Maybe IFC works better in cold regions, especially under -20 degrees:)

A couple of days ago, I was speaking with one the Graphisoft Product Managers and I mentioned him that IFC is not the most trusted file format in the Middle East.

After this statement of mine, I was expecting a response like this:

"Ohhh I know! It has to be developed further but we are fully dedicated to OPEN BIM and we believe IFC is the future."

But no, that wasn't the answer.

He was pretty much surprised with my statement and he said he was recently visiting large Scandinavian contractors using ArchiCAD and they were extremely happy with IFC.

WOW! Very unexpected answer!

Since then I have been trying to find a good answer why IFC has totally different reputation in the Middle East and Scandinavian countries. Following are the possibilities I could think of:

• Maybe it's easier to manage IFC files on smaller projects.
• Maybe Scandinavians are more experienced with BIM.
• Maybe Scandinavians has lower expectations from IFC and they are happy with whatever they get:)
• Maybe IFC works better in cold regions, especially under -20 degrees:)

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 Puff! I really don't know!

Have a great Sunday!
Diyane Koseoglu
www.bimes.com

How to view 2D Lines in 3D?

A long lasting issue!

Viewing 2D lines in 3D! Some says it is crucial some says no need for such feature...

If you are asking my opinion, my answer is "YES". I didn't know how to do it until Jothi came up with this video.

I hope you enjoyed it:)

Diyane Koseoglu
www.bimes.com

Top 10 BIM questions

This time it's not my top 10:)

I came across with a nice article by Dr Stephen Hamil, Director of Design and Innovation and Head of Building Information Modelling at NBS.

He listed the top 10 BIM questions and gave answers to these. The questions are as following and please go to this link for the answers:

1. What is BIM? (the good old question)
2. Who owns the BIM? (I totally agree with him)
3. Who will make the most money from BIM? (as you see it's not only BIM providers:))
4. What are the legal implications of BIM? (The link he refers don't work. This is a questions which bugs me a lot and still very unclear in the Middle East.)
5. Is the UK falling behing the rest of the world on BIM? (Hahaha! Seems like every country is thinking they are falling behind. Good to know it's not only Middle East:)
6. How will industry help BIM adoption happen smoothly in the UK? (owners mandating BIM doesn't sound harsh to me. I think it is the only way to go forward fast)
7. Is there a single BIM or many BIMs? (unexpected answer for me!)
8. Is affordability an issue and how can smaller practices be persuaded that BIM is a worthwhile investment? (I agree)
9. How do master specification systems fit into BIM? (puff... the most boring question)
10. How do cash and carbon fit into BIM? (I agree)

I enjoyed the article and I hope you will as well.

Diyane Koseoglu
www.bimes.com

Which BIM Adoption Option is suitable for your company?

We all know every company has it's own unique culture and way of doing things. This includes the adoption method chosen while implementing BIM as well. In general we can categorize the BIM Adoption Methods into 4:

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

1- TOP DOWN: The decision is made by the management and dictated to the team. Sound horrifying, right? But not at all. One of the most successful methods. It requires a very strong and charismatic Manager to take the decision and make sure that it is executed. The team should be supported heavily in terms of technical issues during the implementation. I have seen 2 examples of this type and one of them is BIMES:) Our CEO decided to switch to BIM over night. We had an implementation period of 1 month and then all the 2D softwares were removed from the computers. It was a very stressful period for the team and even some members resigned as they did not like the change. Actually it wasn't a totally bad thing as we ended up with a team of fully dedicated team to BIM:) Within 1 year we reached to a level that the training guides and custom components prepared by our team were acquired by vendors.

 Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

2- BOTTOM UP: The employees discover BIM and they self-study the tools. BIM is promoted by these employees within the company. To be honest, I haven't seen this in the Middle East.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

3- PARALLEL: This is the most common method in the Middle East. BIM is tested on a Pilot Project by outsourcing. If the test is successful the company starts a BIM Unit (usually 10 engineers). This initial team gets training from professional BIM Implementation Companies. They act as the pioneers and once they are experienced enough, they start spreading the knowledge within the company. This method is a bit slow. It takes 1-2 years for the BIM Unit reach the expected level.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

4- ORGANIC: This is the combination of all above. Employees are enthusiastic about BIM and even some of them have experience. The management is also familiar with the process and support the team to develop their skills and give them opportunity to use BIM in the projects. It requires the lowest initial investment. I haven't seen this happening in the Middle East yet. I think it's again due the large organizations and also not having experienced engineers in the region. Maybe in 5-6 years time, mid-scale companies can apply this method.


