Over the past years, we have witnessed a tremendous effort made by the Owners in the increased importance given to the buildings operation and maintenance phase. This effort has also been made in changing the way that the life cycle of a building is seen, with regard to the costs of the several phases. According to some reports, only about 15% of the total costs of a building are applied in the construction phase. Not forgetting the huge effort by the Owner to reverse this scenario, there is still much to do.

BIM-FM: The evolution in Facilities Management

Edgar Costa published a new article

23/4/2015

Line of Balance

Throughout the construction industry evolution, both owners and builders looked for an ideal planning methodology that allows them to effectively control the entire development of their projects and therefore lead them to success. This article does not present that ideal solution, however it indicates a more efficient alternative, to the means normally used, while adding a new variable – the project locations.

Line of Balance

Mickael Rodrigues published a new article

23/4/2015

Design

Produce more, better, faster, consuming fewer resources. This is a reality that we face every day, regardless of our education, experience or activity. The world has changed! The global financial and economic situation, the exponential development of new technologies and the reduction, over the past decades, of the weekly workload are some of the key factors that have led companies to put in the forefront of their concerns notions like productivity and quality. At this change, construction companies were no exception.

Design

Mariana Dinis published a new article

23/4/2015

Construction Data Mining - The reuse of BIM Information in decision-making

First, it is crucial to define the data mining term, which is defined by Geoffrey Holmes and Sally Cunningham as “a technique that explores a rich, relatively unstructured set of data and retrieves from it unusual patterns, unexpected regularities, implicit information, etc.” [3] This definition describes exactly why it can be so powerful to construction companies. It transforms the simple data into decision-making supportive information by detecting unusual aspects that will be useful in the identification of what is working and what is not. It is much easier to become a more efficient company when you really know what is going on.

Construction Data Mining - The reuse of BIM Information in decision-making

Antonio Ruivo Meireles published a new article

23/4/2015

BIM-FM Implementation

Historically, the owners always chosen the most cost-effective construction solutions, this because the construction was considered the biggest expense. ‘Studies conducted in several countries, for different types of buildings, show that the annual costs involved in the buildings operation and maintenance varies between 1% and 2% of its initial cost. This may seem small, but over the buildings life cycle gets to be equivalent to or above the cost of the construction’ [1]. This mentality arises from the lack of knowledge of what means the life cycle of a building. In the figure below you can see that the construction is just one of the costs involved in the building whole life cost.

BIM-FM Implementation

Mickael Rodrigues published a new article

23/4/2015

A natural model evolution: form Designers to Builders

This article aims to demonstrate the importance of the definition of clear modeling processes and use of BIM models by construction companies to avoid cost overruns that can compromise the integrity of the project. Assuming the advantages and effectiveness of BIM in the design phase we will focus our attention in the construction area. This paper is the result of several month of work as BIM consultant and service provider firm for construction companies.

A natural model evolution: form Designers to Builders

Monica Castro published a new article

23/4/2015

The new reality on Project Licensing: Case Study

This article comprises the new realities imposed by the BIM methodology, the impact and changes that it implies on the traditional systems of Project Licensing. Over the years, the design representation methodology used by AEC evolved resulting in different formats of submission in the competent authorities (Drawings, Digital 2D and now 3D) forcing the validation method to change as well. The question now is: How will we validate BIM 3D projects? In Portugal they are validated in the City Halls, regarding Municipal and National regulations.

The new reality on Project Licensing: Case Study