BIM and Intelligent Building Integration

The second half of Chapter 2 in the BIM Handbook was very informative.  I like this section much better than the required reading from last week.  The first half of the chapter was mainly about the history of how BIM was conceptualized and how the base idea works.  This week’s reading was mainly about the different functionalities of BIM along with reviewing the major programs available.  I found this to be very informative especially since the reviews included a brief description of the product along with listing strengths and weaknesses.  This information would be very useful to have if I was looking at purchasing BIM software for a firm.  While the handbook mentioned many of the different programs if I was purchasing a program I would still need to do more research, since most of the reviews, other than Autodesk’s and Bently’s programs, are very limited and not over detailed.  The conclusion was very accurate with what it said, however it didn’t really say anything.  It mentioned that the end result of what BIM will be used for in the future is unknown.  While I understand that this is mainly a reference book, I would have like to see a few speculations of how BIM may be used in the future.

            The first article I read was called “Chubb integrates intelligent building solution SafeRise”.  The article was relatively short but talked about a new type of building entry system.  The system is called SafeRise, and works by utilizing facial and voice recognition.  The system is very similar to set up as a regular entry system that uses cards or pin pads, requiring the hardware and the wiring.  One benefit of the system is that it is Ethernet powered which means only a cat5 wire needs to be run to the equipment.  The only downside that the article mentions about the system is that the software to make the system run properly is more complex, however this is not really a negative aspect of the program as all that work is completed before the owner receives the system.  The main benefit of the system is that granting new users access to the building only requires a voice print and a facial photo, which is significantly easier that current systems.  The other main benefit of the system is that you are able to drastically reduce costs in the ways of security guards and the materials needed: pin pads, fobs, cards.  This article is obviously meant to showcase the product and try to encourage potential buyers to make the jump, however it seems to be a very functional product.  Being that the article is meant to encourage buying, some of the information needs to be taken lightly.  For instance you cannot simply eliminate all security guards if this was placed in a build that had guest come by frequently, as they would still need to sign in or be given temporary access to the building.  The system and ones similar to this seem very promising as a potential future, possibly even becoming as advanced as the recognition system in the movie Minority Report, where the use of iris scans for recognition are used.

              The second article I read is entitled “Intelligent Buildings: Connect Building Systems to the Network to Reduce Costs and Conserve Energy”.  This article talks about the need and benefit of having all systems in the building on a central network working together.  It also talks about how having systems interacting together can save companies lots of money.   The article is aimed more towards governments as it mentions them multiple times over and does not mention companies or corporations.  The article list many ways that intelligent buildings can have a positive return on investment, which claimed by the article “in most cases the return on investment is less than two years”.  I find this very remarkable because most of the equipment is not mass used which generally has a higher price tag.  Also the cost of labor is generally high when installing into a new building.  I can see the two year return possibly if the labor cost are not included, which the article does not mention either way.  The main points brought up by the article about the return on investment are:

     -     Monitor energy consumption in real time to more quickly discover inefficiencies

     -     Precent bigger problems

     -     Reduce equipment acquisition costs

     -     Extend equipment costs

     -     Acquire LEED certification

     -     Participate in load demand response

This article shows only the benefits of creating intelligent buildings.  While the negatives are generally few it would still be nice to find a source that shows how few there are in comparison to the benefits.  The article is meant to show the benefits only of intelligent buildings.