Delivering bim projects in the caribbean

Delivering BIM Projects In The Caribbean
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ABOUT US
Argo Development Studio was founded by its Managing Director, David
Campion.
David has lectured and tutored at the School of Architecture, DIT, Ireland and
has over 20 years of industry experience in design and development, working
across a number of sectors in the US, across Europe and in the Caribbean.
The delivery of a number of award winning ‘design build’ projects inspired David
to create his own Development Studio that focused on achieving greater
efficiencies in the design and development process.
Argo provides efficient expertise, cost certainty and on time delivery to its
clients. Argo safeguards the project journey, from concept to completion
through strong leadership serving as a client guardian of built asset delivery.
HERE ARE SOME OF OUR CURRENT PROJECT LOCATIONS
DUBLIN – LONDON – BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS – BARBADOS – HAITI – TRINIDAD –ST.VINCENT - JAMAICA

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CONTENTS
Delivering Bim Projects in The caribbean..........................................................................................4
Virtual Environment – 3D....................................................................................................................5
Clash Detection System.....................................................................................................................7
Scheduling and Planning – 4D.........................................................................................................8
Cost Management – 5D ......................................................................................................................10
Sustainability – 6D ..................................................................................................................................11
Life Cycle and Facilities Management – 7D..................................................................................13

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DELIVERING BIM PROJECTS IN THE CARIBBEAN
What does BIM mean?
BIM is an acronym for Building Information Modelling.
What does BIM do?
BIM will revolutionise the construction industry throughout the Caribbean. This digital
technology introduces a way to design that is more adept than the likes of traditional
CAD drawings. BIM is a process incorporating new more effective techniques and
technologies that will result in a better and more efficient project. Quite simply, it allows
us to build better buildings, faster and cheaper by producing digital data in a more
accurate, better coordinated and managed way. BIM encourages a collaborative
approach to the design and project management of buildings through the new world
of digital construction that will greatly benefit clients, designers, contractors and all
other key stakeholders.
Traditional 2 dimensional drawings focus on Length, Breathe and Depth using lines; BIM
However adds more dimensions into the process, such as Time, Cost and Performance
Management. BIM provides an accurate virtual model of a building which has been
digitally constructed using ‘Smart Families’. These families are individual digital models
within your overall project model that consist of many parameters allowing you to
populate the families and in turn the project model, with numerous amounts of data, as
seen in Figure 1.

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FIGURE 1 - EXAMPLE OF DOWNLOADABLE SMART FAMILY (BUILDING DOOR) USE TO POPULATE MODELS.
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT – 3D
BIM, simulates the construction process, which is represented in what is called a “Virtual
Environment.” This Virtual Environment is data rich, encompassing various models of the
project, such as Architectural, Structural and MEP Models. These models are then
combined to form the project’s Federated Model.
BIM’s structured approach, which results in a federated model consisting of precise
geometry and relevant data, guides the fabrication, construction and procurement
activities, needed to formulate the 3D visualization model, as seen in figure 2.

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FIGURE 2 – 3D VISUALIZATION MODEL
The new tailored approach implemented by the BIM process provides a unique
opportunity for the digital technology to resolve several problem areas faced by CAD
projects. Most notably being inefficiencies on the job site due to poor coordination,
communication and lack of accuracy, which leads to time and cost wastages.
CAD consists of mainly just lines on paper that are incapable of truly interacting with
each other and relies chiefly on an error-prone process to identify problems throughout
their early stage of project development. This translates to following up every change in
one view to make sure it corresponds with other views, to ensure that no conflicts have
occurred as a direct result of the recent amendments. As such, drawings made by CAD
are nothing more than just lines on a paper whereas, with BIM aided projects, however
these lines are part of families and are capable of understanding properties (such as
space requirements, manufacturer requirements and operational processes) which can
alert designers to any conflicts present, such as pipe work conflicting with a structural
beam.

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CLASH DETECTION SYSTEM
SO HOW DOES THIS ACTUALLY WORK?
BIM software utilizes a Clash Detection System to pinpoint conflicts throughout the
design process before the design can be finalized. The goal here being to cut cost
associated with ill-timed delays due to unforeseen problems and protection of the
quality of design as seen in Figure 3.
FIGURE 3 – CLASH DETECTION SYSTEM
Interestingly, before computerization, a conflict was identified via a manual procedure
of overlaying drawings upon a light table to identify any observable conflicts.
Moreover, 2D CAD did nothing to solve this conundrum as it basically worked in a similar
way. It was with the advent of the new 3D representation that took into consideration
the identification of conflicts. However, throughout the industry little changed as
architects still opted for old practices and the 3D technology when utilized left a lot to
be desired, as for the most part, it was unable to pinpoint problems relating to spatial
irregularities if objects were within each other. This meant that even early adaptations

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of the technology were still time-consuming and proved utterly pointless, with only
potentially serving to reveal minor clashes.
To solve this problem many software packages used in the BIM process have
implemented the integration of clash detection search capabilities into its software. This
meant that the speed and accuracy at which clashes were identified were enhanced
significantly and issues that would normally hold up construction are being solved
before the project even makes it to site. This evolution of BIM technology was taken
specifically from the gaming industry which has been utilizing a similar system to avoid
virtual items from moving through each other. BIM software became smarter with the
introduction of families, now capable of carrying and understanding data in direct
relation to itself.
Not only does the process of BIM speed up the problem solving of clash detection, it
also breathes new life into areas such as Scheduling and Planning, Cost Management
and also the Life Cycle and Facilities Management of a project, in turn making each
sector far more efficient. These areas are brought in and considered at much earlier
stages of a project and, similarly to clash detection, many problems are solved before
they have even occurred.
SCHEDULING AND PLANNING – 4D
Timing can be a major issue on a project. Traditionally projects get held up due to issues
arising on site and thus the timeline for the project end date gets pushed further on. The
process of BIM allows Gantt charts or spreadsheets of project timelines to be integrated
into Federated BIM Models allowing us to create virtual construction simulations from
the very beginning to the end of a project before you even break ground.

