On the Road with Fellow Reprographers (Part 1) BIM

Over the last month and a half I have been traveling to a variety of regions in North America, visiting with reprographers and learning about their challenges and what they are doing to position their companies for the future.

In my next few articles in “Point of View” I will be sharing some of my observations and experiences from these trips along with some updates on what the PEiR Group will be doing to help our members develop strategies to grow their businesses.

In late September I went to San Diego to attend the (WRA) Western Reprographics Association annual convention. The attendance was light but the networking opportunities were great and some of educational sessions were extremely interesting.

One educational session I found most enlightening was a presentation on BIM (building information modeling) from Chuck Goodman from iPda (integrated Process design associates). Chuck’s company, iPda, is a design firm that has been working with BIM for several years and has developed a BIM solution that helps owners, AEC firms and others; leverage the technologies and processes used with BIM. iPda helps project stakeholders strategize on how to implement BIM so that the benefits of BIM can be maximized in all stages of a project’s lifecycle (design, bid, build and operate).

Today many in our industry think that software tools like Revit, Bentley Microstation or Graphisoft are BIM but in reality they are just that, tools.

When implemented properly, BIM can save owners millions. BIM helps design and construction companies build a project virtually which allows project team members to do a variety of “what if’s” before a single hole is dug in the ground; eliminating change orders, reducing inventory and material costs, conducting water and electrical cost analysis, scheduling labor more accurately and a whole lot more. A few of the biggest issues that many who want to embrace BIM are struggling with are:

• Knowledgeable personnel capable of understanding and implementing BIM.
• Multiple tools are used to develop BIM projects and there is a technological challenge of making these various tools all work in one model. i\If BIM is to become truly effective there is a necessity for the software tools to interoperate.  That means that the BIM model needs to be accessed and  updated by multiple disciplines regardless of the software manufacture (Autodesk, Bentley, Graphicsoft) .
• BIM Models are huge and to be effective they need to have the abilitiy for all team members to access the model, so it can be kept up to date with all pertinent data.  

Possible Solutions

BIM Knowledge Transfer and Technology Outsourcing Services 

Companies like iPda offer expertise and outsourcing of personnel to help owners, designers and contractors ramp up and implement BIM. As reprographers we need to position ourselves to take advantage of the opportunities to team with companies like iPda to market their services to our own clients; TOS (Technology Outsourcing Services).

IFC

To address the need for multiple team members to update the BIM model with various preferred software tools, a new file format has been developed, its called IFC.  The Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) data model is a neutral and open specification that is not controlled by a single vendor or group of vendors. It is an object oriented file format with a data model developed by buildingSMART - an international alliance of built environment sector professionals, contractors, suppliers and client groups who promote the benefits of interoperability and open standards for information sharing in the building industry, and is a commonly used format for Building Information Modeling (BIM). The IFC model specification (ISO-PAS 16739) is available at http://www.iai-tech.org/.

BIM Servers

BIM models are huge and multiple team members need to securely access, add, change and delete sections of the model as needed. In the not too distant future there will be a need for a provider to host and manage BIM models in the Cloud. As an industry reprographers are perfectly positioned to offer BIM Hosting Services but, it will require us to understand BIM and the technologies required to support this initiative and, how do we can charge for these services.

I will continue to add more about my travels so please check back on a regular basis.

Sincerely, Shaun Meany

Puerto Vallarta Hosts WRA, Industry Leaders Brainstorm

By The PEiR Group

As we’ve mentioned here the past few days, I had the pleasure of attending the Western Reprographics Associations’ (WRA) Regional Conference in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico last week.

Great time, great location, and nice to see everyone. The Westin was the perfect venue, with beautiful pools, super food, and nice, big rooms. Beyond that, I thought I’d share some of my observations and experiences at this year’s WRA with you.

The conference was rather light on attendance this year, no doubt due to the international location and the state of the economy. Historically, the WRA is a largely social function where members and their spouses get together to share stories and common interests. Unfortunately this year, my wife was unable to attend so I ended up going alone.

There were several entertaining, informative and inspirational speakers this year and I ended up taking their lessons home with me. I was struck by Brian Shul’s presentation on Overcoming Adversity. Brian shared his story of perseverance and triumph over his own personal tragedy – being severely burned when his U.S. Air force jet crashed in Cambodia. Brian fought through his pain and months of rehabilitation to regain his place as a top Air Force pilot flying spy planes during the cold war period.

And then there was Suri Suriyakumar, Chairman, President and CEO of ARC, who shared his thoughts on The State of the Reprographics Industry and Where It’s Heading and how he positions ARC and the reprographics industry to investors and stock analysts he meets with around the country.

Suri’s presentation suggested that the future would be a rosy one for those reprographers who focus on technology and the transfer of technology to the design and construction community and non-AEC markets.

Suri emphasized the importance of staying close to your customers and learning their document processes. The key, he says, is to work closely with your customers to find ways you can offer improved efficiencies in their document management and document distribution processes.

Suri emphasized ways to leverage your existing technologies in Non-AEC markets. Identify markets that can benefit from the same services that you offer your architects, engineers and contractors. For example: Large Format Color Printing can be offered to retailers and fast food chains, scanning and document management services to governments and fortune 1000 companies, copying and printing services to hospitals, schools, lawyers, realtors and others.

It was a great way to spend a few days with friends and industry professionals who spend most of their time thinking about our industry’s future. I was pleased to have the opportunity to attend and, yes, I did manage to squeeze in a round of golf with colleagues and friends.

No, I won’t tell you who won the round!

Have a question about the WRA or the industry in general? Drop your comment in the “comments” section below and we’ll talk about it!


Shaun