Capital Projects Industry Celebrates Engineering & Technology Innovations Wednesday, 31 March 2010 10:20
AUSTIN, March 31, 2010--FIATECH recognized and honored nine organizations and individuals for their extraordinary work in developing and deploying innovative engineering and construction technologies, March 31, at the annual CETI Award Gala in Austin, TX. FIATECH established the CETI Award--Celebration of Engineering & Technology Innovation--in 2006 to promote and showcase innovative construction-related technologies that benefit the capital projects industry.
The panel of jurors who reviewed and evaluated the nomination included Andrew Guard, IT Director/CAE Director, The Shaw Group (Co-Chair); Steve Makredes, Director, Construction, Target Corporation (Co-Chair); Martin Fischer, Ph.D., Director, CIFE at Stanford University; Pierre Fuller, Ph.D. Candidate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Lisa Grayson, Capital Execution Technology Sponsor, Exxon Mobil Research & Engineering; Zuhair Haddad, Vice President, Corporate Affairs and CIO, Consolidated Contractors Company; Tom Sawyer, Information Technology Editor, Engineering News-Record; Nicole Tricoukes, Business Innovation Manager, Motorola.
Scenario-based Project Planning Category The Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center & Gehry Technologies BIM for Risk Management on Mega-Projects
The project demonstrates value planning coupled with an ongoing Risk Management Program at The Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center (LMCCC). It involves the use and implementation of VDC/BIM to facilitate risk modeling and management on the reconstruction at the WTC site, and is an example of the extension of BIM into a truly integrated practice. The LMCCC team is demonstrating the ability of BIM to be applied to mega projects through the technological facility to accommodate thousands of objects and thousands of associated tasks. We are witnessing the team deliver BIM at scales encompassing the city and the extension of BIM into an integrated practice for risk management and mitigation. While the core value of BIM is in coordination and visibility, the team and the GT process have begun to reveal a future for BIM implementations: project optimization for complex risk analysis and mitigation. The LMCCC project is a prime example of the value BIM can have for the managing of complex multi-party iterative processes; for reinforcing the value of collaboration; for risk management and mitigation; and finally for value planning.
Automated Design Category
1/8
Capital Projects Industry Celebrates Engineering & Technology Innovations Wednesday, 31 March 2010 10:20
Target Corporation Replicable Building Guideline Project
During 2009, Target Corporation individually and in collaboration through the FIATECH Streamlining Project successfully initiated a national campaign to advance electronic plan review of building design packages and single plan reviews by jurisdictions of replicable buildings. This effort entailed developing a pilot demonstration of a streamlined and single plan review for a minor building renovation throughout the entire chain of Target stores and selecting jurisdictions within two geographical regions, the Mid-Atlantic Region (especially the city of Philadelphia) and the state of California to accept a single plan review conducted by an approved third party agency or International Code Council and documenting the time savings to Target from those single plan reviews for multiple stores. In addition, this project involved establishing within FIATECH Roadmap Element 6’s Streamlining Project a work committee comprised of 32 representatives from other ‘big box stores’ and replicable building firms including Home Depot, Marriott Corporation, Arby’s, and Habitat for Humanity, state and local governments and the International Code Council to draft an ICC Guideline that allows local building officials to approve single plan reviews for such structures built within their region. In late October the above work group produced and presented to the ICC for its consideration the draft ICC Guideline for Replicable Buildings. On November 2, 2009 the ICC Board of Directors accepted the draft Guideline and appointed the members of the FIATECH work group to serve as ICC’s Replicable Building Guideline development Committee. On December 18, 2009, the ICC Guideline Committee produced a final Guideline for distribution to ICC members for national adoption and use in early 2010.
