When we hear the word "clash," we think about pipes running into HVAC and cutting through a floor. Identifying and fixing these issues ahead of time has been one of the best uses of BIM technology. This low-hanging fruit can easily save a project hundreds of thousands of dollars and weeks of wasted time waiting for components to be fabricated again. (Swinerton Builders has calculated the average cost of a clash at $17,000 - what do you use internally?)
But contractors know that there are other types of clashes besides geometry. Oftentimes, there are missed changes in drawing sets which will throw a wrench into the project. Then there will be scheduling clashes: too many crews in the same space and crew size/duration issues that lead to conflicts.
If these 2D, 3D, and 4D clashes are not addressed in coordination, we can fall into an endless loop of fixes. Trying to coordinate multiple modeling teams to make multiple changes can be like herding cats. One fix here results in another clash there.
By organizing your 3D Coordination exercise into a system priority structure we can derive a model-based schedule that aligns with fabrication and procurement activities for not just MEP systems, but exterior skin and structural steel as well. Coordination resolution by location has been documented to cut the clash detection cycles by 40%, leaving more time to develop shop drawings and prefabricate more components off-site, leaving more time to optimize the flow of crews on-site.
Caption: The use of constructability reports improves the resolution time, as well. This report documents the 3D BIM image of the clash, the 2D BIM drawing, the clash's severity, who will investigate it, the status of fixing the clash, and any costs associated with it.
As we saw at the Dallas AGC BIM Forum, Owners don't want a model that's less bad. They've paid for a coordinated building and want to see the benefits of clash detection in a faster schedule. That is just one of the benefits here. Vico Office Constructability Manager is an integrated approach to traditional clash detection, offering constructability analyses, RFI tracking, assignments, and resolution reporting. GCs need a coordinated model from which to do a quantity takeoff for downstream BIM activities. Without a coordinated model, the assumptions are off, the quantities are off, and therefore, the schedule and estimate are off, too.
Identifying constructability issues as early as possible is essential for helping a commercial construction project run smoothly. It accommodates more off-site prefabrication, better crew productivity rates and flow through locations, and it keeps all the team focused on delivering the project on-time and on-budget without the traditional finger-pointing and litigiousness.
Learn more about this important step in the BIM workflow:
Blog: Coordination Resolution is 40% Faster than Traditional Clash Detection
Blog: Rethinking 3D BIM Coordination
Webinar: BIM 201: Clash Detection and Coordination
Webinar: Coordination Strategies in a Hard Bid
Webinar: Coordination 2.0 with Vico Office Constructability Manager
Webinar: The New Preconstruction
Webinar: Coordination Resolution - a Lean Approach to Clash and Coordination
Service: Quality Assessment and Refinement for BIM Models
Service: Coordination Resolution
Outputs and Deliverables: 2D Installation Drawings
Outputs and Deliverables: 6D BIM Models for Facilities Management
Product: Constructability Manager, Features and Benefits, FAQs