Building information modeling tools are great, but if you can't run efficient, productive coordination meetings, the Building Team will never realize the benefits of true BIM coordination. Here are some helpful tips for making the most of BIM coordination meetings based on my experience working on BIM/VDC-driven projects:
1. Practice and prepare. Yes, practice for a meeting. The more you do it the more productive your meetings can be. It takes some skill to be able to navigate the model and have the correct models loaded and visibility settings. Spending 15 minutes before loading models and opening views for the areas of focus will save you a lot of waiting and down time during the meeting.
2. Assign a "designated driver.” This person needs to be familiar with the model and savvy with the software platform. Models can be quite cumbersome, and it can slow down the meeting when a group of people have to watch someone poorly navigating the model. That will quickly kill your productivity.
SEE JARED KRIEGER AT THE 2013 AIA NATIONAL CONVENTION
Jared Krieger, Project Architect in Gensler’s Washington, D.C., office, will speak on “Maximizing BIM: How to Successfully Execute a Fully Integrated BIM Project,” at the AIA National Convention in Denver on Friday, June 21, 6:00-7:00 p.m. More information: http://convention.aia.org.
3. Use your team’s time wisely. You don’t always have to have the full team in the room at the same time. Consider splitting the meeting into structured trades. For example, meet with the structural engineer for the first portion of the meeting to review structural specific coordination. Then have some overlap time with MEP and structural for common coordination. Finish the meeting with MEP-specific coordination.
4. Use meeting notes to stay focused. Open action items and homework from the previous meeting should be the basis for discussion in your current meeting. Use this structure to keep yourself on track, and resolve open coordination issues before moving on to new items.
5. Talk about this process early in the project. For most people, using a collaboratively focused process leveraging technology will be a new process. It may sound like a large time commitment, but if done correctly it will save you time in the long run. Educate the team early on and set/manage expectations.
Jared Krieger, AIA, LEED AP, is a Project Architect and BIM/VDC expert based in Gensler's Washington, D.C., office. He can be reached at jared_krieger@gensler.com.
Related Stories
Office Buildings | Dec 19, 2017
How do we measure human performance, and what does it mean for the workplace?
There are many new tools and methods that are beginning to look more comprehensively to evaluate organizational well-being.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Dec 18, 2017
Canada’s newest funicular makes Edmonton’s largest green space more accessible
The incline elevator is located in downtown Edmonton and was publicly funded.
Sponsored | Building Team | Dec 12, 2017
3 tips to address the top causes of budget overruns
The most cited issues are communication breakdowns, inadequate fees for the work provided, and unrealistic deadlines or schedules.
Multifamily Housing | Dec 12, 2017
Call for technical experts: Dog wash station design
The editors of Multifamily Design + Construction magazine need your expertise.
Government Buildings | Dec 11, 2017
Is this the world’s most humane prison?
The C.F. Møller-designed prison’s architecture supports the inmates’ and staff’s mental and physical well-being.
Architects | Dec 7, 2017
Snow Kreilich Architects receives the 2018 AIA Architecture Firm Award
Julie Snow, FAIA, founded the firm in Minneapolis in 1995, and later was joined by partner Matt Kreilich, AIA.
Architects | Dec 7, 2017
2018 AIA Gold Medal awarded to James Stewart Polshek
In 1963 Polshek started his first architecture firm, James Stewart Polshek Architect.
Architects | Dec 4, 2017
Architects to Congress: ‘You're making a terrible mistake’
House and Senate gut historic building credits and penalize architecture firms.
Architects | Dec 1, 2017
The third wave of urban waterfront development
The nature of waterfront redevelopment has been evolutionary, in the truest sense of the word.
Multifamily Housing | Nov 29, 2017
First Porsche, now Aston Martin: Sports car maker co-develops Miami condo tower *UPDATED
The 391-unit Aston Martin Residences will feature seven penthouses and a duplex penthouse, all with private pools and terraces overlooking Biscayne Bay.