Integrated, Automated Procurement & Supply Network Category DPR Construction Real-Time Supply Chain Management Using Virtual Design Construction and Lean
During construction of the University of California, Santa Cruz Porter B College project, DPR Construction used field mobility software, tablet computers and Building Information Modeling (BIM) to manage all aspects of its Door, Frame and Hardware (DFH) process. The usual DFH work flow involves tracking progress of doors and hardware receipt, quality inspection and installation by making notes on paper logs and drawings and then spending time clarifying, correcting and manually updating printed progress reports. DPR replaced this traditional work flow with a process centered on BIM and material tracking that resulted in time savings, clear supply change management visibility and zero reorders.According to interviews with general contractors, Doors, Frame and Hardware (DFH) account for approximately 2% of construction costs but often cause 30% of construction issues due to highly fragmented supply chains that are project-to-project based with multiple stakeholders, phases, disciplines and materials. As a
2/8
Capital Projects Industry Celebrates Engineering & Technology Innovations Wednesday, 31 March 2010 10:20
result, there is a tremendous opportunity to improve overall supply chain management (SCM) of a building project by focusing on DFH. Results: - Time savings of 50% to 80% (depending on task) for doors, frames and hardware. - More than 28 hours saved in recording, documentation, communication, and reporting, leading to an overall 20 improvement in work productivity. - Zero reorders needed for the project. The 2% of job cost related to QA/QC was non-existent.
Intelligent & Automated Construction Job Site Category Cianbro Integrate High Definition Surveying Directly Into Real-Time Construction Site's Geomatics Program
Motiva Enterprises LLC, a joint-venture owned by affiliates of Shell and Saudi Aramco, is building an epic expansion at its refinery in Port Arthur, TX. This project is vital to providing additional transportation fuels for the American consumer. When completed in 2010, the Motiva Port Arthur Refinery Expansion Project will create a 325,000 barrel-per-day (b/d) capacity expansion at the Port Arthur refinery, increasing its crude oil throughput capacity to 600,000 b/d. The expansion will make the refinery the largest in the U.S., and among the top 10 in the world. The project is equivalent to building a major new refinery. The last new refinery in the U.S. was built more than 30 years ago. To accommodate a project of this magnitude, the construction plans include off-site fabrication of modular units. The modules that are being fabricated are pipe racks and large sections of the process units. Four fabrication contractors located in Maine, South Carolina, Texas, and Mexico, were selected from more than 120 companies worldwide. Located in Brewer, Maine, Cianbro Constructors, is fabricating 53 of these geometrically complex modules. Each module weighs up to 650 tons, with an average size of 40 ft x 50 ft x 120 ft, and every module must be constructed to within one eighth of an inch tolerance at pipe connections. The scanning technology has also helped minimize the risk to field engineers on the busy fabrication site by eliminating the need to climb modules to gather positional data. With the high definition laser scanner, they can collect all neces-sary data from the ground. Not only is the risk eliminated, but the time to collect the data is only a fraction of what traditional collection methods would take as well as be carried out by a much larger field crew. By reducing the time needed to collect data, the field engineering crew is less apt to impact the production yield of the associated crafts who erect the modules.
Real-Time Project & Facility Management, Coordination & Controls Category 3/8
Capital Projects Industry Celebrates Engineering & Technology Innovations Wednesday, 31 March 2010 10:20
Theometrics David H. Koch Theater
Theometrics was contracted by RC Dolner Construction to supply dimensional quality control & risk mitigation services for the New York State / David H. Koch Theater project. Theometrics conducted electronic as�built measurement of existing conditions and created dimensionally accurate CAD drawings in .dwg format in the field, performed deviation studies that compared existing conditions to proposed design or shop drawings and also performed automated construction layout directly from the digital construction drawings. The project included the main theater area, existing seating, aisles, elevations, orchestra pit, center line and HVAC systems both above and below the theater levels. RC Dolner used the Theo-metrics technology to improve the project schedule and reduce the cost.Theometrics is an electronic measurement and layout technology that bridges the gap between BIM and the field. Theometrics extends the tradesmen in the field the speed and accuracy of BIM & CAD. The Theometrics systems makes it possible to layout construction work directly from digital drawings or models and represents a more powerful tool set than the traditional approach of relying on tape measures, strings and paper blueprints. Implementation of the Theometrics Systems will help drive BIM adoption with the trades and is a great way to introduce BIM benefits to any renovation project. The benefits of this tool are better allocation of resources such as man�power, materials and time; increased ac-curacy an overall reduction of communication and measurement errors and the ability to document existing conditions and work completed directly into CAD.
