The numbers don't lie - 2009 was an incredibly tough year for the global construction industry. Spending in construction fell by a seemingly improbable 12.4 percent while every single state plus the District of Columbia lost construction jobs. While employing approximately five percent of the nation's workforce, fully 20 percent of recession-related job losses were in construction. These happenings were unprecedented and proof of the industry's tumultuous year.
The troubles aren't likely to dissipate this year and the ones looking for a huge recovery will be disappointed. The Associated CONTRACTORS of America recently conducted a survey of 700 of its members on the outlook for the in 2010 2010. The outcomes were overwhelmingly negative with 90 percent indicating you will see no recovery this upcoming year.
Yet despite these grim facts, all hope is not lost for those in the construction industry. For one, the federal stimulus has kicked in and raised the level of publicly funded projects. Also the AGC's Chief Economist Ken Simonson reports the costs of building materials are in an all-time low, meaning now could be a good time to build.
How does technology match the recovery? Building Information Modeling (BIM), as well as other industry-specific technologies, is proving to be effective time-savers and bring a whole new meaning to collaborative effort. If any company needs a reason to smile in 2010 2010, look no further than BIM.
WHY BIM?
Based on the official definition given by the AGC, BIM is "the procedure of generating and owning a building information model by using three-dimensional, intelligent design information." Its presence is nothing new in the industry; it's been around because the late 1980s.
However, only recently has BIM begun to emerge being an industry favorite. For most in the industry BIM represents a tremendous way to cut time by early problem identification. S3H, Inc., a pre-construction specialist in Las Vegas, NV, utilizes its expertise in BIM to provide cost-effective HVAC and plumbing solutions, in particular used it because of this.
"We've used BIM from Day One. It we can use the project design and construction team and identify problems early, such as for example potential clashes with other building trades. You have all the information before you start. It is a lot cheaper to identify and fix problems on paper than it is to fix them during construction," says President Vatche Sarkoyan.
According to Sarkoyan, the procedure eliminates the necessity for Superintendents to trouble-shoot in the field, which can decrease productivity, be inefficient and is demoralizing.
One who will abide by Sarkoyan is CEO David Cullen of JP Cullen & Sons of Janesville, WI, who says BIM helped save a two-phase renovation of the 1917 historic Sterling Hall at the University of Wisconsin.
"We are the general contractor and you can find separate prime contractors. We got behind during the first phase also it was a substantial problem. Then we came up to speed with BIM and caused the other contractors to create back the construction schedule and materials movement. They've commented that bringing BIM on saved the project," says Cullen.
MORE TO COME
As much of an impact as current versions of BIM have on today's contractors and construction companies, constant improvements to its capabilities will leave an even greater mark on the industry. Like any other technology, many companies have gone through generations and generations of software to boost and refine BIM.
Recently, one software company that makes a version of BIM - various developers produce different variations of BIM software - has made recent improvements to improve efficiency. In accordance with Tekla, its latest BIM software includes a better solution for cast-in-place concrete design and detailing, better IFC data exchange, better utilization of reference models and improved numbering and model publishing tools.
New versions of BIM software, such as Tekla's latest, may also be helping designers, engineers and architects push towards greener building. "Moving towards a greener installation is really a small step forward but nonetheless part of the bigger sustainability benefits that implementing BIM can bring to construction," stated Risto R�ty, Tekla's Executive Vice President.
Besides newer, better versions of BIM software, the industry's acceptance of this technology have gone even further. Many companies, such as Ameri-CAD out of Allen, TX, have begun offering BIM implementation and consulting services. Ameri-CAD offers analysis, implementation, training, support, and services.
Meanwhile, the AGC is up to speed with BIM. In March the association is offering a BIM 101 Convention in Orlando. At https://buildinginformationmodelling.uk/best-bim-surveys-leicestershire/ , various BIM experts will explain what the technology is, what its benefits are and they'll help attendees implement it for their own companies.
With all of this happening and many more, it's likely that 2010 can not only function as year of the Tiger, however the year of the BIM.