Technology for Construction at World of Concrete 2008

Last week, I attended the annual World of Concrete show that is held in Las Vegas around this time every year to check out the latest offerings on the technology front for construction professionals. The World of Concrete is, of course, much bigger than just the technology aspects and caters to all areas of construction, including building products, materials, construction equipment, etc. It attracts over 80,000 attendees and over 1,700 exhibiting companies, making it the commercial construction industry’s largest annual international event. I had attended the show in both 2005 and in 2006, where Technology for Construction had a more formal presence, with several seminar sessions on different aspects of technology implementation in construction as well as an Executive Forum featuring some of the top executives from AEC firms and technology vendors. Since 2007, however, the conference aspect of Technology for Construction has been minimized, but it still forms an important component of the Exhibit Hall, hosting a variety of construction-specific technology products. This AECbytes article captures the highlights of some of the key technology solutions that were on display at the show.

BIM for Construction

The most significant aspect of this year’s Technology for Construction event, in my perspective, was that we were finally seeing some BIM (building information modeling) solutions being exhibited. In the past, I have expressed my disappointment at not seeing mainstream BIM technology vendors such as Autodesk, Bentley, and Graphisoft at this show, considering that they are otherwise actively promoting BIM as a revolutionary technology that goes beyond the design phase to impact construction and lifecycle management as well. Therefore, I was delighted to see Vico Software at the show this year, exhibiting its Virtual Construction line of solutions. You will recall that Vico was spun out of Graphisoft’s Virtual Construction Solutions as a separate venture, shortly after Graphisoft’s acquisition by Nemetschek AG last year. Graphisoft had released the first version of its Virtual Construction Solutions in December 2004, and I had presented an overview of them in AECbytes Newsletter #15. Vico Software has continued to develop and expand the solutions and provide the necessary consulting and support services around successfully implementing it. The 2008 version has just been released, and the software is gaining good traction among construction firms, with several high-profile users such as Swinerton, Turner Construction, Webcor Builders, Skanska, and others. Some of the projects on which the Virtual Construction solutions have been used are shown in Figure 1.

Vico’s Virtual Construction Software suite consists of six integrated solutions that are designed specifically to bring the benefits of BIM to construction companies. At the hub of the suite is Constructor, a dedicated construction modeling application that covers architectural, structural and MEP modeling, allowing contractors to create detailed Virtual Building models of their projects. The  main difference between these models and the BIM models you can create with individual disciplinary tools such as Revit Architecture, Tekla Structures, ArchiCAD, and so on is that an object in Constructor includes a detailed “construction recipe” that specifies various quantities and scheduling related attributes relevant to construction. Also, in Constructor, you would typically build the model as it would actually be built in the real world, for which a knowledge of construction is absolutely essential. Once the model is created, quantity-takeoff is automatically available and is quick and accurate. The extracted quantity and location data serves as input to two of the other applications in the Virtual Construction suite, Vico Estimator for generating cost estimates, and Vico Control for create project schedules. What is also impressive is the enormous flexibility in which the project can be broken down for estimating and scheduling—by floor, by zone, by building, by discipline, by material, by element type, by location, and so on (see Figure 2). This allows for extensive “what-if” analysis, and allows the construction team to explore many budgeting, scheduling, and procurement options, including those related to lean construction and fast-track construction. They can also effectively leverage the use of the 5D Presenter tool for this purpose, which is another tool in the Virtual Construction suite. It combines the building model data along with schedules and cost information to provide a unified and interactive 5D simulation of the project’s progress. Rounding off the suite are two additional applications: Cost Manager, which allows visual monitoring of the differences between the project budget and actual cost; and Change Manager, which automates the process of checking for drawing revisions across construction drawing sets. (For more on Change Manager, please see my review of it published in 2006, when it was still a Graphisoft application.)

Another development that could help the construction segment of AEC move closer to achieving the benefits of BIM was the recently announced acquisition of Tectonic Partners Inc., a BIM content provider, by Reed Construction Data, which was one of the exhibitors at the Technology for Construction show. I had the opportunity to meet the executives of Reed, and learn more about their plans for further developing the products and services of Tectonic, and integrating them with their own popular RS Means cost data products. I had provided an overview of Tectonic’s BIM Library Manager and Family Content Publisher applications, which deal with the organization, management, naming and selection of Revit object families used in the creation of Revit building models, in my article, Supporting Technologies for BIM Exhibited at AIA 2007. Going forward, Reed plans to create libraries of both generic and manufacturer-specific objects that also include RS Means cost data. They will also continue working on the Quantity Takeoff tool that Tectonic had started developing, and retool it so that it works with the RS Means cost data that will now be included in the objects in the model. This will allow for much more accurate cost estimates, both at the design stage where architects can explore the cost tradeoffs for different design decisions, as well as at the construction stage, where contractors can get a better understanding of the costs and avoid budget overruns.

