The theme for Fall BIMForum meeting, to be held on October 8-9, 2009 in Philadelphia, PA, will be “BIM AS THE EVOLVING STANDARD OF CARE: Driving process transformation for designers, contractors, and owners.” The BIMForum Leadership is submitting this call for proposals forto solicit ideas for presentations that explore the deapth and breadth of this topic.
As clients gain experience with Building Information Modeling and Integrated Project Delivery, there is now the opportunity to being to evaluate whether BIM and IPD have fulfilled the promises envisioned with this new technology and associated collaborative working relationships. Almost invariably the savings claimed on projects are the prevention of what traditionally have been accepted as inevitable field problems caused by imperfect coordination using conventional tools and processes. While the reduction of waste is of clear value, the underlying reality is that BIM and IPD are allowing the design/build team to be “less bad” than they have been in the past by avoiding errors. Clients are seeking benefits beyond design/construction “spell checking” and expect increased quality and reduced timelines, resulting in a better return on investment.
As a result, the design and construction community is compelled to seriously consider, debate, and act upon many developing questions, including:
- As suggested by the theme, will the legal standard of care for design professionals change as a result of enabling technologies becoming the more dominantmode of delivering services?
- As many coordination errors are no longer accepted as inevitable, what will be the impact on project contingencies, what will be accepted as appropriate contingency items, and what will be expected from a “guaranteed” maximum price?
- Should decisions be deferred until the last responsible moment, rather than made as easy as suggested by the canonical “MacLeamy Curve?”
- Are there good examples of BIM projects that have provided owners with higher quality buildings rather than simply buildings that have been constructed in less time for less money?
- What is the actual process and who should deliver a building model that provides true value to owners for building operations and management?
- What changes need to be made to the “schedule of values” contained in designer contracts when drawings are no longer a valid metric of the progress of schedules?
- Is there a Change in the Standard of Care specifically related to contractors?
If you have an idea for a presentation that you believe could help foster a greater understanding of this topic of specifically answer some of the questions above, please submit a one page abstract to Megan McGarvey a mcgarveym@agc.org by Friday August 7th. The BIMForum leadership will review the submission and make final decisions by September 4th.
Off-Theme Presentations
While the majority of the conference will be spent exploring the above conference theme, we are always looking for new and provocativetopics and answers to some continuing questions. If you have a presentation topic that you feel is extremely compelling, unique or timely, please do not feel constrained by the meeting theme. There will be room for either presentations or breakout sessions that veer from the stated theme. Some possibilities are:
- Are there any cases of studies of owners who have used BIM as an integral part of their facilities management?
- Define the best deliverables for owner’s use for facilities management
- Alternative deliverables for FM other than overburdened BIMs
- What is the unique value if a BIM for FM (what can’t be done in 2D drawings)
- Can you legally sign a BIM?
- Acceptance of regulatory agencies to receive BIM submittals – What parts of a code review can be automated using a BIM? Given the need for interpretations of code sections, what parts of a code review can arguable never be automated?
- Can a fabricator or subcontractor become liable because they generate models for construction?
- What are the components of a model that will become expected to be reliable (dimensional accuracy or other elements also)? What other information would be of use?
- Can BIM present business opportunities for designers beyond traditional practice?
- Will BIM blur the distinction between architects and consultants as the need for intelligent collaboration increases and designers have access to tool that automate analysis?
- How are universities integrating BIM into their programs?
- Is there an ongoing redistribution of labor and an emergence of non-traditional roles as a result of BIM?
If you have an idea for a presentation that does not directly relate to the conference theme, please submit a one-page abstract as well as an explanation fo why you this it is a particularly important topic to Megan McGarvey at mcgarveym@agc.org by Friday August 7th. The BIMForum leadership will review all proposals and make final decisions by September 4th.