I put on a presentation in NYC for the GSA about capturing the built environment in BIM. Accurate as-builts and models are becoming more and more part of their workflow and the interest generated from their solicitations is fantastic. A couple of things became very apparent and our endemic to the industry as a whole.
- An accurate BIM is becoming the common language of the industry.
- There are a wide range of stakeholders involved and that some get it and some are new to the band wagon and wonder how this effects their everyday.
- They are looking for new tools and ways to get this information.
- Since they are platform agnostic the need for a true transportable format, a la IFC. (Industry Foundation Classes).
My feeling was that we are at the early adopter phase and we have evangelists and then everyone else so the more we are able to educate everyone and the more cases and success stories we can include, the better. If you’re reading this I encourage you to post, link back, etc. so I can use them in my presentations and disseminate the information.
What this says for the industry is akin to McDonalds requsting free range chicken which intially might be met from their suppliers with ; “That will be to expensive.” “We are not set up to do that.” etc. but eventually will turn into “I guess we better start providing free range chicken.” The GSA has taken the lead here now it’s our turn to say, “I guess we better start.” I think this will be a great opportunity.
