CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
17 May 2004
Company News
New Study Probes Benefits and Best Practices in Implementing Autodesk Building Information Modeling Platform
Autodesk, Inc. announced the release of a new industry report analyzing the process changes, benefits, and challenges being experienced by firms currently implementing building information modeling with AutodeskŪ RevitŪ software. Autodesk commissioned noted industry analyst, author, and consultant Dr. Lachmi Khemlani to conduct this impartial study on Revit implementation in practice. The resulting report offers invaluable guidance to industry professionals about to embark on this new way of working.
"The parametric building modeling technology of Revit has revitalized the architectural profession and brought the fun back into design," said Khemlani. "Those who have persevered in their learning and use of Revit have come to love the application and find it anathema to go back to traditional CAD. For them, the practice of architecture will never be the same again."
This is the first in-depth and objective study of the impact of building information modeling on architectural practice.
Dr. Khemlani conducted the study using written questionnaires and phone interviews with architectural firms ranging in size from 3 to 700 people and personal visits with two practices widely implementing the Revit platform. She also analyzed and incorporated information from an online survey of Revit users conducted by Autodesk.
A majority of firms reported major gains in productivity using Revit software. A 300-person firm reported that for several projects, Revit allowed them to use only half the number of staff than were in their original budget, and that they completed the work twice as fast. A 400-person firm found that the automatic coordination capability of the software saved time and reduced errors, allowing them to perform space planning and design development with fewer team members.
Firms also indicated that the Autodesk Revit building information modeling approach allowed them to expand their client services and enter new markets. One 50-person firm that specializes in information management services found the Revit ability to derive and deliver accurate and coordinated drawings, spreadsheets, and 3D views from the same set of information has greatly extended the firm's capabilities, allowing them to break into new markets efficiently.
"Autodesk Revit has improved our process of design because we can understand spaces in three dimensions," said Daniel Huntsman, president of San Francisco-based architecture and interiors firm Huntsman Architectural Group, which participated in the study. "Revit lets us store data about the building in a model, making it much easier to present information to our clients and to leverage that information for expanded property management services."
The study found that implementing the building information modeling approach requires changes in the ways architects work, including learning how to change workflow, how to staff and assign responsibilities, and how to budget time and personnel. The results of the study suggest that firms need to give priority to developing a clear and effective implementation strategy at the start.
Many of the firms had to overcome initial staff resistance to change. For example, one 64-person firm reported reluctance among longtime users of traditional CAD software. However, once they saw how easy Revit was to learn and use, resistance dropped off dramatically.
A number of respondents were initially concerned about working with Revit software on larger projects until they learned the best ways to use the application on complex projects. Supporting customers who are adopting Revit, Autodesk Consulting provides implementation and training services for Revit, including specific guidelines for working on large projects.
A copy of the white paper summarizing the study's findings, Autodesk Revit: Implementation in Practice, along with other material about Revit, is available for download from http://www.autodesk.com/revitdemo
Lachmi Khemlani has a Ph.D. in Architecture from UC Berkeley, specializing in intelligent building modeling, and is the founder of Arcwiz ( http://www.arcwiz.com/ ), a consulting and training company in the area of computer-aided building design. She writes regularly on CAD, BIM, and AEC technology in industry publications, and is the founder and editor of AECbytes ( http://www.aecbytes.com/ ), an online publication devoted to analysis, research, and reviews of AEC technology.
Lachmi's credentials include a professional B.Arch. (Honors) degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India, and an M.Phil. in Architecture from the University of Cambridge, England. She has worked on numerous design projects as a practicing architect, and taught CAD and 3D modeling for several years at UC Berkeley. She gives presentations before both professional and academic audiences, and continues to stay closely involved with the research community, serving on the editorial board of the journal Automation in Construction.
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