tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-552148228441381135.post8907277145396094679..comments2024-03-28T00:57:46.114-07:00Comments on DebunkTheBIM: Buildings aren’t cars, microwaves or ipods.Zolna Murrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00273265366261019489noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-552148228441381135.post-57896747837995443112011-04-26T10:15:37.892-07:002011-04-26T10:15:37.892-07:00I argue that while the construction industry may r...I argue that while the construction industry may resemble a restaurant more than a shipyard, that does not mean we should aspire to emulate the restaurant. The manufacturing sector found creative and more efficient ways to produce their products precisely because they reaembled the construction industry. The only difference is that manufacturing attempts to build many copies of the same item, while construction attempts to build many items differentlky each time. Nevertheless, what we are really doing is manufacturing and adopting techniques that they find successful when applied with tools that are customized for our needs. BIM technology is simply a tool, but when used to prefabricate assemblies, time is reduced in its negative influence and quality and price are improved. In the simplest sense, this has been done for a long time with structural steel, drywall, and curtainwall; even roofing membrane is a form of prefabrication. These are successful because we modeled our activities after manufacturing, not Veal Picatta. Prefabrication keeps waste of the jobsite, meeting one of the highest principles of LEED (managing waste). Prefabrication reduces onsite labor, meeting the highest principle of OSHA (keeping people safe). Prefabrication meets the highest principle of owners (highest quality, shortest construction period, and best price. Treating components and assemblies of construction as manufactured objects allows us to work when the building structure is not yet erected (good for labor).<br />BIM is not a panacea; it is a tool by which we can leverage and transfer our best practices and ideas directly, digitally, and without translation (that last one has some work yet, but we are trying).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com