Elevator Pitch

This has actually been a common question since transferring to the Technology Solutions Center. I’m working in the same office, but not doing the same sorts of tasks as before.

Civil Integrated Solutions

This is the name of our new section, but it’s not great at explaining our mission. Our primary goal as a group is to help designers transition from 2D CADD to 5D Geospatial BIM. This is best achieved by thinking in terms of model-based design that focuses effort on a federated virtual model of the proposed project.

Why? What’s in it for me?

One of the perks of my job is that I get the opportunity to explore and utilize lots of new, shiny tech. Truthfully, there is a certain amount of 80’s hair band glitz in things like gaming engines that can photo-realistically render a model at 60 frames per second. But technology has to serve a purpose, and the purpose is this: We are going to build the project virtually first, so that we know how to do it for real in the field.

To answer this question specifically: when done correctly, model-based design can drastically reduce rework and eliminate monotonous tasks. Most road designers have battle scars from fighting through cross-section sheets where some revision needs to be made by hand over and over again. The equivalent on the bridge side is the junior engineer that spends an afternoon counting rebar, then punches those numbers into Excel and hopes that that the link to Microstation is still working so that the Bill of Materials will be updated properly. The key linchpin in our proposal is utilizing a shared model as the single source of truth for all design data. The plan sheet deliverables are then just a byproduct of the modeling effort a snapshot of the state of the design at a particular point in time during the design process. The quality of the plan sheets is greatly increased because they are all derived from the same source of data. Where in the past you might have found yourself cross-checking each and every strip grade elevation on a profile sheet against the annotation on the cross sections, now you can spot check a few select locations and rest assured that these differing viewpoints of the design will always be right because the model forces that consistency. Design verification happens on the fly, with inter-discipline reviews occurring each time that party updates their portion of the federated model. Additionally, quantity takeoffs and cost estimates become much more accurate when they are automatically and directly derived from the model, versus being computed or taken off manually from the plans.

How about another analogy?

This truly is a transformative experience and a major change to business as usual. I’ve heard users make the comparison between CADD and BIM as being similar to moving from typewriters to Google Docs. The metaphor holds up well, because each typewritten page needs to be assembled to create a book. However, modern publishing is much different - the authors and editors can collaborate sentence to sentence and page to page in realtime while maintaining a version history of each draft and each edit that was made. Milestone points can be set in the document and the working version can be rolled back to a previous snapshot. What’s more, an author can explore multiple plot twists and work through “what if” exercises that provide a more informed outlook on the best way to get to the protagonist’s victory. Then once the book is final, the data can be re-rendered instantly into multiple formats for distribution - one format goes to the printer for generating physical books. Another format will go to Amazon for distribution on Kindle. Other options might include PDF and HTML. End-users with electronic versions can instantly get errata corrections over the air - or even see books update to a newer version when available.

… for the low, low price of ZERO dollars!!!!

Other benefits of model-based design are the additional things you get “for free”. Visualization is a great example of this - by creating an intelligent federated model of elements that include material information (e.g. concrete, steel, asphalt, wood), the geometry of those elements can be realistically rendered for static pictures, video animations, and even VR experiences. Stakeholders can immerse themselves in the model and quickly understand nuances of the work. A picture is worth a thousand words, and a view of the model is worth a thousand plan sheets.

Additionally, pay item information that is incorporated into the model can then flow easily into construction and reduce effort in the field while simultaneously improving the quality of material records and inspection documentation. Plus, the best time to inventory an assist is when it is going in the ground or otherwise being incorporated into the work. Pictures, measurements, and survey data during construction inspection can then flow through to the enterprise asset management system.

No silver bullet

What’s the catch? This type of paradigm shift is challenging. It will take time. There will be some pain and agony along the way. But the benefits greatly outweigh the short-term growing pains. Plus, you don’t have to swing for the fences right out of the gate. A handful of solid base hits will quickly score runs. Implementation can happen in stages - one project might be better suited to a focus on visualization, whereas another may be a good candidate for asset capture during construction.

Summary

Come on in, the water’s fine! I personally was fortunate to work in a model-based design environment early in my career with a number of very talented individuals. I have also spent multiple years in the more traditional “2D of this plus 2D of that plus some Excel gets us kinda there”. I know which environment I would rather operate in, and if you’re being honest with yourself, I tend to think you’ll probably agree.