Capital projects today are overloaded with data at all stages. Building Information Modeling is a methodology and process designed to enable and encourage collaboration and the better use of construction data. Computational BIM, specifically, focuses on the technical ability to optimize data and use it to inform decisions throughout the lifecycle of a building. Computational methods are effective tools to organize, understand and utilize data – ultimately opening the door to new possibilities for better building.
Before beginning work with computational BIM, it’s important to first understand the data being created on projects. The AEC industry has long been accustomed to keeping information in siloed environments where related items like drawings, models, schedules and reports are unable to effectively interact with each other. This practice, unfortunately, isn’t beneficial for projects that handle large amounts of information. Every drawing, spreadsheet and report should be linked in a unique source of truth, avoiding human error and reducing the time spent creating and revising documents.
With computational BIM, the goal is to put data in the right place. As an example, there may be a set of drawings showing doors in CAD and a door schedule in Excel. In a typical BIM process, both sets of information could reside inside a tool such as Revit with each door knowing its own information.
Using computational BIM, however, it can be taken a step further. Here, the door will also know how it relates to other features within the building and have the ability to modify its data to suit. If the use of a room changes, related item information such as the door code will also be adjusted automatically. Even a simple change, when realized on buildings with tens of thousands of doors, gives significant efficiencies to the designers.
Some of the greatest productivity gains and efficiencies come with the removal of repetition. The more the same information is being entered into a model by humans, the higher the rate of error. Using computational BIM workflows, it’s possible to simply embed a process with the required data and allow the machine to do the rest. Consider the task of scheduling wall panels – then seeing an error. Instead of manually redoing the work, it would be significantly more efficient to allow the computer handle the numbering and let the designer focus on the information needed to construct the wall.
Generally speaking, the more complex the project, the greater the value there is in incorporating a computational process. The objective here is not to reduce the input of designers and experts; but rather to free them up from tasks that a simple machine can perform – allowing them more time to create and refine their designs.
Some may feel that spending time on making decisions early on in the design process, such as what parameters are going to be contained in key elements of the model, or how the data of those elements will be updated if there is a late design change, can stunt the end result. The ability to take control of these project aspects sooner, however, can be a major benefit. With proper data management, making changes to previous decisions is also much simpler. Think of it as organizing data from the start rather than being locked in position.
For example, placing signage in a stadium can be a tedious task to lay out. If a certain set of rules is specified for every type of sign from the design stage, it can automate the placement based on those rules and the data that those signs contain based on their location in the stadium. If the design changes later on in the process, the same computational script can be used to relocate and update the data of thousands of signs, freeing up professionals from simple repetitive tasks.
Depending on the size of an organization, it may make sense to augment existing design and construction knowledge with computational BIM consultants or in-house specialists. Smaller projects, however, can still benefit from programs widely available online at no cost. If a business is engaged in BIM in any way, it should be able to take advantage of computational processes and tools. These workflows can have tremendous value when it comes to smart processes, efficiency, effectiveness and productivity throughout a building’s lifecycle.
