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?
When choosing settings for each of the building performance factors, should you always choose the setting that gives the absolute lowest predicted energy use?
How can you use Insight feedback to make design choices regarding materials, lighting, PV, etc.?
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?
A very focused 1 or 2 week 4D simulation can be useful for conveying high depth information for a specific process or operation. For example, it may be useful for the team installing electrical utilities over a couple weeks in a portion of a larger construction project to have access to a focused, shorter simulation than one several months long that includes irrelevant information from their perspective. Focused simulations can also help avoid conflicting work between multiple teams in the same location (e.g. showing plumbing and electrical teams where each other’s elements will go to assist with planning).
What level of detail should be included in a 4D simulation?
- Should you include all of the elements in the building model?
It depends on the detail required for a specific audience or stakeholder. If, for example, you want to depict the construction of the project’s major structural elements (foundations, beams, joists, etc), then showing the addition of utilities and furnishings is likely excessive detail. For example, it isn’t relevant to the structural construction crew that cabinets will be added in a particular part of a particular room in the building long after they’ve left the site when all they’re doing is pouring concrete and laying beams. It is good to avoid excessive and extraneous detail, so different simulations depicting different elements could be useful for different parties.
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?
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?
Preliminary estimates of the cost of the building can provide a useful first check to help designers see if they are going overbudget (or at least approaching the budget limit). If they can see that one or more aspects of their design are too expensive for the given project’s resources, they can revise their design to use less expensive alternative materials (e.g. replacing an expensive tile floor for a cheaper laminate material), or to use less material in the first place with more efficient designs.