BIM Around the World, Collaboration in AEC, and the AIA 2012 Convention

There is no doubt that BIM adoption in the AEC industry has come a long way since the term was introduced in 2002—most of the larger firms are using BIM on many of their projects, and it has come part of the standard lexicon of the AEC industry. We would be hard-pressed to find anyone working in the industry who has not heard of BIM. But most of us have a rather myopic view of BIM, quite naturally so; we are aware of what’s going on with BIM implementation in our own countries, but not that much about what is happening in other countries. AECbytes starts out this month with an article that attempts to capture the key developments in BIM implementation in different countries around the world, so that we have a better global perspective on BIM.

Up next, Chris France, the author of two previous AECbytes articles demystifying the "cloud" in AEC and how it can be useful for BIM, returns with an article that focuses on what firms are doing with this cloud as the technology and business processes have matured to better serve their clients. The AEC industry has been traditionally very fragmented when it comes to designing and constructing buildings. Many firms come together to produce a building, and once that project is complete, this unique team disbands to form another project team for the next building. This industry needs a mechanism enabling us to work together, in real-time, using our information systems with the same ease of a project team that works for the same firm and sitting in the same physical location. Fueled by the technology building blocks of a BIM cloud, it is now possible to build an AEC Collaboration Hub. This article will outline how firms could work in this Hub today, forming a building “supply chain" that could possibly be the future of our industry.

Towards the second half of the month, the focus turns to the 2012 AIA National Convention and Expo in Washinton DC, and we will catch up with what's new with the different AEC technology vendors, for many of which the AIA Expo is the largest event of the year.

Lachmi Khemlani, Ph.D.
Founder and Editor, AECbytes

May 2012