There are numerous international guides that offer interesting reading and are thought provoking in their simplicity. I recently came across The Norwegian Home Builders BIM Manual which provides a very clear ‘modeling 101’ and is a practical aid for those who perform the project planning for residential dwellings.

Through the buildingSMART Project, the Norwegian Homebuilders Association have been involved in the development of open international standards in the field of BIM for many years now.

Their research has found that new technology and new tools are making it possible to introduce better ways of working. Subsequently their aim is to place the members of the association in a position to implement these new technologies and tools. However, they believe that their largest challenge is in how each individual member company is able to alter their own business processes.

Take a look at the manual in it’s entirety here: Norwegian Home Builders Association – BIM-manual 1.0

Within the architectural and design space the developing requirement for QSID is causing a lot of industry confusion and angst. I’m not sure that everyone understands that QSID is not a classification system in itself, it is a very basic coding system, just two digits of the elemental coding that is the Australian Cost Control Manual (ACMM2) maintained by the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS).

 The project QS should be capable of pulling information from any model (at any stage) and pushing back or ‘round-tripping‘ accurate codes and data at the right time to alleviate the need for designers to input codes like QSID.

Our 5DQS team inputs its own and a combination of other more robust codes and ’round-trip’ the data to the model which provides far greater benefit. It immediately creates a model map that can be used by all project partners including the contractor and subcontractors as well as the designers and programmers at any point through the process.

For more information on round-tripping, have a read of Scott Beazley‘s post “5D Round-Tripping and Model Validation“. Or contact Scott directly, Mitchell Brandtman, 07 3327 5000

During my recent UDIA Brisbane presentation I talked about the notion of ‘Agile Aerial Robots’. My interest spawned when I came across a fascinating TED talk by Vijay Kumar which you can watch yourself below.

This technology is reliant on models and 3D information to allow them to function and to carry out the tasks we want them to do. There are dozens of examples like this one where various robots can be used to carry out construction tasks and each one relies on the input of a model in the first instance. Relative to the construction industry, when you stay in a 2D space you’re limiting your opportunities for the future.

View Video Here: https://youtu.be/4ErEBkj_3PY

The Rise report explores the context in which the Queensland housing construction industry will grow and the thematic areas which will impact on skills development for future development, building processes and products.

They found that central to housing deployment is a value proposition which represents the extent to which a new house reflects aspects of quality and desirability. They concluded that BIM is poised to reshape the value proposition and how traditional estimation, design optimisation and scheduling are undertaken through the use of iterative modelling hinged to costing data.

Click the link to view the report in it’s entirety;

http://www.slideshare.net/slid…

On more and more occasions we are being asked to provide indicative m2 rate analysis for our Clients or Financiers at the early design stage of a new construction project (either before or during the development application has been submitted). Many factors such as site specific conditions, construction methods, level of finish and timing will greatly affect a standard cost per m2 approach.

At feasibility stage, generally, most building costs are formulated on a cost per m2 basis that has been derived from either an industry recognised costing book (such as Rawlinsons or Cordells), a previous project / benchmarking or simply industry æhear say’. This approach can be very dangerous if you don’t understand exactly what the rate is based upon (ie: GFA, FECA or NLA) does it include for the basement and the balcony areas, deductions for voids or openings?) which can lead to significant impacts on your projects feasibility. Remember that a variance of a couple of hundred $/m2 could result in your project not making it past feasibility stage, or worse, costing you time and money to develop the design only to find out that it just doesn’t stack up!

This lack of understanding can also have a significant impact on specialised or smaller scale projects because they are more cost sensitive. For example, when you look at Social Housing projects, there is usually a higher density of units within a smaller building area. Although the cost per unit may be less than that of more conventional housing or residential projects, the cost per m2 can be significantly higher due to the inclusion of additional dividing walls, kitchens, more fittings etc. These factors need to be considered at the feasibility stage to avoid cost blow-outs. Likewise, a small æhigh end’ residential renovation based in and around CBD suburbs will have a significantly higher cost per m2 rate than a new residential dwelling away from the CBD.

Quantity Surveyors are construction cost experts and it’s important to get them involved in the early stages of your project so a more detailed cost estimate can be obtained. The cost per m2 approach has a place in our industry but should only be used to give a æballpark’ cost figure at the early design stages.

For more information on risks associated with a cost per m2 approach contact myself, Andrew Opperman, Mitchell Brandtman, 02 9525 8000.

Shaun Miller manages a boutique drafting and BIM technical resourcing partner, The Bowman Bureau, who gives it’s clients access to cutting edge skills and capabilities.The Bowman Bureau’s clients leverage these capabilities to offer additional service and deliverables to their clients. BIM being one such service.

Shaun also runs BIM Day Out – the only conference dedicated to BIM in Australia. The BIM Day Out is a unique Building Information Modeling (BIM) Expo and Conference Event. It is based around the idea that BIM is a collaborative endeavour requiring different tools, skills and professions. All with the same common goal of data and information reuse and sharing.

David Mitchell presented at the BIM Day Out on ‘5D’s of Digital Design, Documentation and Delivery’. Check out what Shaun had to say about David’s presentation in the YouTube clip below. You can also view David’s presentation PDF here. 