Well, now it's your turn to decide which one is the right method for your company!

Let me give you one more tip! Almost all our clients prefer "3-Parallel" but if you are brave enough and you company size is max 50 I would recommend "1- Top Down" for the fastest results:))

Diyane Koseoglu
www.bimes.com

2 Projects from Middle East in ArchiCAD 16 Installer Images

Hello!

Today is the first working day after the Eid Holiday. 4 nice days...

I had a bit of difficulty to come to the office this morning. It was like a "Monday Stress on Steroids":)

Anyway, I am here with good news...

We have been awarded as BIM Service Provider for a "prestigious" project in the Middle East. Amazing design, amazing location and wow names... I am dying to give the details but we have not signed a marketing agreement yet so I do not want to get into trouble. I am sorry but we need to wait some time.

Talking about "prestigious" projects, have you seen the projects from our clients in the ArchiCAD 16 installer? Al Mohanna Tower, Qatar and Emirates German Hospital, UAE.

In my meetings, many times I heard the sentence below:

"I know ArchiCAD is very popular in Europe and Australia but it's fairly unknown in the Middle East."

Well, now I can easily say
"Not really! Just try installing ArchiCAD 16, you will see it yourself:)"

Have a great day!
Diyane Koseoglu
www.bimes.com

Why large contractors are switching from other BIM Tools to ArchiCAD?

Recently there is a new trend which is quite interesting.

Large contractors are switching from other BIM Tools to ArchiCAD.

Common things with these contractors are:

• Invested large amount of time and resources on the implementation of other BIM Tools.
• Developed  significant materials on the BIM Tool they implemented initially. These materials include templates, modeling guides and standards
• Have not investigated ArchiCAD before making the decision of implementing other BIM Tools.
• They all have very professional teams who are perfectionists and they check the outputs very carefully. Making dummy models for clash detection is not what they want. They want real BIM. With "I" in the middle.

What I see is after a couple of projects with other BIM Tools, they start searching for other options and start establishing an ArchiCAD team. They run some projects in parallel and finally decide to continue with ArchiCAD.

Here the important question is "Why? Why do they change to ArchiCAD after investing so much in another BIM Tool?"

Image from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It's not because ArchiCAD has a beautifully designed interface!
It's not because BIM Server makes life so easy!
It's not because ArchiCAd is a much more mature solution!
(I mean all of above are true but they usually do not justify burning up all the investment done)

The main reason is ACCURATE QUANTITIES in ARCHICAD!

Image from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Quantities are the "Deal Maker" or "Deal Breaker" for contractors. If your BIM Tool does not give you accurate quantities, it will cost you profitability and sometimes even the project. (I wrote a post earlier about getting accurate quantities with minimum efforts actually. You can read it from here.)

This means switching to a ArchiCAD and getting accurate quantities will payoff within the first project even. I am pretty sure the savings on the first project will cover up both the implementation cost of ArchiCAD and the money and time invested on the previous tool.

As you see, it makes sense:)) Wise decision...

Actually they also mention the way ArchiCAD handles large models was also an important criteria! But I don't think it's the main reason. (This is my personal, humble opinion:)))

As my boss always says "Contractor is Contractor" :)))

PS: I haven't seen this trend with architects and consultants. They usually stick with the first tool they implement. Interesting, right?

Diyane Koseoglu
www.bimes.com

ArchiCAD Tip! Empty opening with X Symbol both on Floor Plan and Elevation

Good Morning Everyone!

Today we have an ArchiCAD Tip!

How to create an empty opening with an X symbol both on floor plan and elevations. This is a request that we received from our Service Team and Jothi find a handy solution.

Guess what! We used Morph Tool for this:)) Jothi will explain you the reasons in the video.

However there is a small problem. It does not adjust to the width of the walls. We were not sure if we should share or not at the beginning. Actually we uploaded to object to BIMComponents.com last week and also prepared the video but when Jothi noticed the problem we removed everything.

This week, I saw that the Service guys are using the object happily. Yes, it has some problems but solves the more important issues. So I thought it might be a helpful tip for some of you too.

If you want to check the object you can download it from here.

Enjoy!

Diyane Koseoglu
Jothi Shanmugam
www.bimes.com