Can you guarantee that the completed building will match the performance predicted by the analysis in its day-to-day operations?
- Why or why not?
You definitely can’t. As we’ve discussed a really efficient production system is a pull system, which characterizes by being a system that matches the supply with the actual demand. The building and its corresponding analysis represents a huge improvement when establishing the demand, but as aan industry we need to set measuring systems to understand the supply in its day to day operations and actively provide feedback to designers to imporve the accuracy of the models fro the beginning utilizing real world data.
When choosing settings for each of the building performance factors, should you always choose the setting that gives the absolute lowest predicted energy use?
I do not think you should. In life it’s important to be optimistic, but also to be realistic. From a marketing standpoint it is very tempting to utilize the lowest predicted energy use, but it is far more important to achieve a low-energy use building rahter than just design it.
How can you use Insight feedback to make design choices regarding materials, lighting, PV, etc.?
It’s a great tool to finally make tradeoffs with informed decisions. When choosing materials, at the beginning you may be tempted to utilize a lot of glass or estetic looking materials. Through Insight, we discovered the importance of selecting materials with a high R value to prevent the transfer of heat, and create a insulated building, and reduce the necessity of HVAC systems, which require a lot of energy consumption.
4D simulations are often used to show the construction sequence for an entire project, but shorter simulations that focus on a specific period of time are also useful.
- Can you provide examples of how a simulation that focuses on a 1 or 2 week period could be useful for planning?
In Lean Construction, we utilize weekly simulations to plan as we get closer to the actual work and the uncertainties are reduced by the systematic reduction of our project’s constraints. We utilize weekly construction sequence on site to visualize how different trades in the field are going to work collaboratively in certain period of time.
What level of detail should be included in a 4D simulation?
- Should you include all of the elements in the building model?
I think that the more the better. Nevertheless there is always a tradeoff between time invested and quality of the information provided. In the actual jobsite we are always running, so enough to be clear.
How can the feedback shown in a 4D simulation help you to optimize the project schedule?
- What are the main benefits of linking model elements to the project schedule?
You understand and visualize how different trades are going to work in the field.
How can model-based quantity takeoff improve the design process?
How can designers improve their designs using the information provided by preliminary estimates of the cost of building their design ideas?
In target value delivery, you first set the design price constraint, an then you design from it, rather than the traditional approach of designing and then putting a price to it. If you have a parametric link between your model and your takeoff you can utilize this to iterate and be creative to reach that desired and fixed price constraint.