Dive Brief:
- At a forum on the state of building information modeling (BIM), representatives from New York-based Case and Bechtel reported on ways they are using it to improve processes and please clients.
- Tyler Goss, who is director of construction solutions at Case, said a client wants to "datafy" all the information about its building so it has a complete working model of the structure going forward.
- Dr. Peter Carrato of Bechtel demonstrated a way to combine BIM software and information from a robotic total station on the site to design rebar so it can be fabricated ahead of time off-site to save actual construction time.
Dive Insight:
Bechtel's use of real-world data from the construction site actually reduces the amount of information the model has to store and manipulate and permits more accurate estimation of materials. BIM remains, however, the province of larger design firms and projects.
