WPL to host four-part webinar series on best ways to implement BIM

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Starting Feb. 15, WPL Publishing will begin hosting a four-part webinar series to help professionals in the construction industry learn the best ways to implement building information modeling (BIM) technology.

WPL’s “BIM Roadmap 2011” series of 90-minute webinars will focus on the productivity benefits of BIM, how BIM will be used in federal buildings, challenges facing contractors and construction managers, how best to implement BIM using various delivery methods, and other BIM-related topics.

The first webinar is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. (EST) on Feb. 15, with subsequent webinars in the series taking place every Tuesday thereafter through March 8. To register for “BIM Roadmap 2011: 3 Years Back — 5 Years Forward: Keeping Up with the BIM Implementation Curve,” please visit https://tinyurl.com/4fq79ya.

Webinar sessions:
Session 1, “Productivity Benefits of BIM: How Private Owners are Driving the Industry,” Feb. 15 — During this initial session, Crate & Barrel Director of Construction John Moebes will review the basics of BIM and what its expected benefits are. He will focus on design consultants, contractors, and owners and how they can make changes that improve project delivery.

He will address the most common benefits of BIM, improved code-compliance checking, better life safety and energy-efficiency design, reduced approval cycles, increased pre-fabrication, less crowded and safer worksites, reduced waste, and reduced change orders. Additionally, he will examine recent progress in standards and cooperation to facilitate increased BIM usage, how BIM changes workflow and management processes, and the benefits of BIM to owners.

Session 2, “BIM in Public Building: Update on the GSA and Corps of Engineers BIM Initiatives,” Feb. 22 — Multiple federal agencies have implemented BIM initiatives, from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and U.S. Department of State.

Attendees will learn how far the federal government has progressed with its pioneering efforts and where it is headed. The session will address how the upcoming GSA BIM Guide 08 will affect the requirement for contractor submissions and close the BIM loop to tie-in facilities management. GSA’s Stephen Hagan and USACE’s Danielle Love will discuss case studies that highlight the key to various government BIM successes and forewarn of traps to avoid.

Session 3, “Contractor BIM Implementation: Experienced Contractors Discuss Critical Success Factors and Best Practices,” March 1 — In this session, attendees will learn the challenges facing contractors and construction managers as well as the productivity benefits that they can reap from implementing BIM. They will learn how to deal with shared or separate models, laser scanning, clash detection, spatial coordination, and coordination of trades. An introduction to 4D-Scheduling and 5D-Estimating also will be offered.

Session 4, “Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and Other Delivery Methods: Tailoring BIM to the Delivery Method or Vice Versa,” March 8 — In this final session of the series, Collaborative Construction Resources President James Salmon will offer advice on how best to implement BIM using various delivery methods. Attendees will learn what to expect BIM’s impact to be on a project for each delivery method. Mini-case studies will be presented to illustrate why IPD is considered so promising.

A bonus webinar entitled “A Model Approach: Uses of 3D/4D Modeling in Construction and Litigation,” also will be offered. This event, scheduled for March 10, will focus on the uses of 3D and 4D modeling in various construction applications and educate construction professionals about 3D/4D modeling technology basics and its various applications, who is using the technology, and its benefits.

At the end of each session, there will be an interactive 10-to-15 minute question-and-answer session addressing relevant topics.

Webinar tuition is based on location, not number of participants, so each registration site can have multiple participants for one low price. To register, please visit https://tinyurl.com/4fq79ya.