Open BIM: Interdisciplinary Collaboration Strategies for a Plural World

Using advanced tools to manage a collaborative, interdisciplinary workflow process without limiting your choice of the electronic design and communication tools used
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Sponsored by GRAPHISOFT
Peter J. Arsenault, FAIA, NCARB, LEED-AP

BIM Model Sharing and Synchronization 

Once the above issues are addressed, there is still a key element that needs to be managed, namely, how to allow multiple parallel access to the most up to date BIM information without creating workflow delays due to long download times and interface problems. Historically, many offices have struggled with this issue, often resorting to team members working on "copies" of the design and then saving them back to the original overnight or in some other time consuming fashion. However, a newly developed and already proven approach to solving this management issue is to select technology that relies on an advanced version of a BIM server / computer client arrangement.  In this case, the intelligent BIM server application maintains the complete and up-to-date BIM database of a project in real time. Team members work on local computers (referred to as "clients" connected either by Local Area Networks (LAN) or the Internet) and regularly send and receive project changes between the active BIM server and their local computer. During send and receive, however, only modified elements of the project are sent over the network, rather than the full model data: this results in much faster data communications and enables the entire team to keep working in parallel.

Typical data flow between BIM Server and local computer clients

Graphics: GRAPHISOFT

 

The benefits to the project team and managers of this active BIM Server/ Client approach include greater speed, more flexibility and data safety. The speed comes from technology that directs only the changed elements of a model to be exchanged between the clients and the server. As a result, average data package size shrinks by an order of magnitude, from megabytes to kilobytes. Because the amount of transferred data is relatively small, data transfer does not depend on the project size; team members can work through any kind of network and even the internet. Flexibility in workflow is increased when the software allows certain design elements, rather than spatial areas, to be "reserved" by a team member for development and updating. Using an on demand element reservation system in this manner coupled with the fast data exchange, team members can access any element of the BIM database, at any time, regardless the size of the firm or the complexity of the project. In terms of data safety, the BIM server becomes a dynamic component of that process. An intelligent server application won't allow corrupted data to be merged for example. If the client computer's data becomes damaged on the network, the server will filter it out, and will not merge the damaged data to the server database.

Using the above as the basis for day to day workflow, the BIM Server becomes a significant tool in helping project managers handle projects, people, roles and responsibilities while creating a way to manage the data communication of a project.

  • BIM server flexibility: Typically, one BIM server can support several simultaneous projects and users; however, managers may want to set up a number of BIM servers within the office to further increase the performance of data communication for individual projects. Multi-office firms can store their BIM projects on one central server and provide access to them among the different offices
    creating a large "virtual" office. 
  • Managing roles and responsibilities: Typically, the biggest challenge facing a Project Manager on projects with multiple parties is managing everyone's roles and responsibilities. The BIM server is an elegant technological solution to help enforce and maintain the rights, roles, and responsibilities designated by the project manager. Roles might include Viewer, Draftsman, Lead Architect, Consulting Engineer, etc., and new ones can be defined to best match the team setup. For each role, the BIM server software should allow customizable rights to be assigned. In addition, a project log, which lists project events by person such as log-in or send/receive actions, is an important management tool for tracking activity on the project.
  • Central Libraries: Shared design and detail libraries can be housed on the BIM server allowing each designated team member to automatically obtain a cached copy of these libraries, including any updates to them. Any member having the proper access rights can add a new library item to the shared project. In most cases, the project manager will restrict this right to certain key users in the team. A well managed version of this function will enable Project Managers or Server Administrators to remotely update and maintain the libraries on the server, thus greatly reducing the possibility of using outdated libraries.
  • Project Backups: Automatic and manual backups should always be available to ensure maximum data safety. These backups can also be used to store different variations of the project.

While this fundamental working process can be the same from project to project, the size of firm or project team will have an influence on the way this technology is used on a day to day basis as illustrated below:

  • Small to medium sized firms:
     

    Typical BIM Server set up for a small to medium sized firm focused on "dynamic workflow"

    Graphics: GRAPHISOFT


    Firms in this very common size category typically find themselves needing to operate in a "dynamic workflow," process where each team member can be working in parallel on various projects and adjustments need to be made "on the fly". Typically, this means the team members need to access and change data on different projects very frequently to be effective. In this setting, the ability to reserve elements "on the fly" instead of blocking out whole building areas becomes a great time saver allowing for maximum flexibility in the actual team setup. Since the teams are typically small but very effective, any downtime due to collaboration limitations of the software should no longer be considered acceptable. Since such firms usually don't have dedicated computer managers in the office, choosing the most appropriate BIM server software allows them to start, share, and manage projects quickly and efficiently without any special preparations.

  • Large firms:
     

    Typical BIM Server set up for a large firm focused on "controlled workflow."

    Graphics: GRAPHISOFT


    As the size of the firm and the project teams increase, the operative concept becomes one of advanced management or "controlled workflow." In order to be fully organized and effective, the managers need to be sure that every team member's rights match his or her responsibilities and that all users know their roles and rights on all levels. While individual team members should have the same workflow flexibility as the small-medium firms, the project team leaders typically need to be more in control of every member's work during the entire project Large firms also often maintain multiple office locations meaning that all team members will need effective model-based communication even if they are not located in the same office. Using the active BIM Server / client concept, everyone can be working on the same project from different offices or even different countries. And as long as BIM servers are set up to be managed remotely, the designated managers can have central control over all BIM servers within the firm.

  • Sole practitioners:
     

    Typical BIM Server set up for a sole practitioner focused on "remote workflow."

    Graphics: GRAPHISOFT


    Independent architects or other solo team members need not be left out of this picture. Often they collaborate with others for a large project or competition or they might be working for larger firms on a contractual basis from their own independent office. In this case, the concept of "remote workflow" becomes the operative idea. By using the active BIM Server/Client approach anyone should feel fully connected to the project, even while working from outside of the main office. Independent team members can thus work as easily on a large project as in a solo project, while receiving all necessary information from the other team members. Selecting BIM Server software that allows working connections via the Internet makes for the most accessible remote working relationships.

 

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Originally published in Architectural Record
Originally published in March 2010

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