View Video Here:

Following on from my recent talk at UDIA Brisbane I want to share with you some of my findings from the research that I have recently carried out.

American based engineering company Trimble has been using robotics for a few years now to help contractors layout tasks on site using lasers driven by modeling information. This technology has unparalleled accuracy is designed specifically for concrete, MEP and general construction contractors. The Trimble RTS Series Robotic Total Stations ensure maximum flexibility and cost savings by performing all site layout and measurement tasks through single person operation. This is bringing the need for robust data within the model map to the forefront of the design process so that we can all benefit from the efficiencies that it brings.

ETH Zurich & ROB Technologies are also bringing robotics on site with pinpoint accuracy. Check out this robot brick layer in the short video below which is driven by parametric information to introduce different levels of quality to our design and build processes. This robot lays each individual brick at a different angle to the others – it’s not that this robot can do tasks efficiently, it’s that it can perform these tasks to a level of accuracy that we’ve never seen before. When we apply this technology it allows us to introduce elements of design that we never thought were possible – superior levels of quality.

Video Here: https://vimeo.com/52955424

A really good example of technology improving construction design is on a recent project I worked on with Arkhefield and their Principle, Andrew Gutteridge. When you consider the structural steel on this project, specifically the 18 meter cantilever seen below, it would have never been achieved without the technology that was used.

You can see that there is a clear relation between the model and actual build.

Similarly, Behrokh Khoshnevis of Contour Crafting is combining two technologies; 3D printing and robotics, to achieve design and construction projects that were previously thought of as impossible. In the past 3D printing for construction has mainly been done for components, now Behrokh is asking the question “why can’t I print a whole building?”. View his presentation below

(Tip: skip to 4 minutes 30 seconds to see it in action).

Video Here: http://youtu.be/JdbJP8Gxqog?t=4m30s&w=512&h=308

The key point is that all of these technologies need the input of 3D information for them to work. There are dozens of examples like these and each one relies on the input of a model in the first instance. When you stay in a 2D space you’re limiting your opportunities for the future.

Video here: https://youtu.be/TGG5qo5Nam0

Partner and 5D Quantity Surveyor, David Mitchell, presented at the 2013 UDIA Brisbane breakfast seminar on the 22nd May on “Keeping Property Projects Profitable – Understanding the Trends and Costs”.

David’s seminar extended his knowledge of the current climate regarding Construction Costs, provided insight into Emerging Technologies (Including 3D printing and robotics) that can change the future of construction as we know it and took a look at up-to-date Facts and Figures.

• PDF of the presentation: http://bit.ly/12etiNy
• SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube page for more webinars like this in the future: http://bit.ly/16Ixp8u

The LOD Specification from the BIMForum is a very worthy guide to consider. Released in March this year it defines model use, usability and limitations for downstream users. It also looks at the detail of what it is that you’re designing and what it can be used for.

Check it out at this link…

http://bimforum.org/lod/

Everyone is aware that they need to insure their homes and business premises, but many people could be inadvertently paying too much, or perhaps worse, not enough. It’s not just a question of finding the lowest premiums, but of ensuring that the policy correctly covers the replacement cost of a building. You might know the value of your property, including the land, but how much would it cost to replace the buildings in the case of a serious incident?

Over the last ten years the Consumer Price Index (the annual average costs of consumer goods) has outstripped the Building Price Index (current construction costs), leaving some policy holders unaware that they were paying too much and others not enough.

Most insurers will seek to pay the minimum amount possible on a claim for damage and will base a payout on the current cost of construction and renovation. However, a lot of people forget about the demolition costs, re-design and inflation that affects a buildings replacement cost.

Also, if your premium has been rising with the CPI you could be over insured, protecting your property with an unnecessary level of cover. On the other hand, if you have not reviewed your policy for a few years you could find that the replacement costs have now overtaken the amount your policy covers.

Mitchell Brandtman Quantity Surveyors have recently undertaken Replacement Costs Estimates for several major businesses and have found worrying disparities in their clients’ level of cover. In one case a Body Corporate discovered that because they had increased their premiums with the CPI rises, they were over-insured by $500,000.

In another more alarming case, a Brisbane commercial property owner discovered that they were under insured by 60% – the rising costs of building and construction having outstripped the value of their policy. Unfortunately they found this out too late and the client had big problems with their insurer on top of another big problem of losing their tenant.

It’s wise to seek out the best value insurance, but you have to make sure that the policy matches the current replacement costs. If you have been increasing your cover every year by CPI or BPI, then it’s time that you had your property replacement cost re-done.

Regularly assessing the cost of replacing a building could save you a lot of money in premiums or could save you from having to face a massive shortfall. Mitchell Brandtman will provide you with certainty and peace of mind with the knowledge that you are adequately covered.

Mitchell Brandtman has been established for over 40 years, and specialises in providing construction cost advice to home owners, investors and developers. To discuss a Replacement Cost Estimate for your property or business premises, contact Luke Anthony, Asset Services Manager on (07) 3327 5000