Technology- & Knowledge-enabled Workforce Category Barton Malow BIM Facilities Management Integration - Maryland General Hospital Central Care Expansion
The typical transition from construction to owner occupancy can be challenging for all parties involved especially the owner of the facility. The process can be time consuming and often leaves owners without vital information required to maintain their new facility. Streamlining the handover of the Central Care Expansion Project provided Maryland General the resources needed to effectively manage and maintain the assets associated with their new facility. The creation of an electronic database containing closeout and as-built documentation instead of binders and paper drawings has allowed data to be easily maintained and altered throughout the life of the building to ensure accuracy. Facilities management staff is able to easily access all information associated with a piece of equipment in the field. This increases staff productivity while eliminating increased operating costs due to inefficient or incomplete maintenance. The process has enabled Barton Malow to efficiently manage the commissioning and closeout of the
4/8
Capital Projects Industry Celebrates Engineering & Technology Innovations Wednesday, 31 March 2010 10:20
MEP systems while giving the owner more immediate value of project information at completion. The project team was fortunate enough to have a sophisticated group of MEP contractors to help initiate the process and software vendors who strived to be innovative. With any change comes skepticism. The hospital saw the benefits of the new system but did not believe that their entire staff could adopt new procedures. Although some staff was more than willing to put forth the time and effort, select management feared it would be too time consuming and the project would suffer in the end. The implementation was not started until May 2009 with only eight months before substantial completion.The use of Tablet PC’s for the selected commissioning and closeout tasks have inspired our workforce to utilize this technology in all aspects of their daily business activities. The ability to access a central database and complete service reports electronically while in the field has impressed the facilities management staff. The hospital has been so enamored by this technology and its capabilities that it plans on incorporating the existing 1,000,000+SF existing spaces into the system.The construction industry has struggled to provide facility owners with a deliverable at project completion that can be utilized to maintain their new facility. Maryland General Hospital understands the importance of a centralized database being linked to their facilities management software which has made this implementation a possibility and a success. The technology driven solution provided by Barton Malow will continue to improve operational maintenance work flow at Maryland General Hospital through technology for years to come.
Life Cycle Data Management & Information Integration Category Blach BIM FM
Blach Construction’s desire to find new ways to deliver value to our clients, while also making positive contributions to construction-related technology, and our efforts to be environmentally conscious stewards of our planet formed the foundation of the drivers for this project. The three key drivers were 1) enhance construction processes by providing model-based access to all relevant project data for our on-site construction teams during the course construction, 2) create an as-built construction model that exists for the life of the facility, and 3) secure majority of our virtual design and construction efforts, as well as all of the above, accomplished by the same software package to maximize interoperability and minimize model bouncing. The main challenges faced were finding the correct software package to use as the foundation for this effort and quantifying what functionality would be of value to our clients. The benefit to the Alum Rock Union School District is that they now have an easy to use visual tool that allows them to easily see and select an object in the model and retrieve all relevant data about that object. The object can be anything represented in the model. In the case of Mathson, the data loaded objects are typically a piece of equipment such as HVAC units, electrical switchgear or panels, or supply and return air grills or dampers. They can open a hyper linked operation and maintenance manual, the construction submittal documents, commissioning reports, or any other document that has been linked. Their archived as-built drawings have also been hyper
5/8
Capital Projects Industry Celebrates Engineering & Technology Innovations Wednesday, 31 March 2010 10:20
linked to the model. In addition to hyper linked documents we have set up fully customized User Defined Attribute tabs that can be populated with any information the district wants to track. At Alum Rock we are tracking specific data for HVAC systems, electrical systems, commissioning reports, etc. We have also setup very detailed tabs for doors, frames, and hard-ware, plumbing fixtures, etc. An essential component of this tool is the ability, through fully customizable reporting features, to easily print a report of any of this data. In addition to the features detailed above the user can see which electrical panel and circuit any piece of equipment is on and can also see all the equipment on any specific panel through custom filters we have setup the turn the equipment feed by the selected panel red. We have also setup rolling HVAC maintenance schedules that color the units in the model to provide an instant visual cue as to which units will be due for maintenance within a predefined period of time. The end result of this increased efficiency is both lower maintenance costs and increased sustainability through reduction in the districts carbon footprint.
