Future

Designers are connecting building information models to systems that evaluate Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) characteristics for a facility. Eventually, geographical data like ZIP codes the other areas where modeling factors into Burns & McDonnell services: When identifying corridors for new electrical transmission lines, data models can be built to factor in the presence of environmental constraints, urban areas or other factors that could make a particular corridor more or less suitable. These models can be used to inform the public about the selection process. Data linked to GIS maps and models are the foundation of OneTouchPM, the Burns & McDonnell tool created for the Middletown/Norwalk Bulk Transmission Project, a $1.4 billion electrical transmission program in southwest Connecticut. Managers at a construction site can access details ranging from structural foundation details to right-ofway negotiation status anywhere, anytime. 3D models have become standard procedure for industrial facilities like power plants, chemical plants or refineries. The clash detection capabilities help reduce costly interferences during construction, providing significant cost and time savings. The 3D modeling also provides more precise information to subcontractors to allow for better understanding of the scope of the project and more accurate bidding of construction. Owners and designers also are able to better visualize the spaces around equipment to ensure maintenance access requirements are met.

Forward Operations
When a building is handed over to the owner, the cutting-edge benefits of BIM become evident. Typically, design and construction accounts for 25 percent of a facilitys life cycle cost. The remaining portion covers the buildings lifespan, from everyday operations to retrofits and upgrades over time. Those costs add up over time. The General Services Administration is currently designing buildings to operate for 100 years. We follow the data downstream, putting it to use enhancing operations, security and emergency response systems, says Robert Bradford, department manager of the Burns & McDonnell Information Management Group. Owners have paid for the collection of this data, and BIM functionality ensures they dont pay for it again. Preserving that data and avoiding its re-creation is paramount to achieving BIMs benefits. Rolling design data into a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) enables the long-term gains that owners can use to manage regular maintenance programs and prioritize and justify capital improvement projects. A CMMS can combine design data with that generated through other processes, such as commissioning, strengthening the BIM, Bradford says. A true life cycle BIM can take all the information and leverage it to the benefit of the client.
For more information, contact Steve Cline, (816) 349-6637.

Beyond Basics: A Customized Approach

A one-size-fits-all approach never works, even in the simplest of facility design projects. It is out of the question in the complex world of building information models (BIMs). For hospitals, clinics and other healthcare or research facilities, BIM opens up possibilities early in the design process for owners to quickly evaluate several facility layout options in ways they never could before. 3D graphics enable visualization of designs more clearly than flat floor plans allow. Hospital design requires the integration of many key factors, from aesthetics and individual patient needs to life support systems and interior adjacency requirements, says Rich McKown, engineering manager for the Burns & McDonnell Healthcare & Research Facilities Group. BIM design enables us as architects and engineers to give our clients a 3D visual representation of several plans in a format more easily understood than a flat blueprint. BIMs also provide benefits for contractors bidding on hospital construction projects. Being able to extract data from the model enables more accurate estimates and scheduling.

Beyond Facilities
BIM principles and data techniques apply to a wide range of project types. Some of

Read how Burns & McDonnell is taking BIM to the next level for a new combined heat and power plant on the Texas Medical Center campus in Houston. The TECO project center stations 25 key staff in a high-tech, collaborative environment linked to other offices and to the project owner. Please visit www.burnsmcd.com/teco.

The BIM for the Brownsville Community Health Center creates an accurate visual representation of the space, allowing the owner to make more confident decisions.

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At the schematic or conceptual design stage of a project, BIM tools allow Burns & McDonnell design teams to rapidly create schematic models. These early models capture client requirements, preferences and site data.

The BIM is sometimes initiated during a design charrette, where building owners, operators and other stakeholders gather with architects and engineers to conceptualize the facility, its key functions and its initial forms. Software tools enable designers to create an early visualization of the structure for ongoing development before the charrettes second day begins. After the charrette, the BIM is refined and expanded to encompass design details and stages, eliminating duplication of effort. For the Fort Riley, Kan., Runway and Southside Facilities project, BIM tools enabled not only a quick project kickoff but also increased the productivity of architects and detailers. A team of two architects and two drafters prepared hundreds of architectural drawings for eight buildings released in multiple fast-track construction packages on a condensed schedule.

