Shaun’s Corner “Innovate 2010”

Happy New Year PEiR Group Members:

2009 was a year that really tested our managerial skills. In talking with PEiR members all over the world, there was no escaping the plight of the Great Recession of 2010. Many of you stated that you have never experienced such dramatic changes in your industry, and at the same time, been confronted with such challenging business decisions.

Having weathered the storm, I hope you have learned some good lessons and will use these experiences in planning for your future.

2010 has the prospects of an economic recovery. We are beginning to see indications that the decline in construction employment is flattening and that there is projected growth in some sectors of the industry. Many of you have realized the need to diversify and are seeing the merits of that decision. I also think that many of you realize that change is something that we all have to embrace and that we need to continue to adapt our business offerings to remain relevant to the clients we serve.

With that being said, I would like to start out the New Year announcing the PEiR Group theme for the upcoming year "Innovate 2010". The idea is to show our customers that Reprographers are leaders in innovation. It is more important than any time in our history that reprographers demonstrate to their customers that they are a creative and valuable resource.

But how do you go about doing this? This is where the PEiR Group can help!

While it's up to you to do the actual innovation, the PEiR Group can help you explore what you should be looking to change; new ways of adding value to your offerings, and help you communicate your value more effectively.

Let's face it, your customers are being bombarded with new technologies every day, but do they really understand how these new technologies are going to be useful? Those of us who can explain how new technologies can be applied to solve real business problems (innovation) have opportunities to build our businesses.

To accomplish these objectives, The PEiR Group has planned the following list of activities and events for 2010.

• PEiR Group Meetings
  
  • May 21-22: PEiR Group Annual Executive Conference in Palm Springs
    
  • October 14-15 PEiR Group Color Sales & Technology Conference at the SGIA Convention in Las Vegas
    
• Weekly Technology Demonstrations and Training
  
  • PlanWell, SubHub, ishipdocs, Abacus, MetaPrint (sign-up here)
    
• Bi-Monthly Best Practice Webinars
  
  • See Above
    
• Member Visits (if interested please let me know) (shaunm@planwell.com )
  
  • January/Feb/March (NE, MidWest, SW, SE)
    
  • Others to be Announced
    
• Conventions
  
  • March 24-26 AGC Annual Convention in Orlando
    
  • May 19-21 IRgA Annual Convention in Palm Springs
    
  • October 13-15 SGIA Convention in Las Vegas
    
  • Oct/Nov Reprographics Industry Regionals
    

More details will be sent out on each of these activities but please mark your calendars appropriately.

We have plans to announce some additional vendor programs (currently 43 vendors) and new exciting and innovative technologies later in the year as well, so please check out the PEiR Group or read our emails for the latest news and updates.

Again thank you for all your support and please let us know if you have ideas for innovation we should be exploring with you.

Best Regards

Shaun Meany

End of a Decade

Woo, what a wild ride the last decade gave the reprographics industry. I thought it might be fun to look back over the last ten years and highlight some of what I thought were the most memorable or maybe the most impactful events that occurred.

• Death of the Blueprint Machine
• No More Vellums
• No Large Format Cut Sheets Inventoried
• Azon who?
• 18-22 “D” PPM LED Large Format Plain Paper Plotters
• Plotting tools like ReproDesk and PLP made Plotting more of a Commodity
• Buzzsaw Collaboration and Plans & Specs were going to eliminate the need for Reprographics
• Project Control Transferred from the Architect to the Owner’s CM or General Contractor
• Océ overtakes Xerox in Engineering Systems
• HP acquires Indigo and ColorSpan
• Death of the Monochrome Inkjet Plotter
• GSA and US Army Corp of Engineers mandates Electronic Bid Sets
• American Reprographics taken Public and Traded on NYSE "ARP"
• Introduction to On-line Plan Rooms
• IRgA issues Best Practice “ Reprographers need to charge for digital services”
• Fewer Pick-ups due to Electronic Orders
• Manufacturers introduce Lower Cost Wide Format Machines
• More FM Placements
• Design moves from 2D to 3D CAD and BIM
• Flatbed Printers and Electronic Cutters Introduced
• Decline of Centralized Printing Volumes (Distribute and Print vs Print and Distribute)
• Green Sustainability and LEEDS
• Double Digital Growth of Half Size Printing
• Smaller Print Shops
• Projects Delivery Methods Moving Toward Design Build or IPD
• Océ Merges with Canon

As you start thinking about all of the significant changes that took place in the reprographics industry over the 10 years it is important to keep in mind that change will continue to occur but at a much faster pace.