Document Management and Construction Management Solutions

The biggest exhibitors at the Technology for Construction show typically are the vendors who provide integrated suites of solutions for traditional construction tasks such as financial management, project management, document management, bidding, project scheduling, and cost estimation. These include CMiC, a leading provider of enterprise and project management software for construction; Sage Software, best known for  Sage Timberline Office, an integrated suite of financial and operations software that includes estimating, accounting, project management, procurement, service management, and property management solutions for construction and real estate businesses; Microsoft,  with its Dynamics solutions specifically targeted for construction and contracting for all aspects ranging from bid proposal through project completion; and Dexter + Chaney, which develops the Spectrum Construction Software that includes 30 integrated modules for project management, construction accounting, service equipment management, human resources, document imaging, remote connectivity, data sharing, and others.

I had the opportunity to take a closer look at Project Document Manager (PDM), an online document management system jointly developed by McGraw-Hill Construction and ReproMAX that was launched in March 2007. It is designed specifically for the AEC industry (particularly for construction managers and general contractors) with the objective of enabling more efficient management of the workflow process throughout the project lifecycle, from design through bidding, project management, project closing, and operations and management. While it is similar to other web-based project management solutions in its ability to allow project-related documents to be easily shared and readily accessible at any time, it also has several additional benefits. To start with, since the system is powered by ReproMAX, one of the largest international networks of independent printing and technology companies in 350 locations around the world, construction documents can be quickly and easily routed to ReproMAX local printing outlets for printing and shipping at any time. Also, since it comes from McGraw-Hill, PDM can be integrated with McGraw-Hill Construction Network content, including tracking, viewing, and sharing the Dodge Reports for news, plans, and specifications. Other advantages include the system’s flexible and open architecture which makes it compatible with popular project management tools used by AEC firms such as Meridian’s Prolog; integration with on-screen take-off; the ability to markup or comment on documents, both online and offline; comprehensive version control of documents; management of the entire bidding process including sending out the invitations, reviewing the status, and viewing and managing all responses; a built-in pre-qualification system for subcontractors; and faster and smoother project close-out with electronic, searchable archiving of all project documents.

Another document management exhibitor was Construction Imaging Systems (CIS), which provides document imaging systems for construction companies, including the hardware, software, installation, and support. Working on the premise that the most critical issues for contractors are complications arising from lost or missing documents, productivity issues, regulatory compliance, security of information and integration of company information, CIS allows all paper documents to be scanned and converted into electronic format. These documents, along with others that are already available in electronic format, are then organized and managed, based on the type of document. The end goal is to have a completely paperless office. CIS also integrates with many construction accounting and project management solutions so that users can still derive the benefits of those systems while taking advantage of CIS’s imaging technology.

Manual Takeoff and Estimating

As an industry, we are still very far away from the mainstream use of automated, BIM-enabled, takeoff and estimating solutions such as that provided by Vico Software. This fact is brought into sharp focus at the Technology for Construction show, which has a plethora of vendors exhibiting manual take-off and estimating solutions based on 2D drawings. In fact, many of these vendors actually host a number of takeoff workstations at their booth, where contractors can learn how to do takeoff, either from paper drawings using a digitizing tablet or from digital plan files on a computer. One of the biggest exhibitors in this category was Maxwell Systems, a well-known provider of construction business management software, which acquired two leading estimating technology software providers—Quest Solutions, Inc. and Estimation, Inc.—in July last year. The objective was to provide a single integrated solution to construction firms that covers both the estimating and job-cost accounting process. What helps to distinguish Maxwell’s takeoff and estimating solutions from the many competing solutions that were on display at the show is its concept of interactive 3D Visual Assemblies, which brings some of the benefits of 3D to the estimating process. After you have digitized a structure, you could open the corresponding Visual Assembly showing its detailed graphical representation, adjust the parameters or quantities of the components as needed, then save the Visual Assembly and send it to your estimate to generate quantities and costs. The application comes with a large number of Visual Assemblies for all standard structures in packages for different types of construction. An example of a Visual Assembly showing the various parameters that can be adjusted is illustrated in Figure 3.