This BIM initiated during a two-day design charrette enabled designers to rapidly capture the clients needs, getting the project off to a running start with a highly productive team of architects and drafters.

We have learned that integrated modeling throughout the project delivery provides a level of coordination between disciplines that has not previously been achievable, says Robert Fish, senior architect on the project. That translates into time and money saved during construction, since better discipline coordination results in fewer change orders and delays.

Schematic Design

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Visualization & Clash Detection

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Seeing is believing.

make more informed choices when presented with a 3D visual representation of the space. We are finding that facility owners are much more comfortable making design decisions and communicating preferences when a BIM is created, says Steve Cline, structural engineer and BIM services coordinator for the Burns & McDonnell Aviation & Facilities Group. Being able to picture that space and see how people will interact with the environment makes a huge difference. The design team also benefits from BIM visualization and clash detection capabilities. Superior coordination between structural, mechanical, electrical, civil and architectural designers has always been a priority at Burns & McDonnell, Cline says. BIM tools are allowing our design teams to take coordination to the next level. They virtually walk through facilities looking for clashes and discrepancies. This is a significant change from our traditional coordination process,

where 3D visualization took place mostly inside a designers head.

A facility owner who faces a pivotal decision about an interior layout or equipment selection can

Modeling enhances a clients ability to visualize how a completed space will look with different design and equipment selections, as demonstrated by these renderings for a Lockheed Martin employee cafeteria design.
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Architectural, structural and mechanicalelectrical-plumbing renderings demonstrate how disparate design systems can be brought together to clearly define how those systems will interact in a completed facility.

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The integration of schedule and cost information into models vastly improves sequencing during construction, says Mike Fenske, engineering manager for the Burns & McDonnell Aviation & Facilities Group. Watching the elements of a design come together onscreen helps the design and construction team improve accuracy in construction sequencing and material quantity takeoffs. That 4D and 5D realm is what differentiates BIM from other technological advancements. Its really a complete change in the design process, Fenske says. Adding scheduling and cost information is what will make BIM infinitely more valuable during the design and construction process. Designers and constructors are able to understand the complete picture during each decision-making process.

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The construction planning process may experience the most significant changes during the BIM evolution.

Integration of Schedule & Cost

After an owner takes the keys to a new facility, the BIM opens up a realm of possibilities. The data in a BIM, tied to a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), streamlines day-to-day maintenance programs, making equipment specifications and schedules quickly accessible. Critical functions such as fire protection and life safety features can be integrated into systems to make them more effective in a crisis. Facilities often outlast their initial functions. Capital improvements can be justified and managed more efficiently with the data in a life cycle BIM system. The existing data can be enriched with details about changes made. The benefits of BIM are not limited to models created for new construction. Existing structures can be modeled to enhance operations systems of all types. Burns & McDonnell worked with the Mission Assurance Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, to integrate the Washington Headquarters Services and the Pentagon Force Protection systems. The primary goal was to provide an incident commander with real-time facility information during an emergency situation, but day-to-day operations also will benefit from the BIM.

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Integration of schedule information in a BIM, as in this example from NavisWorks, enables staging construction processes and equipment deliveries in tighter, more efficient timelines that improve safety and accuracy.

Life Cycle System Integration

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In a building as massive and complex as the Pentagon, facility data such as fire alarm locations and types, standpipe locations, sprinkler zones and escape routes are critical in an emergency situation. We created a Web interface that could be displayed on a video wall, allowing the incident commander to drill down into systems and applications from legends, devices and floor plans, says Fred Terry, Databases integrated with the BIM project manager in the Burns put key facility information in the & McDonnell Business & hands of facility managers when Technology Services Group. they need it most. The system integration leveraged existing databases without aggregation in a single data warehouse, eliminating issues with security classifications. Day-to-day applications of the Web interface provide technicians information about installed equipment drawn from the commissioning and CMMS databases and establish more specific dashboards to monitor alarms and trends and to track workflows in normal operations as well as during an emergency.
BURNS & McD ONNELL