A working group of the American Concrete Institute’s (ACI) Committee 131 on Building Information Modeling (BIM) is actively developing an Information Delivery Manual (IDM) for cast-in-place concrete. The IDM will capture in written form the interaction that occurs in the design and construction of concrete structures by identifying the parties involved in information exchange, what information is exchanged and when, based on a typical construction project timeline.
This IDM project is the outcome of ACI’s Strategic Development Council’s (SDC) initiative to focus the concrete industry on developing interoperability standards, and represents the first step in the development of data exchanges into the buildingSMART’s Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). IFC is an open and neutral data exchange format that covers construction information related to procurement, design, construction, and operations. IFCs will allow project information to be entered once, and then to be available and usable by every project team member across any software platform. The improved communication, coordination, and collaboration afforded by BIM implementation have already been shown to save time and money in projects.
A $60,000 grant from the Charles Pankow Foundation accounts for the majority of the $90,000 funding for this IDM project. Remaining funding is provided by Bechtel, Tekla, Bentley, Applied Systems Associates (aSa), RMC Research & Education Foundation, CRSI Education & Research Foundation, ASCC Foundation, Post Tensioning Institute, and two of the ACI Foundation’s Councils – the Concrete Research Council (CRC) and the Strategic Development Council (SDC).
A team from Georgia Technological University’s Digital Building Laboratory headed by Professor Chuck Eastman will assist the ACI IDM working group. The group’s first meeting took place during December of 2011 in Atlanta and its expected to complete the IDM by the end of 2012. The next meeting will be held in conjunction with the ACI Spring 2012 Convention in Dallas, Texas. BD+C
Related Stories
| Jan 3, 2012
AIA Course: New Developments in Concrete Construction
Earn 1.0 AIA/CES learning units by studying this article and successfully completing the online exam.
| Jan 3, 2012
The Value of Historic Paint Investigations
An expert conservator provides a three-step approach to determining a historic building’s “period of significance”—and how to restore its painted surfaces to the correct patterns and colors.
| Jan 3, 2012
28th Annual Reconstruction Awards: Bringing Hope to Cancer Patients
A gothic-style structure is reconstructed into comfortable, modern patient residence facility for the American Cancer Society.
| Jan 3, 2012
Art Gensler: Still Making a Difference for Clients Every Day
After running what is today the largest architecture firm in the world for more than four decades, M. Arthur Gensler, Jr., FAIA, FIIDA, RIBA, is content to be just another employee at the firm that bears his name.
| Jan 3, 2012
Gensler: 'The One Firm Firm'
The giant architecture firm succeeds by giving each of its more than 3,000 employees the opportunity for career growth and professional leadership.
| Jan 3, 2012
Rental Renaissance, The Rebirth of the Apartment Market
Across much of the U.S., apartment rents are rising, vacancy rates are falling. In just about every major urban area, new multifamily rental projects and major renovations are coming online. It may be too soon to pronounce the rental market fully recovered, but the trend is promising.
| Dec 29, 2011
OSHA enforcing new fall hazard standards
OSHA is enforcing its new fall protection standards, as evidenced by a recent crackdown in New York.
| Dec 29, 2011
Decision not to fireproof the new World Trade Center Transportation Hub criticized
Some criticized the decision, reasoning that the structure could be a terrorist target.
| Dec 29, 2011
Seismic safety in question at thousands of California public schools
California regulators responsible for enforcing earthquake safety laws have failed to certify more than 16,000 construction projects in California public schools, increasing the risk that some projects may be unsafe, according to a state audit report.
| Dec 29, 2011
GreenWizard offers cloud-based LEED credit management, assessment
The company recently began offering companies the ability to run assessments for design credits, in addition to traditional product-specific LEED credits.