Other vendors whose takeoff and estimating solutions I had the opportunity to see included Vertigraph, whose solutions integrate directly with Excel and which also provides solutions for calculating cuts and fills for building sites; and On Center Software, which has a suite of products that integrates takeoff and estimating with preparing accurate bids and subsequently tracking a project’s status, labor, and budget. I also came across PlanSwift, a new and relatively inexpensive takeoff and estimating application. It works with all the major CAD and image file types including DWG, DXF, TIFF, PDF, and PLN, allowing contractors to open up a drawing in any of these formats and start the takeoff process. The application has a nice interface and seemed very easy and intuitive to use, with features such as finding areas and wall length totals and counting items by simply clicking on them, see-through plan overlays that allow easy lining up of different levels to find bearing points, and the ability to measure footage, pitch, and angles with a simple point and click. A screenshot of a drywall estimate created using the application is shown in Figure 4.

Other Product Highlights

Among the other notable products that were exhibited at the show was Bluebeam PDF Revu, a sophisticated PDF editor that allows AEC professionals to create, view, markup, and edit PDF files to streamline their electronic workflows. Revu includes a plug-in for AutoCAD that provides one-click file creation, batch creation and conversion to 11 formats. It is the PDF format, however, that is the focus of its electronic design review capabilities. Revu includes an extensive list of markup tools including options to add text, symbols, stamps, images and bookmarks to customize PDF files as well as a built-in measurement tool for electronic takeoffs (see Figure 5). Existing text in the document can be modified or deleted, allowing last minute changes and corrections to be easily made. Another innovative feature is the ability to open up to sixteen separate tabbed views simultaneously, showing the same document or different documents. They can even be synchronized so that all views pan and zoom in unison, making it easy to compare document revisions. Comments and markups can be tracked and managed to facilitate the review and approval process between project team members or clients. I found the interface of the application to be visually pleasing and intuitive to use. Bluebeam is planning to release a new version of Revu next month, which will feature some additional interface enhancements, new PDF editing and markup tools, and additional functionality in the measurement tool.

I was also impressed by a product called SolidBuilder, which is a BIM solution customized for residential design similar to VisionREZ (see my review of VisionREZ 3.0 published in 2005), except that it also helps you create the design quickly in a series of simple steps using a technology termed as “Building Blocks.” This is nicely captured in a video demonstration on the SolidBuilder website. You start by answering a few basic questions about the design of the house. You are then presented with the basic room blocks in a simple graphical interface, where you can lay them out according to the desired plan. SolidBuilder takes this schematic single-line layout and converts it to actual walls objects in which you can place doors and windows. It then constructs practically the entire 3D model of the house so that it is ready to build, complete with wall and rook framing, foundations, stairs, and other details. The model continues to maintain its intelligence, so that if you stretch a wall, for example, it automatically reframes the wall with one click and reconfigures and optimizes the materials including top plates, bottom plates, headers and sills, studs, jacks, sheathing, etc. As with other BIM applications, working drawings are automatically produced, along with schedules, framing diagrams, cut lists, layout lists, and itemized material lists for different elements. I found SolidBuilder particularly fascinating as it pointed to how the concept of BIM can work with established domain intelligence to automate several aspects of design, thereby making it smarter, faster, and easier. Of course, residential design is one of the simplest building types and therefore the easiest to automate in this manner, but in time, we may see similar systems being developed for more complex building types as well. (Interestingly, the word BIM does not appear anywhere in the product description of SolidBuilder, even though it is very much a BIM solution.)

The final product on my list is not strictly a software application, but a handheld construction camera called iBEAM, that allows visual information on the site to be recorded and transmitted live via the Internet to offsite locations for various tasks such as construction review, conflict checking, project management, scheduling, and so on. It can be used by the contractors managing the work, by architects and engineers to verify conformance with contract documents, and owners and developers to monitor the progress on their products, all without requiring them to travel personally to the site. The project team can stay updated on the status of the project and discuss and resolve issues as soon as they arise. iBEAM also makes the more traditional onsite web camera that can be mounted near the project site, which captures and posts an image every 15 minutes, allow the construction status to be checked at any time and providing monthly and project-end time-elapsed movies for analysis and project archives.

Conclusions

A visit to the Technology for Construction show is always an eye-opening experience for me and a good reality check on the true status of technology in the AEC industry. The glut of manual takeoff and estimating solutions that were being exhibited shows that, at least on the construction side of AEC, drawings are still very much the norm. Nevertheless, it was heartening to see Vico Software make its debut appearance at the show and start familiarizing the attendees with the concept of BIM. The acquisition of Tectonic Partners by Reed Construction Data is also a promising development that should help push the usefulness of BIM in construction. Hopefully, the BIM trickle that has started at Technology for Construction this year will turn into a deluge at some point in the coming years. Only then can BIM claim to have really arrived in the AEC industry.

About the Author

Lachmi Khemlani is founder and editor of AECbytes. She has a Ph.D. in Architecture from UC Berkeley, specializing in intelligent building modeling, and consults and writes on AEC technology. She can be reached at lachmi@aecbytes.com.