The central question for this post is: how do you plan the work on a "Virtual Building"; a project almost as complex as the "real thing," with contributions by many participants, representing all involved building disciplines?
As an initial answer to this question, I will give three examples of companies who have found a solution for this by implementing concepts that allow for planning the "richness" of the information captured in the VDC models they build.
A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail from Brian Lewis of ACLA, an architectural and urban planning company who are currently working on the realization of a large new campus. ACLA are long time users of Vico Software and have used the software for design, cost estimating and scheduling purposes.
In response to my previous blog about the Content Plan, Brian shared with me a plan, in the form of a spreadsheet, that the team uses to define responsibilities and scheduled deliverables to create the VDC (Virtual Design and Construction) model for the project. By using color codes (red, yellow, green), the status of the work to be performed by each of the team members can easily be identified. Capturing the work to be done this way helps the team to check that the model contains the required information for decision making at the right moment, and makes participants aware of the interdependencies between work to be completed by all involved disciplines. I thought this was an excellent example of a "super level" for the Content Plan, which greatly helps to coordinate VDC work!
ACLA’s VDC Work Plan
Over the last 6 months, I worked with a team of Vico colleagues and Webcor Builders’ VDC team in San Francisco on a framework to plan model, cost estimating and scheduling information for projects. The concept resulting from this effort is the "Model Progression Specification." Jim Bedrick of Webcor has written a great article, describing the concept and formalizing the used metrics for AEC Bytes.
The model progression specification consists of a set of formalized "Levels of Detail," labeled with a number, and together with a typical use of the VDC information at that LoD. After defining the LoD’s, Webcor can now define the "progression" of the VDC model throughout the project stages. The progression is defined per Uniformat "System" and allows for specifying the goals for "stages" in the project. Important to note is that design stages can now be released in a higher frequency, because only parts of the project have to go to a higher LoD, not the whole project at once! Working in stages means: more frequent feedback, which results in better opportunities to manage the project, which again allows for making changes when it is still possible. Webcor is now building the content (including model, cost and schedule information), that will allow for building VDC models for all defined LoD’s. To learn more about the model progression specification at Webcor, please be sure to view the archived Fridays with Vico webinar on the topic.
In a third example, Vico is currently working with St. Joseph Health System (SJHS) in Southern California to define an outline and content for a BIM-driven process for cost estimating and scheduling for a healthcare owner organization. Again, the work includes defining standard LoD’s and describing typical uses for each of the LoD’s. With the defined LoD’s, a standard Model Progression Specification will be defined for SJHS. The MPS will also define when during the project SJHS’s partners are getting involved. By working with these partners to build VDC content, SJHS is defining a streamlined Model Progression process with standardized LoD definitions for input from contractors, designers and consultants. By implementing the MPS driven process, SJHS’s goal is to use VDC based information for better and more timely design coordination, cost and schedule feedback, which will provide better input for decisions (‘go’ / ‘no go’) throughout the design and preconstruction phases.
Learn more about other work going on at St. Joseph Health System, including a virtual mock up project by viewing the archived Fridays with Vico webinar on the topic.
Three examples of three different types of companies – an architectural firm, a general contractor and an owner organization – all making the next step in the implementation of VDC technologies and concepts.
I am sure that many companies who are implementing BIM and VDC are working on similar efforts – I would be very interested in learning about other approaches and experiences. Give your feedback to the concepts described above to share your thoughts on "how to plan a virtual building!"