Allen Holland, BIM Manager, KEO Qatar, talks about Building Information Modeling (BIM) ahead of the The Smart Building Automation Summit to be held in Dubai from April 26-27, 2016.
As per your interaction with construction industry, how has Revit Platform of Building Information Modeling solutions helped Project controls and estimations?
BIM allows and facilitates earlier, faster and more accurate Bills of Quantity and Construction Cost Estimates.
With a well-integrated 5D BIM solution, an engineer can look at a visual representation of his scope element, and extract a very accurate survey of the value of the work done. There is no more guessing percent complete of activities, which makes cost forecasts more reliable. Enables better cash flow, and provides complete as built records in the event of any dispute.
BIM integration has a list of benefits to itself. What are the challenges faced in a large scale construction projects integrating BAS with BIM?
BIM and BAS have traditionally been viewed in isolation and have not been thoroughly explored for use in an integrated fashion. Owners do not have a clear concept of the integration methods available. Many legacy FM/CMMS systems are not well-integrated with BIM data workflows.
How is project designing in traditional construction projects different from involving BIM methods to make the buildings more efficient and sustainable?
Designing with BIM can facilitate lean construction, support sustainability initiatives, and can lead to dramatic savings across the entire building lifecycle. The up-front investment required to realise comprehensive design with BIM results in a significant ROI.
How has BIM evolved in last three decades? What is in store for future of BIM especially keeping Middle East construction industry in focus?
In the past three decades BIM has completely transformed and disrupted the information delivery process for building design and construction the world over, and will continue to do so. Development in the Middle East has lagged behind other markets, and we are now beginning to experience the rapid acceleration of building technological development here. The (relatively) low cost of labor and consequent inhibition of construction innovation continues to dampen progress in the region.
What are your expectations from The Smart Building Automation Summit and how do you rate the topics of the discussion at the summit?
I expect to learn from a broad spectrum AECO professionals. I hope that the well-crafted and diverse agenda for this conference will help stimulate peer-to-peer discussion and technological development across all sectors.
eHotelier is proud to partner with The Smart Building Automation Summit. For more information, please visit The Smart Building Automation Summit 2016 event listing.
