BIM and FM people, new Labs Project

I hope you facilities management types out there, that are keeping an eye out for such things, have noticed the new project from Autodesk Labs.

They're currently testing an application which provides a link between Maximo and Revit (for those non-FM people, IBM Maximo is a CMMS, or a computerized maintenance management system, aka, work orders).

You can get download and test here. If you can try it out, be sure to provide feedback, that's what they want and need to see if they can make this a viable product.

From the Labs site:

Richly attributed data about building assets, that are developed in Revit during the building design and construction phases, can be published directly into Maximo during commissioning or at building "handover," thus supporting more immediate and efficient use of Maximo once the building is occupied. The Revit asset data can be exported in the COBie data specification, if desired. In addition, the BIM/3D asset data can be viewed inside Maximo, in context with Maximo applications and processes.
The technology preview consists of an add-in to Revit 2013 and integrated visualization of Autodesk^® BIM 360 Glue^™ viewer inside Maximo Version 7.1 or newer.

Autodesk® BIM 360™ Glue is a data-centric, cloud-based management solution for building and infrastructure projects that provides easier access to project models and data to support collaborative, multidisciplinary workflows across authoring tools and project control applications. It enhances cross-team coordination globally as updates are made more quickly available in project models. For more information about BIM 360 Glue, please go to www.autodesk.com/bim360

Download an introductory video here. 

My facility has not yet upgraded to Maximo, but, I hope we'll be able to get it done soon.

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AUGI 2012 Salary Survey is Revamped!

As promised last year, I decided to take a fresh look at the AUGI Salary Survey this time around. The questions hadn't changed much from the original format I inherited when I started with the 3rd survey, so the whole thing was pretty much scrapped, and we've started with a clean slate.
I appreciate all of the input from fellow AUGI members, as well as my instructors and professors at SLU.

This year's survey consists of 24 questions, roughly broken down into four areas:
Your demographic
Your role
Your company demographic
Your industry's state

As always, this is an anonymous survey. I am the only one who will ever have access to the database of individual entries, the answers cannot be tied back to you or your company in any way, and the information will only be reported in broad groups.

I did bring back some popular questions that will enable us to trend back for a couple of years. But, there will also be some new questions to help focus on the state of our industries.

Did you receive an increase or decrease in pay? Are you thinking about leaving your job? If so, why?
What market does your company serve or how do they specialize? Has your workload increased or decreased this year? Has your outsourcing increased or decreased this year? Have you let subscriptions lapse or purchased new software and hardware? What percentage of your projects are BIM, and, if you are doing BIM, why? Is cloud computing a go or no-go? How did you find your current role, through networking or advertising?

The AUGI Annual Salary Survey is about so much more than just salaries.
BUT! Of course, we all need to participate in order to have data from which we can draw valid conclusions about which industries are performing the best, which have the happiest and most secure employees and so much more.

Application Engineers, Programmers, Architects, Designers, Managers and Coordinators (CAD/BIM/Project, etc), Drafters, Trainers, Interns, etc... speak and be heard!

The survey ends August 4th, get your answers in now and see the results in the September 2012 issue of AUGIWorld Magazine!!! 

(wordle mashup of markets served and specialties)

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Autodesk Facility Management Suite 2013

IF Autodesk delivered a Facility Management Suite (which they do not), here is what should be in it.


Facility Management Suite - Standard

AutoCAD MEP
Revit MEP
Raster Design
Image Modeler
Vault

For the Premium Suite, add Showcase and Constructware
For the Ultimate Suite, throw in Green Building Studio

Yes, I know what a couple of you are thinking. You're wondering why I did not include Navisworks (or Adobe Acrobat Viewer) on my list.
Navisworks Freedom is not a Facilities Management (CAFM) tool, and Navisworks Manage has some great features, but, they are extreme overkill for day to day operational needs.

If some have found uses for Navisworks post-construction, in the built environment, that is great! But, in the opinion of someone who has been working in the Facilities Engineering department of a six million square foot medical center (where any given space is renovated once every thirteen years, but, maintained every day) for well over a decade, I declare that it is not a viable approach long-term.

