AECbytes.com Blog » Viewpoints

Adopting Lean Practices in the Architectural/Engineering Industry

Lachmi Khemlani — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:43:36 +0000

Lean Business Practices have been adopted in many industries such as automotive design and build, aircraft design and build, and ever increasingly by leading construction companies. What are the best practices the Architecture/Engineering (A/E) design industries can adopt and utilize? David Haynes, Director of Consulting for Ideate Inc., sheds more light on these issues in this Viewpoint article.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2012/issue_63.html

The AR LAB: A Vision

Lachmi Khemlani — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 06:21:54 +0000

In this Viewpoint article, Paul Seletsky, who is the Digital Design Director at KieranTimberlake Associates, questions the current architectural education approach of providing sophisticated design tools to students, only to have them go on to practice professionally for decades on another level using outmoded means. He envisions another approach, where applied research centers would bring architects, universities, and the public together to advance Building Design using the latest Digital Design tools. Under the imprimatur of the national architectural association and in affiliation with local universities, well-equipped and staffed architecture research labs (AR Labs) would enable students and practitioners to develop design ideas both physically and digitally, build 3D mock-ups, learn new fabrication methods, and perform energy analyses and simulations via BIM.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2011/issue_62.html

Debunking the Myths About BIM in the “Cloud”

Lachmi Khemlani — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 19:04:36 +0000

In this Viewpoint article, Viktor Várkonyi, CEO of Graphisoft, discusses the fundamentals of cloud computing, including the four different approaches to it popularized by different companies such as Amazon, Google, and Apple, and then turns to specifically discuss BIM implementation in the cloud. He debunks the notion in the AEC industry that BIM already has or will very soon have fully moved to the cloud, and discusses the two main factors that should be taken into account when cloud computing for BIM is being considered.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2011/issue_61.html

Would You Like Some Chilli Sauce With Your BIM?

Lachmi Khemlani — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:04:54 +0000

This Viewpoint article by Christopher Pynn and John Hainsworth, who are both Associates in Arup’s Sydney Office and actively involved in its BIM development and implementation, ponders on the question of “What is BIM?” and comes up with some interesting analogies between BIM and cuisine. Along the way, it also discusses Arup’s approach to BIM. It is a refreshingly candid article, and the analogy with food is unique and witty and makes for a great read!

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2011/issue_60.html

Message to the Project Management Software Industry: You need to learn ESPERANTO

Lachmi Khemlani — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:26:18 +0000

Esperanto is an artificially constructed language, developed with the goal of being a lingua-franca across nations speaking different tongues, in the hope of facilitating collaboration, cooperation and good will. In this Viewpoint article, Gustavo Lima, Principal and Director of Construction Administration at Cannon Design, focuses on the need for Project Management applications to speak such a neutral language to each other, so that they can be used by all AEC professionals to communicate directly with one another, without the need for duplicate data entry and while keeping their own data secure and private.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2011/issue_59.html

Beyond BIM – It’s Not the End of the Road!

Lachmi Khemlani — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:43:39 +0000

Current academic research in AEC aims to understand the steps beyond BIM, which will help chart the future of our industry over the coming decades. This Viewpoint article by Robert Amor, University of Auckland, New Zealand, and Robert Owen, University of Salford, UK, describes an international research effort in this area, coordinated by the Integrated Design and Delivery Solutions (IDDS) initiative of the CIB (International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction).

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2011/issue_58.html

A Personal View of Newforma as a Process and Information Model Tool

Lachmi Khemlani — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 17:37:46 +0000

In this Viewpoint article, Terry Nichols, who recently retired from HOK and is currently chairman of the Newforma UK User Community, discusses the value that can be obtained from organizing the processes and information employed during the design development phase of AEC, so that this experience can be checked for completeness and compliance with policies, procedures, building codes, etc. as well as re-used for future projects. He considers a possible solution to this through the use of Newforma as a tool to guide, monitor and capture processes and experience in order to evolve better ways of working.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2010/issue_57.html

BIM from Thirty Thousand Feet

Lachmi Khemlani — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 19:13:08 +0000

In this Viewpoint article, Brian Lighthart, who is a project architect doing commercial and light industrial architectural projects and has been using BIM for several years, puts forth the proposition that no one really has a global perspective of the complex set of issues involved in BIM, despite it being a global revolution in design methods. But there ought to be a group dedicated to taking an overall view, and be doing something big with that view.

http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2010/issue_56.html

Driving Construction Project Success through Neutral, Trust-Based Collaboration

Lachmi Khemlani — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:05:49 +0000

In this Viewpoint article, Dexter Bachelder, Aconex VP Americas, argues for the need to drive construction project success through neutral, trust-based collaboration. To consistently complete large-scale construction projects on time and on budget, AEC firms have to develop a collaboration strategy and mechanism that will work for all the stakeholders in a project, allowing them to operate efficiently with a level of trust usually developed within a single organization or team.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2010/issue_55.html

Performance Analysis Technology and Radical Design Change for Carbon Neutrality

Lachmi Khemlani — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:43:58 +0000

In this Viewpoint article, Dr. Don Mclean, Founder and CEO of Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) discuss what radical changes need to be undertaken to the design process, changes in mindset required, and the important role Building Performance Analysis software plays in enabling the Lean, Clean, Green approach that is needed to achieve zero-carbon building design.

URL: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2010/issue_54.html