My last post here (before the move) asked if anyone was ready to have a conversation. Much to my chagrin, I realized after the post that I hadn't in fact provided any way for interested folks to get in touch! Worse yet, the post actually cut off my information (presuming that John posted it).
I'd like to remedy that here and now. With the new site up and running, I think it would be great for folks to provide some method of getting in touch - just in case you can't find everyone you want to talk to through the comments or the members list.
I'll start (and hope my lack of technical skills doesn't draw a slew of SPAMMERS).
Eric Hardenbrook (that's me)
ehardenbrook (at) murrayassoc.com (office)
evhardenbrook (at) gmail.com (personal)
http://www.facebook.com/people/Eric-V-Hardenbrook/100002443656757 = My Facebook page
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/eric-hardenbrook/33/723/226 = My LinkedIn profile
Who else is out there?
28.11.11
11.11.11
BIM Forum DC Takeaway’s
Last week, I had the privilege of attending the BIM Forum Conference in Washington DC. The BIM Forum is an organization sponsored by the AGC of America and whose mission is to facilitate and accelerate the adoption of building information modeling (BIM) in the AEC industry. In attendance, there were approximately 225 BIM enthusiasts from across the country representing contractors, designers, engineers, educators, software developers, and even owners. There were 9 speakers, 3 technology demonstrations, and 2 panel discussions. Most of these were very captivating and had no problem holding my attention, however, when the insurance guy took the stand, I think my eyes started to glaze over. I guess insurance isn’t a passion of mine. Anyway, although I would love to summarize all the notes I took throughout all the presentations (not!), I chose 4 takeaways that showcase what I found most interesting and rather than keep all this information in my head, I’m going to follow my collaborative nature and share them. So here they are!
ROI² (Return on Investment in Innovation): This was the main theme of the event and all presenters were instructed to incorporate this into there presentations. Although most attendees didn’t need to be convinced of BIM’s value, some of the metrics presented were pretty impressive. One of the speakers presented data from two identical buildings, one used BIM and the other didn’t. Although this data created a compelling case for BIM, I think we can agree that, even on identical projects, the dynamics on the two projects could be completely different and would easily influence this type of data. Bottom line; BIM’s value won’t always be easy to measure but we all know it’s clearly a better way to build buildings.
BIM to Field: One of my biggest takeaways from the forum was bringing BIM into the field. Whether it was at one of the vendor tables or part of a presentation, I gathered this to be the current initiative for contractors implementing BIM. Vela Systems unveiled there new Beta Model Viewer for the Ipad. This will allow users of there Field Management Software to also view the Navisworks model with relative ease. Also, in speaking with a Tekla rep, I discovered that Kinsley has the ability to use its Trimble layout equipment in conjunction with Tekla Structures or even Revit to locate points in the field.
I’ll have the box of BIM: I think most of us can agree that BIM is not software, but a process. I thought one of speakers put it well by saying “you can’t buy BIM in a box”. This was a key point in most of the presentations and validated my own feelings on the effect BIM will have on the industry. Its not something that will be the job of a few individuals in the “BIM Dept”, in fact, it will be a tool that every construction professional will need to grasp in order to be competitive in the future market.
Think outside the box: Throughout the forum, many of the individuals I met and listened to described the various innovative ways in which they utilized BIM. When you think BIM uses, you think of 3D clash detection, 4D scheduling, 5D cost estimating, and all the other D’s that may be out there. However, these individuals shared with me other small ways of utilizing BIM technology to increase productivity in the field and in the office. I won’t be specific about each use for the sake of keeping this short but to sum it up, they were an inspiration to search for innovative techniques of our own.
I have to be honest; I initially went to this forum for the networking opportunity not expecting much from the presentations. Looking back, however, I learned something new from each speaker and was inspired to be more innovative as a BIM implementer for Kinsley Construction. I have so much more to share in the form of notes, but since I have probably lost your attention by now, I will conclude by saying that I would highly recommend this event to others in the future. It was well worth the investment made.
Topics for Future Meetings
What topics would you be interested in learning about? Do you have a topic you would like to present or discuss? Please let us know by either commenting on this post or emailing jclemons@rkinsley.com
On The Rug
I’m going to jump in and make some contributions to the site, but I need to put a couple of things out there before I go on.
First, I’d like to say thanks to John for putting this together. Communication really is the key to making Revit (or any other program like it) work. I hope this will eventually become a solid source for the folks in this region to come to for all things Revit. Thanks John.
Second, in this day and age I believe the disclaimer is all important. I have a presence on the web, but it is not tied to my work. Revit is part of what I do here at my firm, but not all of what I do. Having put both of those things out there, what I post here are strictly my opinions. They are not meant to come from or be connected to the firm where I work. My hypothetical examples are actually hypothetical, not thinly veiled attempts to say things about the place where I work. Yes, one of the owners of the company pointed out the Revit User Group to me - so management is aware of things that are floating out here on the web. You should be aware of that too - particularly before you post your own “hypothetically speaking” kinds of things.
I hope that others from the area will post here and open the lines of communication. Getting folks talking isn’t always easy. There seems to be a sense that you’re “giving something away” or costing yourself business because you’ve given your “edge” to somebody else. Most days I simply wish I could find somebody that has the answer I’m looking for - but maybe that’s because I don’t run the place.