See this conversation on the AUGI forums for thoughts and ideas from both sides of the fence:
http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?117785-Linking-Data-Spreadsheet-to-Navisworks-for-Facility-Management

We take in data from various construction projects. We archive the project, then work the MEPFP components into a patchwork quilt which we work off of. If we make one-off changes in-house, those will be drawn up and changed on our documents (using AutoCAD MEP or Revit MEP). We then distribute bits and pieces of this information to architects, engineers and general contractors who work on the 50-75 construction projects we have going on around our campus at any given time.
Since we are over 100 years old now, we do have a vast library of scanned blueprints spanning a century of new construction and renovations. Raster Design would be a fabulous addition to our toolset, filling in gaps in our more current electronic records.
With so much information in our archives (that might need to be accessed at any random time), and with such a geographically scattered work team, a good data management solution is in order.
 In their spare time, our staff engineers attempt to find ways to modernize our buildings and reduce our energy consumption. Once they identify projects, they must sell them to our executives in order to compete for the scant funding available.

Well, now that I have shared what should be in an Autodesk Product Suite geared toward the Facilities customer, I will be serious for a moment and let you know that I will soon have the opportunity to post a review of the AutoCAD Design Suite, if you'd like the chance to read about something that actually is for sale.

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Medical Facility Moves from AutoCAD to BIM

This is the first article in a series, documenting the process that a multi-million square foot hospital went through to make the big move from 2d to 3d.

Moving from AutoCAD to BIM for Building Floor Plans – The Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State University’s BIM Implementation Project

By Joe Porostosky, Senior Manager of Facilities Information and Technology Services at The Ohio State University

The Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State University is reaching the end of  a project to convert all of our buildings from 2D AutoCAD drawings to 3D Building Information Models.  This project covers 53 buildings and slightly more than six million square feet.  Over the next five blog posts, my colleague, Brian Skripac, and I will share how the project was initiated, how it was executed, and the impact it has had on the Medical Center.

At that time, we identified the following as the immediate benefits of the implementation:

    High quality 3D visualizations
    Energy analysis and modeling
    Improved planning in the areas of space, operations, security, and others
    Improved drawing accuracy via field verification and further use of as-built documentation
    Time savings in updating to the BIM model following construction or renovation projects versus AutoCAD
    Utilizing industry standard drawing standards
    Improved communication with leadership and customers as it relates to space usage and layout

I encourage you to read the entire article. I'll try to remember to comment and link when the next installments are posted.

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What version of AutoCAD are you currently using?

This month AUGI is running a poll on the homepage, there are still a few more days left to take part, so please go to www.augi.com and cast your vote.

The survey is over on the right-hand column, below the Quick Links.

You can see the results of last month's poll in HotNews.
Please feel free to chime in, no matter what flavor of AutoCAD you're using... vanilla, LT, electrical, mechanical, architecture, mep...

Please pick the primary version you/your company is currently using. We'd really like to know.

I'll be adding a little bit of commentary on the article with the numeric results, and I'd love to quote you! Please add a comment below (or shoot me an email) with a quick reason for the version you are using. For example:

We're using 2012 (MEP) because we only have 3 seats in-house and work with a lot of outside files, so it is just simpler to keep on the current release. - Melanie Perry, facilities management

We're using 2005 (vanilla) because we use an add-on software that hasn't been updated to work on a newer version of AutoCAD. - Joe Schmoe, ABC HVAC

Thank you for your participation!

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OT: Blackout Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Learn_more

https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

http://www.cadablog.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-take-on-sopapipa.html

http://www.blog.cadnauseam.com/2012/01/18/dark-times-dark-sites/

And, of course, being as this blog focuses a lot on Autodesk software, here's a pointed statement reminding folks that, despite their appearance on crowdsourced lists, Autodesk does not, in fact, support SOPA.

http://autodesk.blogs.com/between_the_lines/2012/01/autodesk-does-not-support-sopa.html

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2011 - Finally

2011 is the year I was waiting for... looking forward to finally completing my Bachelor's degree at age 31. Not quite as soon as I would have liked to do it, but, I'm happy for the opportunity to finish what I'd started so many years ago.

I have been rather busy with my studies and wrote a couple of posts on how I was doing, earlier this year, as well as back in 2009.

If you'd like to know a bit about the coursework I went through during my time at Saint Louis University, feel free to check out this list I put together as an additional page of the blog. There were certainly some fascinating subjects, and some useful and satisfying ones.

Of course, I could not have even dreamed of this without the support of my amazing husband, Mike, and the tolerance of our sons. I also benefited from the support of my boss and coworkers and fellow working students... you are all amazing people glowing with positive energy, Thank You!!!

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