Tag Archives: Building Information Modeling (BIM)
8 Traits of a Great BIM Manager
Excerpts from this article were originally published in Advantage for Construction, a newsletter for executives and managers in the field of general contracting. Advantage for Construction is produced by Longitude Media, the publisher of Cadalyst. The entire article, How to Hire a Great BIM Manager, can be read, here.
The best leaders have several traits in common – and a few of them might surprise you.
While some government agencies are “…yet to be convinced of the benefits that an intelligent model can provide,” others are embracing with open arms the time and cost savings that can be achieved by incorporating Building Information Modeling (BIM) into their workflows. Continue reading
Arlington County to Put Energy Labels on Buildings.
Arlington County is at the forefront of an environmental trend that puts energy labels on county buildings. The Department of Environmental Services plans to label each building with energy efficiency information. The labels will be part of the county’s Community Energy Plan which hopes to make Arlington one of the leading counties in the reduction of greenhouse gasses. Arlington may have gotten the idea from the 2009 American Clean Energy and Security Act which included suggestions for building labeling, but died in the Senate. The plan will likely be implemented sometime this year but the details about what the label will look like and the information to be displayed are still undetermined.
The goal of this program is to raise awareness about energy use and how to implement conservation. They also hope it will inspire private owners to apply energy labels on their own buildings. The labels may be similar to what the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, or the “Building EQ” label the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers produces. Arlington may also be taking cue from the practices Europe has put into place. Continue reading
7 Do’s and Don’ts for a Realistic BIM Implementation
In a recent guest article, Bryan Cowles, an Applications Specialist at IMAGINiT Technologies, observed that while more and more government agencies are moving ahead and incorporating Building Information Modeling (BIM) into their workflows, “…some are yet to be convinced of the benefits that an intelligent model can provide.”
In his article – Teardown or Retrofit: A BIM Evaluation Gives the Answer – Bryan goes on to provide an excellent example of the time and cost savings achieved by retrofitting two existing structures into one larger structure, as opposed to going the demolition route – thanks to a BIM-based feasibility study. A study which also won over a team of doubtful engineers who thought demolition was the best option. Continue reading
Teardown or Retrofit: A BIM Evaluation Gives the Answer
Numerous government agencies are moving ahead by incorporating the Building Information Modeling (BIM) process into their workflow, but some are still yet to be convinced of the benefits that an intelligent model can provide. Recently, we assisted a public sector client faced with a unique challenge; they had to decide whether to retrofit two existing structures into one or demolish both and build a new structure. Using the BIM process, we were able to help them identify substantial cost and time savings by changing the direction of the project from demolition and rebuild, to a retrofit. Continue reading
Two Upcoming Webcasts on BIM and Sustainable Design
Next Tuesday is a busy day for anyone in the AEC industry involved in sustainable design projects. Here are two upcoming webcasts that provide insight on how to accelerate sustainable design projects and comply with federal energy performance standards:
BIM Webcast: Accelerating Sustainable Design with BIM
Improving Federal Energy Performance, Part 2 Continue reading
Building Energy Modeling –3 Essential Resources for the Public Sector
Energy modeling is a hot topic in new construction projects as well as building retrofit, renovation and facility management. Federal, state and local governments are not only holding private firm construction to higher green standards, but the public sector overall is getting increased pressure to obtain higher LEED ratings and to produce high-rating energy proficiency analysis. (Read more in our earlier article: GSA Moves to LEED Gold for All New Federal Buildings and Major Renovations)
If you’re a stranger to energy modeling, green building, or sustainable design, here are three resources that can help bring you quickly up to speed on mandates, implementation tips, and future of sustainable buildings. Continue reading
Bridging the “Cloudy” Gap Between GIS and AEC
Once upon a time GIS sat in its own little bubble – mapping the world obliquely, orthogonally and with untold potential for data integration, location-based intelligence gathering and analysis, and so on.
Today that little bubble has burst opening new windows of opportunity that couples the visual power of high resolution GIS imagery with the evolving needs and mandates that drive the AEC industry – sustainable design, an increasingly visually-oriented workforce and a utilities infrastructure system in desperate need of an overhaul.
In light of these drivers, GIS and AEC folks are marrying up big time. Take for example a quiet little union that is happening at Autodesk. According to industry publication, GISCafé, in the past year Autodesk has quietly, yet deliberately, disbanded its GIS division and moved it under its AEC Solutions division, once the official headquarters of AEC flagship products such as Revit and Civil 3D. Continue reading
Improving Federal Energy Performance: Two Webcasts to Look out for this Month:
If you’ve got time to take a break from those never ending holiday pot luck lunches this month, why not join two live webcasts on the topic of Improving Federal Energy Performance.
Hosted by DLT Solutions and Autodesk, Industry experts John Sullivan and Angela Chan will discuss how Autodesk BIM Solutions inform energy-efficiency improvement decisions by enabling you to rapidly create and analyze models of new and existing buildings and systems. Continue reading
Missed Autodesk’s See the Advantage Virtual Event? View the Resource Archive!
If you didn’t get a chance to attend the Autodesk See the Advantage Virtual Event back on October 5th – don’t worry! All of the webcasts and documents were archived on the Website for you to view on demand. You can access the archive here: www.dlt.com/seetheadvantage .
The archived event is a little hard to find, but your best bet is to navigate straight to the Auditorium in the virtual event hub where you’ll find the webcast archives. If you’re looking for a good read, go to the Exhibit Hall and click on your professional track (Buildings, Utilities, Civil Engineering, etc.) Each “booth” has its own resource section including white papers and videos. I found the Buildings booth to have the most – but all provided some useful resources. Continue reading
GSA National 3D-4D BIM Program
In 2003, GSA created the National 3D-4D-BIM Program to “promote value-added digital visualization, simulation and optimization technologies to increase quality and efficiency through GSA project lifecycles and beyond.” GSA is responsible for meeting the space requirements of federal agencies along with providing buildings and construction guidelines for these resources. While adopting specific CAD standards and project requirements, GSA has also committed to strategic and incremental adoption of 3D, 4D, and BIM technologies. Continue reading








