With the number of construction projects dwindling as a result of the pandemic, many companies are reimagining their business models to secure their future. While how to increase productivity remains one of the major hurdles that the industry needs to overcome, construction and engineering companies must also look to servitization — the idea that construction organizations compete on full lifecycle support offerings rather than simply the tasks associated with initial build — to attract new business.

In this article, Kenny Ingram, Vice President of Engineering, Construction & Infrastructure at IFS summarizes some key trends that he believes will color 2021 and beyond, including lifecycle management, offsite construction, and 5D BIM.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2021/issue_97.html

On November 11, 2020, the AEC Technology industry lost one of its leading figures, Chuck Eastman. In memoriam, AECbytes is reprinting this Viewpoint article from 2008 that was authored by Chuck Eastman and his co-authors of their seminal work, the “BIM Handbook.”

Chuck Eastman was a Professor in the Colleges of Architecture and Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, and Director of the College of Architecture PhD Program where he led research in the area of Building Product Models and IT in building construction. His career was spent making building models a practical reality, starting in the 1970s. He held positions at UCLA and Carnegie-Mellon University, and was funded to advise industry associations on their development and deployment of BIM, including AISC, PCSC, NIBS and FIATECH. He authored 5 books and over 70 journal papers.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2020/issue_96.html

How will Digital Twins and Smart City programs change the way projects are designed, built, and managed?  Ron Perkins, who has more than three decades of experience in the AEC technology industry, explores this question.

Smart Cities have been discussed for many years now.  The concept of connecting IoT, sensor data, cameras, and other edge devices to a physical structure, campus, city, or town has a lot of promise.  Managing assets remotely while capturing analytics and leveraging that information to make predictive decisions suggests efficiency and sustainability at levels not otherwise realized. 

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2020/issue_95.html

In this article, Erik Hultgren of Tech Soft 3D, discusses the advances made in visualization within the AEC space that keep making it taking quantum leaps forward, unlocking exciting new use cases and capabilities.

The combination of hardware, software, and computing resources that is now available means that everything has scaled up tremendously, enabling the AEC industry to venture into some exciting areas, starting with the ability to ensure that buildings are being built as designed.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2020/issue_94.html

This article by Nick Nieder of Deltek discusses how AEC businesses can make the necessary operational changes required to adapt to the current changing conditions and stay profitable by merging digital transformation with information management. When done right, this can help businesses navigate the pandemic, empower project teams to work more efficiently, and help them identify key trends that inform decision making.

URL: http://aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2020/issue_93.html

Now that the AEC industry has had several months to settle in a COVID-19 reality, Stephen B. Jacobs, the founder of the SBJ Group, discusses where we currently stand and what proactive measures designers can implement as we build and adapt in a new abnormal.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2020/issue_92.html

In this article, Michael Tobias, founder and principal of New York Engineers, lists the many benefits of BIM for MEP engineers in addition to the primary advantages of saving time and money, reducing errors, improving productivity and quality, and being able to work as a key part of a multi-disciplinary team.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2019/issue_91.html

In this article, Daniel Bévort, CEO of ADEACA, describes how Project Business Automation (PBA) can be used to integrate the fragmented array of business applications used by construction companies, giving them better insight and allowing them to manage their business in real time, instead of through guesswork and outdated data.

URl: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2019/issue_90.html

In this Viewpoint article, Graham Twigg, CTO of Multivista, emphasizes the importance of integrating visual as-built data directly into the BIM models created for a project by the design team for real-time validation and a more accurate representation of the building through each phase of construction. Integrating data from different construction solutions with BIM models allows a true digital twin of the completed building to be created, which would be a valuable resource throughout its lifecycle.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2019/issue_89.html

Waffle structures are used in several design fields including architecture to construct complex, organic forms. In this Tips and Tricks article, Mark Loomis, Principal at MP Studio, who is keenly interested in 3D modeling, parametric modeling and generative design shows how to use a Grasshopper script to model a waffle structure, using its algorithmic design capabilities to automate the process and allow parameters such as the spacing and the width of the ribs of the structure to be adjusted just by moving a number slider.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/tipsandtricks/2018/issue84-rhino.html