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Vico Office LBS Manager

Defined Locations for Location-Based Quantities, Schedules, and Cost Plans

Location, location, location!

What’s true of real estate is certainly true for virtual construction! Locations hold the key to a better organized project, both in preconstruction AND on-site. Quantities per location provide tighter schedules without increasing risk and they help develop a much more granular cash flow plan. Locations are critical to successful BIM construction projects and Vico Office is the only solution to incorporate them into the 4D and 5D workflow.

Vico Office LBS Manager lets you define floors, zones, and optimized location systems per trade. These locations drive the location-based quantity takeoff which is the starting point for location-based cost and schedule planning. The cost and schedule planning modules in Vico Office use quantities per location to calculate labor, material and equipment amounts and subsequently for determining number of work hours per location.

And what’s better than this? LBS Manager makes it possible to change locations (floors and zones) in Vico Office, without having to go back to the authoring BIM application. Quantities are recalculated and updated at the end of the location editing process, which makes it possible to analyze and optimize the phasing and zoning of a project to get to the best schedule for the project.

Now for the math...

There are two key components to Vico Office: construction-caliber quantities (derived from BIM model geometry in Vico Office Takeoff Manager) and locations. It is these quantities and locations which drive the schedule and estimate with the following formula:

quantities by location fuel 4D 5D BIM

Let's examine how the Location Breakdown Structure contributes to these calculations.

The LBS can start with a floor or story of the building and then be further delineated into zones and then even further dissected into location systems. The goal here is that all trades can be scheduled in their optimal location for the best possible sequence and continuous flow. [This continuous flow means no stops and starts for the crews – they work in a clear area until they are complete and then mobilize in the next location.] The LBS can even start with Phases, such as Laboratory, Surgical Rooms, and Patient areas, as a hospital example.

By organizing the project locations with these options, an optimal sequencing logic can be applied with Vico Office Schedule Planner, the model-based scheduling solution which utilizes flowline theory as a key differentiator. These options can then be analyzed in terms of both cost and time. The GC and the Subs can review the video produced by Vico Office 4D Manager and make suggestions for improvements.

With an optimal sequence and schedule in hand, Superintendents can now use Vico Office Production Controller to record real-time activity rates and produce look-ahead schedules, status reports, and even generate phased Earned Value Analyses for the project.

It is important to note:

Vico is the first solution to provide both geometry splitting and location-based quantities. And it is non-destructive – we keep the original elements so you don’t need to keep returning to the original BIM model to make tedious changes. All the locations are persistent in Vico Office LBS Manager and can be applied to new versions of the model.

The workflow is very straightforward:

Publish and Activate a Model with Vico Office Client

lbs green traffic light

All Vico Office Projects start by publishing a model or importing a model. Publishers for ArchiCAD, Revit, and Tekla include an add-on in the BIM authoring application. The add-on lets users publish models with the click of a mouse. Importers are used with IFC files, CAD-Duct models, and SketchUp.

lbs green traffic light

The set of new Components remains inactive until the user decides that the full scope of the current Component is covered. At that point, the new Components are activated and the current Component evolves into an Assembly that reflects the sum of the included Components’ cost. The new cost is automatically compared to the previous cost ensuring that any change will be immediately tracked.

Define the Project Bounding Box

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The bounding box is the area that encompasses the entire expanse of the volume of the model. The volume of the model contains everything we want included in the quantity takeoff

Create the Location Breakdown Structure

Start subdividing that bounding box by any combination of floors and zones. For floors you would define the elevation; for zones the perimeter. It is important to note: the elevations don’t have any relation to the floors in the BIM application. This means that you can optimize the floor locations for schedule and cost planning.

lbs combination floors zones

Recalculate the Quantities to Receive Quantities by Location

The Assemblies and Components in the spreadsheet view can be sorted and filtered, enabling you to focus on a desired cost view. Using the Tag Editor your can define custom attributes and use them for filtering and sorting the data.

lbs quantities by Location

Define Location Systems per Trade

Location Systems are alternative Location Breakdown Structures for the same Location in the project. Maintain parallel alternative Location Breakdown Structures within the same parent Location to make it possible to use the optimal Location per trade.

For example, the Floor 1 below will be broken down into a Zone A and Zone B for all Concrete related work; whereas, a subdivided zone for individual rooms on the floor is more appropriate for the trades involved with Finishes.

lbs subdivided zone

Optimize Location Sizes

Optimizing Locations is recommended for each trade to optimize the flow of the work. Optimal locations (and location sizes), however, are not the same for all trades, which is why we introduced Location Systems.

Location Systems allow you to break down the same Location (for example, a floor) in different ways, which makes it possible to optimize the Locations (and Location sizes) for each individual trade.

The schedule changes dynamically to reflect this better distribution of schedule tasks (production rates / quantities = durations).

Vico Office LBS Manager lets you:

• Define location structures for your BIM models
• Define alternate location structures as required for trade-specific work sequences
• Calculate quantities per location
• Maintain persistent location structures no matter how many times the design is updated

Resources for your team:

Webpage: What Is 4D BIM?

Webpage: What Is Model-Based Scheduling?

Webpage: What Is Location-Based Management?

Webpage: Why Consider Switching to Location-Based Management?

Webinar: Introduction to Location-Based Management

Webinar: Introduction to Vico Office LBS Manager

Webinar: Planning AND Controlling Your Construction Schedule

Whitepaper: A Comparison of Tradition CPM to Location-Based Scheduling

Whitepaper: The Combination of Last Planner System and Location-Based Management System

Glossary: A New Vocabulary for Lean Scheduling

After watching the quick demonstration below, learn more about Vico LBS Manager with the FAQs page. We also offer a step-by-step guide to our 5D virtual construction workflow with video tutorials. These videos are just 2-5 minutes in length, but illustrate how to use a particular piece of functionality. You can access the video library index and view just what you need, or download the complete set of training videos. We have training videos for Estimators, Schedulers, Supers, and anyone who does CM Reporting.

Quantities by location is the key to 4D and 5D BIM. And Vico Office LBS Manager is the only solution for applying multiple locations to BIM construction projects. Locations permit granular planning per trade with the formula: durations = quantities by location divided by productivity rates. Construction, meet Science.

Vico Office LBS Manager Brochure (view quality)

Vico Office LBS Manager Brochure (print quality)