Access to timely information vital
TAHIR SHARIF, president of buildingSmart ME, says efficient information management is the key to project success.
01 April 2010
WHEN a project is delayed, a whole gamut of issues arise to compound the problem even further: there is a new schedule and estimate and there will probably be further changes; tenants are eager to take occupancy and there are penalties for delays; subcontractors take shortcuts in order to reduce their costs and keep to schedule; there are problems with quality; overall costs escalate with reports on new cost items being presented daily; and nobody knows what the final figure will be.
These are all known problems in most construction projects and yet why do they remain unsolved?
Everyone is quick to point fingers at the management. However, how fair is it to blame the management for these problems when they are forced to work with traditional systems that cannot control the construction process effectively?
The problem is caused by the lack of proper, detailed and timely information on the current and projected status of various parts of the project.
Project managers are at a loss to take any meaningful action when often information on delays or similar anomalies arrives too late. If managers had early access to transparent project data, they could fix the causes of problems rather than their effect.
An answer to all these problems is ‘The Extended BIM Approach’.
Tangible
BIM (building information modelling) is often seen only as a tool that allows design teams to ‘spin’ the model for effect and visual communication. However, when BIM is implemented with a wider perspective rather than just using it as a mere software tool for modelling – a process known as Extended BIM – it can benefit the whole construction project. It enables the adoption of emerging concepts such as integrated project delivery and lean construction, thereby bringing tangible savings for the entire project.
The easiest way to get started is to adopt methodologies based on current global best practice. One such methodology is Riqq MashUp, which looks at information management of the construction project as a whole.
It encompasses four key aspects of construction information management: Process – having the most suitable processes for information exchange; technology – using a suitable and interoperable technology for effective operations; people – ensuring that appropriately skilled professionals are working on the project; and information – making sure that the format of information is well defined throughout the project, to ensure rapid and automated processing.
Success depends on utilising processes such as BIM, Quantity Information Management (QIM), Last Planner System and/or Lean Construction, as enablers.
Using Riqq MashUp in any construction project brings a large number of benefits to the organisation. These can be summarised in three areas:
• Design team benefits – This includes improved design coordination, better communication platform between disciplines and faster turnaround of routine tasks.
• Peer benefits – These benefits lie in three sectors namely commercial, which includes accurate cost estimates, more design alternatives and early and accurate budgeting; production, which includes fast quantity take-off, 4D scheduling, 5D costing and better resource management; production support, which includes procurement planning and logistics planning.
• Competitive edge – Riqq MashUp users have a major advantage in the form of a huge increase in cost savings, without compromising on quality. Using Riqq MashUp saves money and time – with savings of up to 50 per cent in productivity; 25 per cent in project duration; 12 per cent increase in overall costs; and a 500 per cent increase in profit margin.
A case study involving the first phase implementation of Riqq MashUp illustrates how to keep up with the schedule and progress on site, bringing benefits to both the client and the project manager. (Since the study relates to an ongoing project client details have been withheld on request).
John, a tough leader, is an experienced project manager who is known for successfully delivering projects without delays and cost overruns, below the industry average. His success, however, does not come easily.
On a typical day, John has to make decisions based on the ‘best guesses’ due to the lack of accurate information. He takes shortcuts to keep schedules on time, does a lot of shouting and is continually in conflict with subcontractors from whom he requires greater co-operation.
On this particular project, the early problems were caused by a number of issues: Site works started before the designs were finalised – with each iteration of design causing changes to schedules, resource management and budget; new designs and quantity information for planning typically took weeks to arrive on site. Because of the constant changes, detailed schedules had limited value. When things went wrong on site, John learned about it days or even weeks after it happened. By then it was too late to fix it, and the problems started to accumulate.
Reporting to company management and the client was difficult as reports were at best ‘educated guesses’.
Guidelines
Fortunately for John, his company together with the client, decided to incorporate a project improvement process, using Riqq MashUp as the basis for information management. The first phase concentrated on improving the workflow of accurate design information, bringing immediate and tangible benefits to the project. For implementation, the following steps were taken:
• BIM was used in design and to produce coordinated design guidelines
• QIM was implemented for the QS (quantity surveying) practice. This enabled accurate and rapid quantity take-offs which could also be linked 4D and 5D simulations;
• Quantity-based scheduling, resource management and costing were implemented for the site; and
• On-site management were trained to use the new system.
As a result of the first phase implementation:
• Designers learned to communicate better with other design disciplines and to understand the implications of their designs on the whole project;
• Designs were better coordinated and the turnaround time improved dramatically;
• The QS activities produced information combining elements of quantity, time and cost. Advanced information became available faster and was more accurate;
• On-site management (including John) had immediate access to all the information produced from BIM and QIM. It transferred crucial and detailed data on how the project should proceed with regards to time, resources, materials and budget.
• Detailed information enabled management to know the exact planned project status and effects of any anomaly on site could be forecast. As a result, problems could be identified and fixed before they reached site.
John now has access to information flow that can be tracked all the way back to the designs. This enables decision-making based on facts and allows more accurate management reporting.
The financial implications of the Riqq MashUp implementation are still to be fully evaluated, but initial results show better understanding of the whole project, dramatic improvements in communication.
The project is on schedule and budget. The next phase of development in now in progress and is targeted to provide weekly updates of planned versus actual schedules, integration of site progress and accounts.
Link for the Extended BIM Ecosystem:
