What are the primary goals of creating a building model? Who are the key stakeholders?
◦ What does each of them need from the model?
From the perspective of the mining industry and acting in the owner’s role, the main goal of creating building model is to deliver a solution that meets the business need with strictly defined schedules and costs. This level of certainty is only achievable if the Front End Engineering Design is fully developed. The secondary goal is to optimize the design and identify engineering issues virtually, well before the physical construction begins.
◦ What do they care about most, and where do those priorities conflict?
Based on my experience at Codelco (the world’s largest copper producer), the key stakeholders are internal departments, specifically the Capital Projects area and Operations & Maintenance Areas. At this poin, several pfactors intersect and conflicts in terms of cost and schedule: The project’s investment, its lifespan, the maintenance cost over a given period, and the return on investment time frame. it becomes essential to have all the information as detailed as possible to make any decision, whether it involves every single element a model might contain or choosing the type of plant to build.
A drawing is a picture of a building. A model is a description of one.
◦ What questions can you ask a model that you cannot ask a drawing?
how do the different engineering disciplines interact within the building?; How does the building interact with the specific site where it will be built?; What preliminary works are required before starting construction? Does anything need to be demolished? What spatial interferences or clashes exist in the sorrounding enviroment?
◦ Are there things a drawing still communicates better? Give an example.
Although models offer greater clarity due to their three-dimensional nature and are vital during the engineering phase, drawings can still ve clearer in the field for two reasons. The first one is cultural, as all generations are used to reading drawings during the construction process. The second is that there are specific disciplines where a minor error can cause severe issues. a very good example of this is single.line diagrams in the electrical discipline, reversing the polarity can cause major damagen to the equipment.
This course splits the work across Forma, Revit and Forma Data Management.
◦ What is gained by using a different tool for concept, documentation and coordination?
◦ What tends to get lost in the handoffs between them?
◦ Who on a real project team is responsible for making sure nothing is lost?
Where should a building model actually live?
◦ What are the practical consequences of a model living on one person's laptop?
◦ What changes when the model lives in the cloud, for the designer and for everyone else?
You will make hundreds of modeling decisions this quarter.
◦ Which ones are worth being slow and careful about?
I would say that decisions addressing the business need based on cos and schedule are the ones that must be made carefully. At this stage, maintaining a constant dialogue with the stakeholders is essential.
◦ Which are worth being fast about, accepting that you may redo them? the specification of service components, equipment brands (e.g., pumps and fans), or the preliminary routing of piping and equipment that provide services to the building.
◦ How would you tell the difference before you have made the mistake?
The best method to anticipate a risk is to know what the project’s objetives are and what needs to be resolved. having this clearly defined provides an excellent starting point for making the right decisions.