Web-based BIM Management Solution

Web-based BIM Management Solution (Jordan Brandt, Horizontal Systems)
First, a preliminary thought on Building Information Modeling (BIM). It's probably an overly simplistic view, but what works for me to provide a basic understanding of BIM is to imagine computerized fly-by views of building you may have seen at some point in a movie or a commercial. What you see is a superficial, exterior view. Imagine that each thing that you see (window, wall, tree, etc.) actually has properties to it (dimensions, cost, number, etc.). Now peel away the walls and windows to see the rooms, chairs, lights, elevators, piping, duct work, etc. and those things having properties as well. These are the base components of a BIM model.

This session was a demonstration of Horizontal's Glue application (http://www.horizontal-llc.com/?p=20). The size of BIM models has been an issue -- files may be several GB in size and are time consuming to load into desktop software and difficult to email to all participants in a project. Glue provides a web-based solution. All of the contributors (architects, designers, engineers, suppliers, etc.) load their 2D or 3D input online and Glue aggregates it into a 4D (x, y, z, time) BIM Model. Rather than loading the entire BIM Model all at once, Glue just loads the information relevant to the current view of the model. Glue integrates with Proliance, Prolog and other aspects of BIM (e.g., CAD applications)

Similar to what you might expect from BIM overall, it provides a mechanism for more efficient collaboration, identifies clashes (e.g., walls, piping, duct work that intersect with each other). It includes version control, an audit trail, and review/red-lining features. It can help with field verification tasks as well. One interesting aspect of BIM is that each virtual component has properties, including cost and sequence. Since each physical element is sequenced, so you can literally "see" how the building is built over time, improving coordination and collaboration. You can also peel away layers to see items of interest.

Adoption of BIM isn't quite there yet -- the main benefits will come when everyone uses it. BIM standards are in their early stages, but it seems like BIM is an logical conclusion to the massive coordination required for building construction projects. It should should change how one visualizes a project. The future vision of BIM is that it will extend into facilities management and building operations as well.