March 10, 2009

Construction and design industry leaders launch Canada BIM Council

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

After four months of preparatory work by a group of industry volunteers, a self-regulating organization has been put in place to provide building information modeling (BIM) advocacy and support services.

The mission of the Canada BIM Council is to provide a non-proprietary advocacy, resource and standards council dedicated to supporting business, professionals, educators, purchasers of construction and related services in navigating and applying best practices when deploying BIM.

The management team consists of pioneering BIM architects Allan Partridge and Paul Loreto, Tom Strong of EllisDon, Albert Celli of Halsall Associates, Mark Casaletto of Reed Construction Data and Derek Smith of the London & District Construction Association.

The council was federally incorporated in mid-December.

Smith, the London construction association’s executive director and the council’s interim administrator, says the council is a “natural fit and necessity for this important process advancement in the way projects are delivered.

“The entire industry will be going through a sea change in the next two years and beyond,” he said. “We at the council believe the industry will be looking for leadership and a focused voice to tie it all together.”

The council will be funded wholly by membership revenues.

Smith has sent a letter to about 60 associations across Canada seeking their endorsement and support as founding industry partners.

Until May 31, the membership fee for founding industry partners is $630 (including GST) for the remainder of 2009 plus the entire 2010 calendar year. Associations, educational institutions and government agencies qualify for this special rate.

Smith said the council is expected to be fully functional with a “content-rich” website, suite of member services and framework for model certification standards within the next three to six months.

Once the council is self-sufficient financially, staff and an executive director are expected to be hired.

“We intend to strike committees to gain input from industry constituents on best practices, contract issues, advocacy and technology platforms,” Smith said. “We are asking local, provincial and national cross-discipline association leaders to get involved in serving on the committees.”

BIM is defined as a process that delivers construction projects using parametric modeling of the building in virtual space prior to construction.

The model is then passed from discipline to discipline along the project delivery chain, with content being added and extracted as needed by the consulting and constructor teams.

The model ultimately contains all pertinent information including building materials and specifications, constructability details, environmental design and building lifecycle data.

Smith, whose association is setting up Canada’s first BIM training centre to be housed in a local construction association, said BIM as a construction project process is gaining “an ever increasing presence” in architectural and engineering circles in Canada.

“It is poised to transmit rapidly through the estimating, supply chain and construction phases of a construction project as a condition of contract by building owners and construction services buyers.”

Strong, BIM development manager at EllisDon, said there is a need for cross-disciplinary collaboration “to ensure clients gain the full benefit of the BIM design and virtual construction process.”

EllisDon currently is using BIM at the Woodstock Hospital project for “clash detection,” construction phasing, facility performance and lifecycle maintenance purposes.

“Architects, builders and building operators need to work together to streamline and develop best practices suited for all players in the industry,” Strong said. “The formation of a neutral organization, the Canada BIM Council, is both critical and timely as Canadians begin to take advantage of these new sophisticated tools.”

Casaletto, vice-president and general manager of Reed Construction Data – Canada, said that while the industry is “constantly introduced” to new technologies and processes that have a positive impact on workflow, “every so often a transformational technology emerges that has the potential for having a major impact on many fronts.

“We feel BIM will change the way our industry works for the better,” Casaletto said. “The impact of this technology shift will be significant and not biased to any one sector, but across the entire spectrum.

“This is a global shift and not just unique to Canada. We are very excited to be part of it.”

The council’s web site address is www.canbim.com. E-mail inquiries can be sent to admin@canbim.com.

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