BIM Gives Builders a New Way to Draw Lines

Building Information Modeling provides architects, engineers and contractors with three-dimensional, virtual versions of sustainable structures going up in the District's construction program.

3-D.

They've become the two biggest characters in the entertainment industry.

Whether it’s a movie like Avatar or a new-model television, the 3-D label tells consumers they are buying the latest technology.

In the construction industry, three letters -- BIM -- signify a big step into the future.

BIM stands for Building Information Modeling, a process by which architects, engineers, and builders use sophisticated modeling software to analyze, visualize, and coordinate a building and its systems to optimize performance, and to improve efficiency and collaboration across the design and construction trades.

“Instead of two-dimensional drawings,” said Michael Cervantes, BIM manager for BuildLACCD, “BIM goes into 3-D or, in some cases, 4-D, which includes the factor of time. The 3-D and 4-D models demonstrate progress at each milestone as the project goes along, a snapshot of a given time.

“BIM is a virtual version of a building. It's not enough to give you two-dimensional anymore because you’ve got so much more information.”

In a two-dimensional CADD (Computer-Aided Design and Drafting) drawing, a wall is typically represented by a series of lines on a floor plan, elevation or section, and has to be drawn separately in each view.

Using BIM technology, the wall is being modeled three-dimensionally, allowing the team to assign it material properties, heights and thicknesses that represent how the wall will be constructed in the field and how it will perform. When the 3-D model is edited in one location, that can automatically trigger coordinate changes in all views.

The transition to BIM also can improve collaboration between all those involved in the design and construction of project. This communication between the design team and the builder can reduce changes in the field that can lead to cost overruns.

“In the traditional 2-D process,” Cervantes said, “you would take your 2-D drawings, overlay them and try to figure out what lines were on top of what. You had to visualize it. In a true BIM project, all teams are modeling three-dimensionally, so that modeling is done by the correct trade, and then can be coordinated with other system models in a single virtual environment.”

The result is a system called clash detection.

“You can put all the separate models together in collaboration software that can detect conflicts between different systems. If a beam is running into a mechanical duct, you'll see that on the model and can deal with it before anything actually gets built.

&lduqo;Think of it as a rehearsal. So when the builder gets out there and actually starts construction, there are no big surprises.”

With the LACCD’s emphasis on sustainable design and energy-efficient buildings, all projects will be required to use BIM standards in pursuit of those goals.

BuildLACCD’s BIM program now has two full-time employees and another that works nearly full time. After Measure J was approved by L.A. voters in November 2008, BIM became part of Build's management group in January 2009 and is now being used on more than 20 projects at the nine colleges.

But even as BIM spreads from building to building in the District, some in the construction industry remain wary of using it.

&lduqo;There is always a resistance to the unknown, especially if you already have a lot of experience in your field, and I can appreciate that,” said Cervantes, a licensed architect who has been with BuildLACCD for a year. “You have people who have been doing things the same way for 20, 30 years. We may be into 3-D, but many people are still thinking in a two-dimensional way. Now, here’s a 3-D model you can spin around, rotate, cut a section open or actually walk through. It opens up possibilities of seeing more than you ever saw before. Once you get over all the technical challenges, the value is there. You can produce a better, higher-performing building.”

So how can Cervantes make BIM more user friendly to the construction industry?

“A majority of people who know the BIM technology are just a few years out of school, but not very experienced at putting a building together,” he said. “So you would really have to partner them with someone who is managing the project.”

Ideally, you promote collaboration by pairing the experienced builder with a technologically savvy associate, Cervantes said.

Nick Kramer, an architect who has worked on projects at Los Angeles Southwest College and Pierce College, agrees that BIM can be intimidating at first.

“It can scare the pen and pencil guys away. But you have to understand that, while you may invest more on the front end of a project learning how to use BIM, you'll make it up at the end,” Kramer said.

“I recently did a project in BIM, and then, when I went back to work two-dimensionally, I saw how much more work I had to do.”

Like going from 2-D to 3-D at the movies. Until you experience it, you don’t know what you are missing.