Vancouver Transportation Network Project Captures Autodesk BIM Experience Award

Autodesk has announced that H5M has been selected to receive the latest Autodesk BIM Experience Award. H5M is a design joint-venture team comprising engineers from Hatch Mott MacDonald (HMM) and the MMM Group.

The H5M team is being honored for its innovative application of a building information modeling (BIM) process for the $2.46 billion (CDN) Port Mann/Highway 1 (PMH1) project for the Ministry of Transportation of British Columbia. The H5M team is also being recognized for its use of Autodesk software for BIM, including AutoCAD Civil 3D software, to help create a sustainable solution designed to manage traffic congestion and accommodate growth through 2031 and beyond.

Initiated in 2007, the PMH1 project is part of the Ministry of Transportation's Gateway Program, which is designed to address current and future transportation needs in the greater Vancouver area. The project is one of the largest transportation network projects currently under way in North America, and involves the construction of a new Port Mann Bridge and widening 37 kilometers of Highway 1, the Trans-Canada Highway linking Vancouver to the rest of British Columbia and Canada. Other onshore work includes reconstruction of 13 interchanges, construction or rehabilitation of more than 42 bridges, and the reconstruction of a complex highway interchange at the end of the Port Mann Bridge. Design and construction are expected to take five years, and must accommodate existing traffic. As of August 2009, the project design is about 40 per cent complete.

"BIM and a shared core AutoCAD Civil 3D model have helped boost our productivity, enhanced our design coordination and decision making, and improved conflict checking and overall multi-discipline collaboration," said Chris Mealing, design manager at H5M.

--JPL

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How Government Can Foster Digital Cities: Singapore's Example

How Government Can Foster Digital Cities: Singapore’s Example

Geoff Zeiss, Director of Technology

 

 

e-submission

 

Digital submissions are mandatory in Singapore.  Singapore's e-submission system means that when making a submission for a building permit, DWG, DGN, DXF, DWF, or PDF files are mandatory, paper is not accepted.  The process of moving to electronic submissions began a decade ago and took about four years to complete.  The organization responsible for building permits in Singapore is the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).  When a submission is received, it is reviewed by 16 government agencies, seven of which review the application in detail, and the BCA has the final authority to grant or reject the submission or ask for clarifications or modification.  The objective of mandatory e-submission is  efficiency with the objective of reducing the time and effort required to review submissions.  Singapore’s objective is  to automate the review process and is optimistic that BIM will help make automation practical.

 

BIM submission

 

Currently, e-submission requires 2D drawings with layers defined according to a BCA standard.  At the present time e-submission of building information models (BIM) is partially supported.  Architectural BIM models from Revit and ArchiCAD are accepted, support for e-submission of structural BIMs is in progress, and e-submission of MEP BIMs will be starting later in the year.  

 

More Intelligent Urban Models

 

As architects move to e-submission of BIMs and civil and utility engineers develop model-based designs for transportation, utility, and telecommunications networks, urban planners will increasingly have access to model-based digital data which will enable much more intelligent modeling of urban environments.

 

(Many thanks to Ho Chow Jin of Autodesk Singapore for information about Singapore’s e-submission initiative.)

 

-JPL

 

Why 3D Models will Drive the Construction Process

Why 3D Models will Drive the Construction Process

Terry Bennett, Sr. Industry Manager

 

In an industry conversation with Tim Tometich, GPS division manager, McAninch Corporation at their offices he stated: “Traditional processes of paper plans, stakeout sheets and grade stakes used to take up to a week to implement. Now with GPS machine control and 3D models from designers, that same size project can take hours. This allows us to reduce fuel consumption, idle time, air pollution including greenhouse gas emissions, and material waste while providing our clients with a more accurate product. We believe that starting from 3D models to drive the construction process is the way of the future.” Why should all heavy contractors care about models and BIM – well two very important aspects – time and cost.

 

Here is what McAninch has been able to do achieve:

·         Increase productivity by up to 50 percent

·         Cut redundant survey costs by up to 90 percent

·         Reduce fuel consumption (and associated GHG emissions) by 43%

·         Grade check accuracy of 98% vs. traditional staking of 45%

 

What have others been able to achieve:

·         Contractors who recently invested in GPS machine control paid for their systems within 13 to 18 months

·         70% of respondents report that GPS machine control increases their opportunities to bid contracts

 

The Net Net:  Models + GPS Machine Control = more efficient operation, reduced material use and waste, lower fuel costs, and more accurate results.  It’s a way to green heavy construction!

 

-JPL