Thursday, May 19, 2011

Interesting article on a BIM failure

Got this link from my boss about a life science building that wound up in litigation.


After going through what little details were provided, there was one thing that struck me about the project - the lack of communication was singled out as a key reason why the project failed.

So what the heck does that have to do with BIM? This ain't no magic wand - and designers can easily go blindly into a project with the same bad habits they had in plain AutoCAD. The tool doesn't matter - if you fail to communicate, have clear goals and objectives, and knowledgeable leaders involved on the project, you will still fail just as you did in the 2D world.

One of the comments was that everything fit in the chase in the model...well obviously, it didn't - so were they using generic piping, duct without insulation, no conduits, etc. What was missing? Did it not line up from floor to floor? I'd like to know more...there's a reason why we've invested so much time in our libraries, getting as close to industry standards and specs. Reminds me of an architect that not long ago told me that every wall should be 4" wide in the model, and dimensioned to the center...give me a break. If Revit can model accurately, then you should draw it the way it is - which I suspect didn't happen here.

It boils down to this - bad habits easily translate between CAD and BIM packages - and the tools and models are only as good as the information you put into it. IT's like saying the car made me drive home drunk, 'cause I didn't know any other way to get home...geez...

Hey - anybody working on 2012 yet?