Collaborating in the Cloud on Large Construction Projects - Part 2

Interview, Part 2: How design, engineering, and construction teams are using data-driven BIM, VDC, and cloud collaboration to improve onsite construction outcomes

Welcome back to our interview with Chris Heger, Vice President and CIO of OAC Services and chair of the BIM/VDC Steering Committee for the Microsoft Redmond campus modernization project. We have been talking about how Microsoft is using data-driven building information modeling (BIM), virtual design and construction (VDC), and cloud-based collaboration to help five architectural firms, multiple engineering companies, and scores of contractors coordinate their work on our five-year project.

This 72-acre project has five integrated “villages” that encompass 17 new multi-story buildings, a rich array of indoor and outdoor amenities, and 2.5 million square feet of office space. It is being designed and built in overlapping phases on a fast-track schedule. To date, design and construction documentation continue on its villages, and creation of the 22-acre underground garage has begun in earnest.

In Part 1 of our interview, Chris shared how BIM, VDC, and cloud-based data are helping our teams work remotely for offsite planning, design, and engineering. Here, he explains how these same technologies are improving the efforts and success of crews in the field.

Salla Eckhardt: What effects have BIM and cloud-based collaboration had on in-field accuracy?

Chris Heger: As you know, requests for information (RFIs) are common during construction. There might be an issue with how something is supposed to fit, or a defect or omission in the planning or logistics that wasn’t caught. Then you have all these crews and expensive equipment sitting idle while the problem gets resolved. Two basic rules of BIM help us significantly reduce RFIs. First, if it’s not in the model, it doesn’t get built. Second, you cannot put anything into a model if you don’t know what it is, where it goes, and how much you need—the three most common RFI questions. On this project, we are always pushing the data and poking at our models to expose, and eliminate, potential defects which are RFIs. Everyone is working in the same cloud-based coordinate system that exactly replicates the physical environment. BIM is fundamental to the organization of all this data and the interdependencies. We can let the software do the heavy lifting of finding errors that would have led to issues in the field, which saves us in lost time and money. We gain more predictability and certainty about the real-world outcomes, which leads to better execution and lower risk of cost and schedule overruns.

SE: What other ways are these technologies assisting with onsite construction?

CH: With BIM and VDC in the cloud, everyone builds every detail in virtual reality as if it were a physical reality, and each element in the model has a process that goes with it. Many of our contractors have become really good at mining this data. They can point to where the work is going to go and convert it into actual onsite tasks. For example, the question, “How do I put that piece of pipe in?” can be answered directly by the model, guiding how crews do their work. Another benefit is that we can precisely predict materials requirements with BIM-based quantity take-offs. In the old days people might bring an extra 5% to 15% material to the job site. That’s a lot of extra embedded carbon, plus fuel to haul it in and out again. With BIM, we’re getting to the point where we bring only what’s needed. All these efficiencies help us reduce on the onsite waste of materials, motion, and embedded carbon.

SE: Small changes onsite happen all the time. How do you ensure the BIM models remain accurate and trustworthy as work progresses?

CH: We’ve made a real effort on this project to have two-way field verification of the models and their real-world settings. First we’re looking at the kind of RFIs that are still surfacing in order to learn from them for future modeling. Second, we are using Total stations, photogrammetry, and laser scanning to verify elements’ locations as they are installed, then bringing that data back to the models. This validation alerts us to any in-field discrepancies or changes, so we can either immediately repair them onsite, or adjust the models to reflect the final location. This increases quality, reduces the risk of errors, and provides Microsoft with an as-built that could be referred to as a “truth-built.” This has a triple positive impact of higher quality, lower cost from waste of rework, and greater schedule certainty.

SE: Do you have any final advice for AECO teams wanting to make this kind of leap into cloud-based design and construction?

CH: Everything we are doing with BIM, VDC, and the cloud reflects the Digital Building Lifecycle approach that Microsoft is applying to its campus modernization. Ours is obviously a mega project, but even if you’re just starting out and doing a $30 million project, you can gain the same kinds of benefits. My best advice is to be very purposeful in focusing on the quality of your data and understanding the many ways it can serve you. Data will come from many different systems. Take the time to define how it will be structured and who will use it. Make sure it’s useful to cross-functional teams in all stages of the project. And think longer term than just construction. A year ago we started thinking about how are we going to turn the data and models over to Microsoft so they could be used by facilities management, operations, finance, designers, and the occupants of the buildings. It’s possible to have hundreds of thousands of people use this data over a building’s lifetime, and coming up with a structure that works for everybody is one of the best practices I can think of.

Part 1: Collaborating in the Cloud on Large Construction Projects