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
| Dec 12, 2011
AIA Chicago announces Skidmore, Owings & Merrill as 2011 Firm of the Year
SOM has been a leader in the research and development of specialized technologies, new processes and innovative ideas, many of which have had a palpable and lasting impact on the design profession and the physical environment.
| Dec 12, 2011
Skanska to expand and renovate hospital in Georgia for $103 Million
The expansion includes a four-story, 17,500 square meters clinical services building and a five-story, 15,700 square meters, medical office building. Skanska will also renovate the main hospital.
| Dec 12, 2011
CRSI design awards deadline extended to December 31
The final deadline is extended until December 31st, with judging shortly thereafter at the World of Concrete.
| Dec 12, 2011
Mojo Stumer takes top honors at AIA Long Island Design Awards
Firm's TriBeCa Loft wins "Archi" for interior design.
| Dec 10, 2011
10 Great Solutions
The editors of Building Design+Construction present 10 “Great Solutions” that highlight innovative technology and products that can be used to address some of the many problems Building Teams face in their day-to-day work. Readers are encouraged to submit entries for Great Solutions; if we use yours, you’ll receive a $25 gift certificate. Look for more Great Solutions in 2012 at: www.bdcnetwork.com/greatsolutions/2012.
| Dec 10, 2011
Energy performance starts at the building envelope
Rainscreen system installed at the west building expansion of the University of Arizona’s Meinel Optical Sciences Center in Tucson, with its folded glass wall and copper-paneled, breathable cladding over precast concrete.
| Dec 10, 2011
Turning Balconies Outside In
Operable glass balcony glazing systems provide solution to increase usable space in residential and commercial structures.
| Dec 10, 2011
BIM tools to make your project easier to manage
Two innovations—program manager Gafcon’s SharePoint360 project management platform and a new BIM “wall creator” add-on developed by ClarkDietrich Building Systems for use with the Revit BIM platform and construction consultant—show how fabricators and owner’s reps are stepping in to fill the gaps between construction and design that can typically be exposed by working with a 3D model.