LTCC "To see things in the seed, that is genius". Lao-Tzu

While Jeremy was at the Green BIM conference, I attended the annual Bentley conference, BE Community Live with two other Tocci modelers, Sam Stuart and Courtney Pagani. Although we all have pages of notes, lots of ideas and lots of things to test, we were most excited by one corner of the exhibit hall: Future Technology.

Bentley does a lot of amazing R&D, but we were especially excited about what they are doing with QR codes. I think they are sending out some videos, but in the meantime my horrible cell phone pictures and brief text will have to suffice.















QR codes are driving model navigation. The laptop's camera is synchronized to the model, so that as the laptop moves in space (rotates, moves back or forward) it registers to the QR codes and navigates through the model.





















Here QR codes on a 2D plan help overlay a model in the camera view on the handheld device.

One thing that I didn't get a great picture of was the integration of all of this into an iPad, using its internal GPS. The model was navigating merely by moving forward, backward, etc. That technology combined with location-based navigation will be very powerful in the field.

Earlier this week, one of Tocci's modelers, Jeremy Garczynski, attended McGraw Hill's Green BIM Conference earlier this week. Although the definition of green was a little inconsistent through the day (yes, we agree that efficiency and reducing waste is green, but clash detection as green? that's a stretch), the notes that Jeremy sent out to the Tocci VDC team were very interesting.

One presentation specifically caught our eye - the presenter from Zahner, a BIM-enabled wall panelizer specializing in metal surfaces. The project they spoke about was the Art Gallery of Alberta, where they modeled the wall panels for fabrication and used robotic total station to position the panels. Although that process is becoming more common place, I'm still amazed to see subcontractors doing on projects like that (although come to think of it, I don't know how someone would do it otherwise!). I also found this article on the construction process.














As I was researching Zahner, I found a BIM article on their website. While it could use a little imagery, I love their perspective and the way they talk about the process - probably because it's exactly how we talk about it internally:
"Like a growing leak in the dike of ingrained conventions, the integration of digital technology is dissolving the barriers that slow down the building process. Companies that do not embrace this technology will be overwhelmed by the shift that is occurring."

"Litigious concerns for who is responsible for checking or validation are less and less an impediment."

"You can see it in the eyes of those that work in the process. Being part of creativity is fun and satisfying."

Below are the courses that I am hopeful of presenting at this year's AU 2010... wanna help (me)??? You can, if you can!!! Login to the Autodesk University Speaker Voting page(s) (HERE) Search for Jay Zallan under keywords or speaker... shameless, I know... anyhow; you will find the following courses that as elluded to, I have proposed ...and know will be kick ass courses!!!

• From Programming to Presentation: Planning With Autodesk® Revit®Architecture

• Functional Family Creation with Autodesk® Revit®

and the Unplugged \ Unconference session:

• Hot Revit® Models: How to Become a "10"

Thanks to all who already have voted on these; every bit of support helps and is greatly appreciated Plus the favor has been returned!!! )or will be)...

CU @ AU N LV

BTW: I am not making a shooting motion in the photo...perhaps...

As it complements the previous post quite nicely, BIM ThinkSpace's readers may be interested in reviewing my latest conference paper which has just been published. Please read its abstract below and - if sufficiently interested - proceed to downloading the full paper from here:

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an expansive knowledge domain within the Design, Construction and Operation (DCO) industry. The voluminous possibilities attributed to BIM represent an array of challenges that can be met through a systematic research and delivery framework spawning a set of performance assessment and improvement metrics. This paper identifies five complementary components specifically developed to enable such assessment: [1] BIM Capability Stages representing transformational milestones along the implementation continuum [2] BIM Maturity Levels representing the quality, predictability and variability within BIM Stages, [3] BIM Competencies representing incremental progressions towards and improvements within BIM Stages, [4] Organisational Scales representing the diversity of markets, disciplines and company sizes and [5] Granularity Levels enabling highly-targeted yet flexible performance analyses ranging from informal self-assessment to high-detail, formal organisational audits. This paper explores these complementary components and positions them as a systematic method to understand BIM performance and to enable its assessment and improvement.

...

In my view, the key deliverable of this paper is the below Visual Knowledge Model (VKM) which summarizes the overall BIM performance assessment and reporting workflow:

 Fig. 1 BIM Capability and Maturity Assessment and Reporting Workflow Diagram

The intention behind this paper is to introduce a 'conceptual tool' to assess Organisational BIM (without actually using this term) through a performance management lens. That is, the paper introduces a set of complementary components and a simple workflow (simple doesn't mean effortless) to assess BIM capability and maturity in a consistent, systematic and 'certifiable' way. This of course depends on several metrics (some are still being developed/tested by the industry) including the assessment of the 'product model' itself as a means for assessing the individual/organisation/team which generated it. I understand that this will need some elaboration and will try to provide it at a later stage (I'm still travelling at the moment)....Also, I would like to try something different this time: if I receive enough interest from readers, I'll invite those who email me or comment below - both supporters and skeptics - to an online presentation sometime in June 2010. Cut-off date for receiving interest is end of this month.

This post links to a conference paper introducing a 'conceptual tool' to assess Organisational BIM using a performance management lens. The paper introduces five complementary components and a simple workflow to assess BIM capability and maturity of individuals, organisations and teams in a consistent, systematic and certifiable way. BSuccar