Outstanding Student Researcher Category Mani Golparvar-Fard D4AR - 4 Dimensional Augmented Reality Models
Mr. Golparvar-Fard focuses on exploring application of unordered daily construction photo collections as an as-built data collection technique. Using these images, he explores how as-built scenes can be automatically reconstructed in 4 dimensions (3D + time) and integrated with 4D building information models (BIMs). Integrating as-built and as-planned models generates D4AR – 4 dimensional augmented reality- models and in turn allows progress, safety, quality, and other site performance metrics to be tracked and analyzed. Furthermore, D4AR models jointly visualize all sorts of performance deviations, which in turn facilitates communication and reporting of project performance. Application of D4AR models allows remote and easy virtual walk through on the as-built scene, facilitates remote construction control decision making, minimizes the time required to discuss the as-built scene through quick and intuitive access to actual construction information and significantly cuts in travel time and cost for project executives, architects and owners. Using D4AR models, AEC professionals can remotely access a project, visualize integrated as-built and as-planned scene and assess progress, productivity, safety, and quality plus site logistics. The automated progress monitoring scheme built upon the D4AR models is the first probabilistic model for automated progress tracking and visualization of deviations that incorporates both as-planned models and unordered daily construction photographs in a principled way. Unlike other methods that focus on application of laser scanners or time-lapse photography, this approach is able to use existing information without adding the burden of explicit data collection on project management. It also reports competitive automated monitoring accuracies compared to laser scanner-based techniques, especially at presence of occlusions. From research perspective, the D4AR models allow implementing computer vision and image processing techniques to automatically track on-site productivity, safety, quality and site logistics; new daily site photographs can be
6/8
Capital Projects Industry Celebrates Engineering & Technology Innovations Wednesday, 31 March 2010 10:20
registered on-the-fly, keeping the model flexible and generating new changes quickly; and generate new augmented reality occlusion removal techniques by reasoning about occupation in the scene. In addition the probabilistic automated progress monitoring model is easily extendable to incorporate visual appearance information and can be used for detection of progress at interiors; especially at places where access of laser scanners is limited; and finally as-built semantics can be extracted from the content of D4AR imagery. This step can lead to automated reconstruction of 3D BIM models for those existing facilities which their as-built models are not readily available (e.g., to be used for life cycle energy analysis).
Outstanding Early Career Researcher Category Vineet R. Kamat, Ph.D. Visualization of Engineering Graphics in Augmented Reality for Integrated and Automated Project Processes
Visualization of 3D graphical information for design (e.g. architectural rendering) or construction planning (e.g. 4D CAD) has traditionally been achieved on the computer using the Virtual Reality (VR) visualization paradigm. In order to create effective and useful visualizations in VR, detailed graphical information describing a facility’s design, the involved construction operations, and the job site environment has to be obtained. The data must describe the design and simulated engineering/construction processes, and contain 3D CAD models of project resources, the facility under construction, and the surrounding terrain. As the size and complexity of a project or operation increase, the creation, collection and maintenance of such graphical data (i.e. Model Engineering) becomes an arduous, impractical, and often impossible task. This directly translates into loss of financial and human resources that could otherwise be productively used in creating effective visual simulations.In an effort to remedy this situation, Prof. Kamat’s research program has designed and implemented the technology that enables the visualization of engineering graphics in geo-referenced Augmented Reality, by creating mixed views of real objects/artifacts existing on a job site, and virtual 3D CAD models of engineering data. Augmented Reality (AR) is the superimposition of computer-generated images over a user’s view of the real world. By presenting contextual information in graphical format, a user’s view of the real world is enhanced or augmented beyond the normal experience. The addition of such contextual computer-generated information spatially located (i.e. geo-referenced) relative to a user can assist in the performance of several engineering and construction tasks. Prof. Kamat’s research exploits this primary idea for improved engineering visualization.
"It was exciting to see so many innovations occurring in our industry," says Ric Jackson, director of FIATECH. “Our industry is cited so often as being slow to change and these CETI recipients are certainly showing us that isn't always true. The industry would be well served by
7/8
Capital Projects Industry Celebrates Engineering & Technology Innovations Wednesday, 31 March 2010 10:20
following in their steps. I am very proud of their leadership and commitment to the industry and glad FIATECH could have a hand in showcasing their work."
For more information, contact Nicole Testa Boston at ntboston@fiatech.org or visit www.fiatech.org.
The 2010 CETI Awards will be given out April 19, 2011 in Chandler, AZ.
8/8