What do you think - ready to jump into a conversation?
First, I’d like to say thanks to John for putting this together. Communication really is the key to making Revit (or any other program like it) work. I hope this will eventually become a solid source for the folks in this region to come to for all things Revit. Thanks John.
Second, in this day and age I believe the disclaimer is all important. I have a presence on the web, but it is not tied to my work. Revit is part of what I do here at my firm, but not all of what I do. Having put both of those things out there, what I post here are strictly my opinions. They are not meant to come from or be connected to the firm where I work. My hypothetical examples are actually hypothetical, not thinly veiled attempts to say things about the place where I work. Yes, one of the owners of the company pointed out the Revit User Group to me - so management is aware of things that are floating out here on the web. You should be aware of that too - particularly before you post your own “hypothetically speaking” kinds of things.
I hope that others from the area will post here and open the lines of communication. Getting folks talking isn’t always easy. There seems to be a sense that you’re “giving something away” or costing yourself business because you’ve given your “edge” to somebody else. Most days I simply wish I could find somebody that has the answer I’m looking for - but maybe that’s because I don’t run the place.
What do you think - ready to jump into a conversation?
DC BIM Forum - Click here for registration details
John Clemons here....
I wanted everybody to know about this event. It will be a great opportunity to step out of Central PA and get a peek at what the major movers and shakers in the industry are thinking about. I imagine this will be an extremely forward thinking event and I am really looking forward to it. I have already booked myself for the two day event. If you decide to go, let me know.
http://bimforum.org/events/40/fall-bimforum/
I wanted everybody to know about this event. It will be a great opportunity to step out of Central PA and get a peek at what the major movers and shakers in the industry are thinking about. I imagine this will be an extremely forward thinking event and I am really looking forward to it. I have already booked myself for the two day event. If you decide to go, let me know.
http://bimforum.org/events/40/fall-bimforum/
Welcome to Central PA's RUG!
Hello everyone, my name is John Clemons. I am the BIM program Manager for Kinsley Construction (based in York, PA). I am also a member of the Central PA Revit User Group and co creator of this magnificent blog :) Anywhoo, we created this blog to serve several purposes. 1.) create an increased awareness of BIM's impact on the surrounding community. 2.) showcase how Autodesk's Revit software leverages this technology for all phases of the project. 3.) Increased membership and bi-monthly meeting attendance by staying connected through weekly member posts.
We hope you find this Blog informative and we hope to see you at the next RUG Meeting.
John Clemons
We hope you find this Blog informative and we hope to see you at the next RUG Meeting.
John Clemons
Models by CEG
Some shots of actual projects that we created. Remember these are projects from the last 3 years so as the software and skills improved so did the models we could create.
Jackie Smith, BIM Technician, CEG
Quote
“Now that we are as comfortable with Revit as we were with AutoCAD, our former Drafters turned BIM Technicians, can complete jobs with fewer markups from engineers, more creativity and problem solving abilities from the 3D atmosphere, and deliver more coordinated drawing sets easier than ever before with an information rich model to go along.”
Jackie Smith - CEG
Jackie Smith - CEG
The RUG's First Post
This blog is for the Central PA Revit Users Group, which meets to help the everyday users of the software. Anyone is invited to attend and I will place a way to get on the invite list in a later post. Revit Architecture, Structure and MEP are represented equally in the presentations and attendance because much of how things are done stay similar from each flavor.
As the first blog post I’ll introduce myself, Jackie Smith of Carney Engineering Group, York PA. I have been a Structural “drafter” for 6 years utilizing Revit Structure for the last 5 years and exclusively for the last 3. I love BIM and everything it can do for the process of designing and building buildings, and have tried to position myself to be in the front of this technology that, if you have not realized, has taken over the 3D design world. I have also worked with my coworker, Mick Dennis, for several years and with more than one company, and together we have solved most problems for the many building types we have been presented within Revit.
There are multiple topics that I would like to discuss on this blog including Point Clouds, the importance of a custom template and standards, Family Creation, the challenges of having things not look like CAD, best practices, how outside software can improve Revit’s time saving abilities and many other things. As well as answering questions that anyone would ask.
Here is a Point Cloud… this is all we had to start!
Jackie Smith, BIM Technician, CEG
As the first blog post I’ll introduce myself, Jackie Smith of Carney Engineering Group, York PA. I have been a Structural “drafter” for 6 years utilizing Revit Structure for the last 5 years and exclusively for the last 3. I love BIM and everything it can do for the process of designing and building buildings, and have tried to position myself to be in the front of this technology that, if you have not realized, has taken over the 3D design world. I have also worked with my coworker, Mick Dennis, for several years and with more than one company, and together we have solved most problems for the many building types we have been presented within Revit.
There are multiple topics that I would like to discuss on this blog including Point Clouds, the importance of a custom template and standards, Family Creation, the challenges of having things not look like CAD, best practices, how outside software can improve Revit’s time saving abilities and many other things. As well as answering questions that anyone would ask.
Here is a Point Cloud… this is all we had to start!
Jackie Smith, BIM Technician, CEG
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)