I am sure I just scratched the surface on the various changes that occurred in our industry, if you would like to add to the list please make your comments below and share your thoughts about the last 10 years.

Happy New Year


Shaun

Building and Energy Consumption Game

Interested in having a little fun and learning at the same time? Check out Autodesk's little game that teaches you about buildings and their energy consumption!

click here:

Shaun's Corner: Building Information Modeling And Our Future - Making The Most Of Opportunity

If you're reading Point of View religiously, and we know you all are, you know I've been tackling the weighty subject of BIM (Building Information Modeling) and its impact on the future of the reprographics industry.

Reprographers have expressed their concerns on the sustainability of the reprographics industry, and rightly so, as more and more AEC companies begin to adopt BIM 3D software. AutoDesk's Revit Architecture, Revit Structural, SolidWorks and Bentley Systems are all up and running and in the marketplace. I believe there are some valid reasons for concern. But I also believe that BIM has its challenges and, as result, will create opportunities for those reprographic companies positioned to overcome them.

Here's a nice little video primer on BIM... check it out. Click here:

Let’s look at the design industry. Sure, every design company could buy BIM software, spend whatever limited resources (time and money) are required to train their staff and generate beautiful 3D models. But in reality not every design company has the budget, skills or the time to learn BIM. Early adopters will embrace BIM, but the rest of the market will lag a number of years behind. So, in the short term, most designers will produce and distribute documents in 2D and reprographers will continue to print and/or electronically distribute print-ready information to the construction industry.

Design firms that do adopt BIM completely will expand their mix of documents by including both 2D and 3D content. The opportunities created for reprographers in this situation are extensive. BIM models will render realistic images which reprographers will print in color - in both small and large format.

Models have been and will remain an important aspect of architectural design. The traditional (analog) model building approach is labor intensive and requires a unique fabrication skill set. It is usually a very lengthy and expensive process. Since traditional models are handmade “one-off’s” it makes it practically impossible for a design company to build multiple variations of designs for owners to review. Another shortcoming of traditional models is that they are difficult to archive and preserve for future use.

Design competition can be extremely fierce in the best of times. Design firms are doing whatever it takes to secure new business. Creating models can help designers compete more effectively by communicating a designer’s concepts in a realistic medium. But not many designers can afford to have traditional model makers on staff. They are now looking at BIM software to render their models on 3D printers. We see this as an opportunity, as there will be increasing demand for 3D printing services from those reprographers who make the investment in 3D printers.

There are other opportunities for reprographers who help their clients in the move towards BIM. Companies embracing BIM will need access to BIM software, in-house 3D printers and special training for their designers. Some reprographers are already recognizing these needs and have begun to sell, train and support BIM software and workflow solutions.

Using BIM for design does not always mean that BIM models will be available during all phases of the project life cycle. A lot of it depends mostly on the type of project delivery methods the owner contracts with the designers and builders. With the design-bid-build project delivery process we have seen significant reticence by many designers to share BIM models (due to avariety of issues: contract terms, deliverables, ownership of intellectual property and risks). Projects that contract using design-build or the latest delivery method IPD (integrated-project-delivery) are more collaborative and more likely to share BIM models throughout the project life cycle.

In my next blog posting I will share my thoughts on how construction companies are embracing BIM and IPD and the opportunities that will present themselves for our industry - if we are smart enough to take advantage of them.

Keep reading, and writing - we like hearing from you!

Regards,

Shaun