Communication problems in the AECO sector

For several years now, the construction sector has seen its productivity decline. This productivity, if analyzed carefully, is inversely proportional to the growing number of communication media and new technologies that have entered the market. Information is shared through so many locations, formats, and software that it is difficult today to obtain up-to-date information. The more projects expand, the more chaotic everything becomes. Controlling all this data is precisely one of the challenges every Professional Project Manager (PMP) faces every day. In fact, many people are needed to track all of a project’s information and ensure it is available throughout the entire project lifecycle, so that it can be shared and used in case of future problems. 

Does construction software help solve problems?

BIM has demonstrated improved coordination and higher quality in project delivery, but it also poses a challenge due to the multiple technologies involved. We might expect a draftsman or technician to be proficient in BIM software, but what about the project manager? Realistically, most professionals in the AECO sector aren’t accustomed to navigating in 3D from a mobile device. Instead, they use construction management software that is easier to use but far from effective in terms of communication. This complicates the sector’s shift in mindset toward the use of BIM. 

Traditionally, construction management software requires a specific description of a problem, including the objects involved, the location of the building, the further procedure for solving the problem, and so on. buildingSMART International has decided to standardize a new BIM collaboration format called BCF (BIM Collaboration Format) , which improves interoperability between the different systems used to communicate and coordinate on a project. Management platforms such as BIM Track already use open BIM standards like Open BIM and support the buildingSMART initiative .

What differentiates BIM Track from traditional construction software?

First, BIM Track is an online issue management platform that offers visual representations and summarizes a number of tasks into a single task: describing the process for resolving a problem along with all the information, such as geospatial location and screenshots, automatically collected from the building information model itself. By keeping everything online, people with questions or problems can quickly find all the information. The main objective of this new method is to eliminate email as the primary means of communication , as this leads to duplicate content and can often lead to confusion. With BIM Track, there is only one way to proceed: keep the information up-to-date in a cloud so that any user can access it over time. Compatibility is guaranteed by exporting a project under the open BCF standard. 

Secondly, construction management software is not widely used by designers, creating a barrier to collaboration between designers and builders. BIM Track was designed to maintain a connection with BIM through the use of BCF, providing a better approach to solving the problem in its original context: the building information model. The workflow has been optimized because open standards can increase the value generated by companies, minimizing wasted time throughout the project duration and increasing efficiency (also shared by Lean principles).

Why aren’t BIM review software working?

Unfortunately, software manufacturers expect all issues to be managed through design software, but that’s not the case in real life. Most BIM review platforms on the market, such as clash detectors or markup software, can’t make information accessible in other software used by other project stakeholders. However, with BIM Track, it is possible. Tracking an issue also requires a unique identification code. If the issue isn’t registered in a centralized system on a cloud server, the identifiers can be cloned by different people working online, resulting in poor tracking and communication.

Finally, BIM Track provides a way to not only store issues but also manage and track them over time by defining the issue type (clash, data deficiency, and modeling method), assigning metadata about an issue (location, priority, and creation date), changing statuses, managing user feedback, defining roles, maintaining information, and evolving the model to make it more accessible to all team members regardless of their experience or platform.

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/problem-communication-aeco-industry-carl-veillette