How to deal with the project needs.
The right hardware, as well as IT software, must be selected very carefully for each job. Before starting any investment, it is best to look at everything from above and ask yourself whether all the elements are in place or whether there is anything missing, in terms of both “heavy” (hardware) and “light” (IT) equipment. It is necessary to treat a project that is made up of many elements, as a single, coherent organism.
It is important to see the entire process as a single, compact whole. Nevertheless, this whole is made up of many elements, which is divided into teams of people. Each of these teams does different things. Each has its own field where it works. And, of course, everyone needs their own equipment.
The employee on the construction site.
An employee on the site needs documentation. All plans and charts can be in paper form – an experienced employee can read them all without any problems. For people with less experience, a 3D view is useful if the materials are in the drawings. If not, you need a tablet on which you can take a close look at all the diagrams. In addition, having the data on the tablet constantly updated is extremely helpful, at work, because it makes it more difficult to overlook the latest changes. With a permanent view of the drawing in digital form, you can apply each subsequent change yourself, as well as point out where it will need some detail, and also look at the 3D model yourself and point it out. The most important convenience of having a tablet on site is that it allows you to see the order of installation. In the case of self-opening, the employee will know where the other installations are located, which will minimize the error.
The employee in the design office.
For an employee in a design office, an ordinary desktop computer is far too little. The optimal set-up is equipment with a good work station, a very good graphics card and we consider at least two monitors as an absolute must. In the Domaszczyński & Team office we use a minimum of three monitors. Such a setting makes work much more efficient because it allows one to display a given project, properties and browser. Moreover, it gives an easy view of photos, notes, and also allows you to receive mail on an ongoing basis.
The software.
Good software is extremely important – top quality software that works flawlessly. A very good software for BIM is Revit. There is a lot of information about it online that you can read. I would like to point out here that Revit cooperates with other applications from its manufacturer (Autodesk), which translates into easy browsing by the builder or specialist from construction chamfering to 4D and 5D simulations. The ordering department can also use bundled programs: this software includes applications that suit all industries that are equally well developed and work well together. Revit itself is not the easiest program to use, but it is better to work on something that gives a broad package of possibilities than a relatively easy tool that does not offer satisfactory results.
The coordinator must have a Navis and a computer with a large monitor (preferably 2-3 monitors) and receive up-to-date documentation. As far as the order specialist and cost estimator is concerned, they either receive from the project team a statement generated and filtered by Excel or they are able to handle Revit in terms of creating statements. If the latter option is possible, the division of responsibilities must be established in advance at the very beginning of the project – based on a spiral communication model – so that the order specialist and cost estimator can move freely after filtering (e.g. restrictions on rooms, zones and parts of the building, floors or element types).
Managerial function.
The manager is a very important person in the construction process. Unfortunately, many companies employ such a person only to report and control the progress of work. In my opinion, a good manager should be someone more – a specialist; someone who has the knowledge and skills to look into the project and assess the progress of work. Just reporting on progress makes him or her a mere controller. In order for this model to work properly, a spiral model of communication between the manager and the team he works with and with the other companies involved in the project will be very useful. The equipment on which the manager would work is a powerful enough computer with a large monitor; it will certainly help him to browse projects in Navis, although Revit would be a better choice, as there would be no need to export files outside. As far as file sharing between design offices and construction sites is concerned, it is important to determine in advance when or how often our models will be updated.
Revit and license
I have mentioned the Revit programme several times and I have written that a lot of people need to have access to it. The license is not cheap, but in order to relieve the burden of costs, one server license can be made available to several people. For example, the manager could use it from 9 to 11, and the remaining time it could be used by the order specialist and customer.
As far as hardware requirements are concerned, let me give you an example of our office. We work on I7 computers with a minimum of 32 GB of RAM with Quadro M4000 graphics cards with 8 GB of internal memory.
If you have any doubts about what you need on your construction site, you will receive a clear and accurate answer by calling us. You will find the number on our website: domaszczynski.com
Wojciech Domaszczyński, MBA. Expert in construction, solving problems at the design stage so that they don’t occur during construction. #BIM
