BIM Reading #2

The required reading for this week was the remainder of Ch. 2 - BIM Tools and Parametric Modeling from the BIM handbook.  These sections talked about the different types of tools and programs that use BIM, such as Revit, Bentley Systems, and ArchiCAD.  The purpose of the reading was to point out the strengths and weaknesses of each of the different systems.  Most of the programs are designed to do the same thing which is to create three dimensional models for structures but each of the programs are unique.  Each of the programs seem to focus on a specific that would be best for a specific type of project.  Therefore someone might choose a different program depending on the type of project they are working on.  Due to the number of programs that are in use it shows the potential problem with sharing information. Not all of these programs are compatible with each other.  If one company uses Revit for their models and they needed to send the models to a company that uses Bentley it would require significantly more work to just convert the files before they could be sent.  This is similar to something our guest speaker talked about in the last class.  One of their clients uses a different program so they needed to have people who were dedicated to converting files for the entirety of the project.  This is highly inefficient and costly. 

The secondary article that I read was called 'Getting the Best of BIM'.  This article discussed what the company FASTTAC Inc. is developing a technology called Digital Distribution System that will optimize the use of BIM. Due to the wide spread of the use of BIM more companies are integrating their software to be able to manipulate and share the models. One of the disadvantages to most BIM software is that it is restricted to the computers at the office. The Digital Distribution System being developed by FASTTAC would allow access to the most updated model without the use of printouts. The most widely practiced way to access models in the field is for the necessary information needs to be downloaded, printed, and any changed that may need to be made would have to be made to the model in the office. This takes up precious time when most changes that are found in the field should be dealt with as soon as possible to minimize any further loss. The proposed system from FASTTAC would help improved communication, collaboration, and coordination between parties working on a project. Communication is very important and the required reading pointed out some of the problems and this article discussed a solutions that a company is developing and integrating into the work place to optimize the use of BIM.