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FIGURE 4 – SCHEDULING AND PLANNING (4D) WITHIN THE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT
This process, which can be as detailed as a step by step 3D simulation of how a detail
should be constructed and how long it should take, points out more potential conflicts
and helps to further shape the projected end date of the build, so that we can deliver
the project on time.

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COST MANAGEMENT – 5D
When using CAD to form a project you draw in lines, however 3D modelling within the
BIM process introduces families. Almost everything in the project model is a family.
Examples of these, are everything from Walls and Floors, to Doors, Windows and all
forms of Furniture. These families are integral to the process of BIM and contain what are
know as parameters. One thing these parameters allow us to do is add material cost to
a family, so for example if it knows the cost of concrete per cubic metre, we can follow
a straight forward procedure where the computer calculates the amount of concrete
used in the build and also exactly how much it will cost, it then produces the material
take off itself. This significantly speeds up the process of having to trawl through
drawings determining where concrete is being used and then adding it all up to
calculate the total cost.
FIGURE 5 – COST MANAGEMENT WITHIN SOFTWARE

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SUSTAINABILITY – 6D
The building simulation capabilities of BIM assist property owners as well as facility
managers in achieving sustainability goals for green building models and energy
efficient building structures. We are able to make informed scientific decisions very
early on in the design process thanks to accurate components of software packages.
These components help us to do numerous amounts of things to achieve greener, more
energy efficient buildings such as, using solar and shading studies to better understand
the positioning and orientation of a building on a specific accurate geolocation to
optimise or minimise the amount of light entering the building at different times of the
day, leading to design decisions such as, window location or the possible introduction
or omission of canopies, or other shading devices, based on the accurate scientific
results achieved within the software testing. It can also lead to vital energy saving
decisions such as, at what orientation and how many solar panels would be needed on
the roof in order to maximise the amount of solar energy gained and in turn minimise
the amount of cost spent on energy use in the building. Some other examples of
components that can be utilised in these software packages can give us calculations
on heat loss or gain, air flow in to, out of and through the building, internal
temperatures, humidity levels, natural internal illumination at all times of the day,
carbon levels and HVAC system requirements. All of this data can then very simply be
turned into straight forward, easy to read graphics to help understand your greener
building design more clearly. With this comprehensive understanding on sustainability
trials and importance of inhabitant comfort and safety, we encompass comprehensive
support across design, analysis, evaluation and verification of energy efficiency in
buildings. BIM can assist during design and throughout the whole project lifecycle by
using this data to enable faster, safer, less wasteful construction and more cost-

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effective, sustainable operation, maintenance and eventual decommissioning.
Figure 6 – Whole Life Cycle
SYNCHRONISED BIM INPUT PROVIDED BY ALL PROJECT PARTNERS’ AIDS SUSTAINABILITY IN MANY WAYS:
 Plan changes made while the project definition is still flexible can be
accommodated without cost and time penalties.
 Whenever one team member makes an alteration, all other disciplines are
aware and can adjust their input or find an alternate solution.
 BIM enables instinctive clash detection, eliminating the need for ad-hoc solutions
and saving time, cost and materials.
 Harmonisation of design, cost planning, production and construction allows for
precise ordering of materials and equipment, eliminating waste and rework.
Sustainability development introduces Facility Management which will build upon some
of the groundwork put in place by the earlier stages; in making sure that the project
upkeep is dealt with in a systematic manner ensuring feasibility is maintained
throughout the life cycle of the project.

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LIFE CYCLE AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT – 7D
Another parameter that can be given to these families is one dealing with
maintenance and life cycle of an item, be it anything from a window to a refrigerator.
This data can then be pulled out onto schedules making it quick and easy to form
operation and maintenance guidelines, telling you how something should be looked
after or when something needs to be changed, and ensure the longevity of the
building after handover. As well as this, the projects Federated BIM Model including all
project data will be given to the client at handover. Then down the line if changes
need to be made, such as an extension to the building, the Federated Model,
consisting of all the families, will have the relevant information to allow that process to
be quicker and easier than it would ever have been before.
FIGURE 7 – FACILITY MANAGEMENT
In conclusion, BIM is critical in order to achieve high efficiency and productivity
throughout the Caribbean construction sector. The adaptation of such technology,
when integrated successfully, as seen throughout Europe, will transform the manner in
which we design and project manage buildings.
Clients need not be worried about BIM, but be cognizant of the benefits as our BIM
experts will assist you and your team with any BIM related queries which you may have.

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Contact us today and make your next project, a BIM Project!
 Tel:1-246-428-1182 • Email: administration@argo-ds.com
 Website: www.argo-ds.com

Delivering bim projects in the caribbean

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