BIM and LPS improve project management

There is some discussion in construction today about which is better to use — Building Information Modeling (BIM) or Lean Construction. You need to consider what each process offers before choosing one over the other.

BIM is the process of generating and managing building data during a building's life cycle. BIM uses 3-D, real-time, dynamic building modeling software to increase productivity in building design, construction and maintenance. BIM includes building geometry, spatial relationships, geographic information, and quantities and properties of building components. BIM can include 4-D simulations to see how part or all of the facility is intended to be built.

While Miller Bonded Inc., a mechanical contractor in Albuquerque, N.M., had been using 3-D drawings for several years for its own work, the company decided to take it a step further and use BIM on a project for the University of New Mexico. The architect/engineering design firm met with Miller Bonded, the general contractor and other key subcontractors on the job to see the building before it was built. In just one area, the model identified more than 40 conflicts where the ceiling needed to be lowered to accommodate the utilities. When the design engineers saw the conflicts, they volunteered to lower the ceiling.

Miller Bonded had paid for the modeling cost and when it reported that its detailing costs would be over budget, the project manager for the job had Miller Bonded submit a change order of about $25,000 to cover the additional costs. It would have been much harder to get the designers to lower the ceiling or to fund a change order if it was not a BIM job. Everyone on the project saw the savings from using BIM. It helped reduce workspace conflicts and construction problems that are not seen in typical design efforts, but surface during construction.

Last Planner System
The Last Planner System (LPS) is one tool of Lean Construction that is popular among contractors. In construction, the “last planner” is known as the field supervisor/foreman who assigns work to the crews. LPS consists of developing and using several key plans along with a weekly meeting and constraints measurement.

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