At Dynamik4, we work in lots of different projects and with lots of different clients across many different countries. It doesn’t matter how big or small your project is, every project is unique and it cost you exponentially more if poorly managed.
(Fig. 1 – Complete #MEP #Architecture #Modeling #Coordination #Documentation by #Dynamik4)
In practical terms, almost 60% of your project cost is often associated with inconsistencies, re-work, waste of materials, and labor. Most importantly, these cost factors can escalate exponentially as your project moves from design to construction, and even more as it goes from construction to operation & maintenance – see below how cost associated with and during design development is nothing compared to cost associated with and during construction and operations.
It is also important for us to look at that cost from a workflow standpoint while considering the subsequent impact of having changes throughout the project life-cycle as illustrated below:
(Fig. 2 – LinkedIn Learning, Patrick MacLeamy, AIA/HOK)
It is true that BIM can offset some of that cost and probably one of the many reasons why developers, engineers, architects, general contractors, manufacturers, and literally any other professional in the industry have been using it. It is also true that, in some countries such as the UK, BIM is now mandatory for public every projects, and it is gradually becoming the new norm for private projects as well.
BIM, however, can be more than just a design related process associated with total quality principles, and can certainly be associated with much more than one software – as a matter of fact, I’d highly encourage you to read my other post about BIM (The Good, The Bad, and the BIM…, https://d4us.com/what-is-bim-and-why-should-you-care-about-it/) if you haven’t by now.
We’re approaching a tipping point in our industry as projects continue to become more and more complex. Parallel to that, we’re gradually starting to rely on smart technologies powered by AI that will, probably sooner than we expect, change not only the way we design and build projects, but also reality itself.
At Dynamik4, for instance, we use both virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) technologies to develop (and maintain) a highly collaborative and immersive environment capable of emulating as-built conditions using the highest levels of development (LOD) to assess and conform the design intent early on, therefore mitigating cost with re-work, inconsistencies, and re-work on the construction site.
(Fig. 3 – Dynamik4 AR BIM using Design Fabrication and LOD 400 elements for manufacturing processes in Modular Construction Projects)
That’s where the industry is heading to, or at least gradually shifting towards, and it will continue to evolve in the coming years. We will certainly need more advanced technologies and more sophisticated software to keep up to speed with such changes, but BIM is a fundamental part of it and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon, especially when it comes to information (or data).
Harnessing data has become an inherently important part of other trends such as IoT (internet of things), IPD (integrated project delivery), VDC (virtual design and construction), and will likely become even more important in the future as we continue to build smart cities using integrated online systems.
Also at D4US, we’re building intelligent database systems to process all that information using automated reports that can, in seconds, estimate a project cost and measure it against KPIs, highlighting changes and variations throughout the process while accurately forecasting trends in each project baseline. While some might say that this is the future, we can firmly confirm that this is the present, and here’s what it can look like:
(Fig. 4 – Dynamik4 Integrated Database linked to PowerBi for KPI analysis and cost control)
This level of optimization isn’t something we promise our clients, it is something we strive for and live by every single day while fulling our mission as an organization (to optimize and automate processes).
The future is bright, and we’re modeling it together!
-Sebastiao Lima Neto, COO & Co-founder.
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