{"id":6713,"date":"2022-01-10T06:40:17","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T14:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/?p=6713"},"modified":"2022-01-10T06:40:17","modified_gmt":"2022-01-10T14:40:17","slug":"how-to-provide-impeccable-asset-data-an-interview-with-james-dixon-digital-construction-lead-at-isg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/how-to-provide-impeccable-asset-data-an-interview-with-james-dixon-digital-construction-lead-at-isg\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Provide Impeccable Asset Data \u2013 An Interview with James Dixon, Digital Construction Lead at ISG"},"content":{"rendered":"

This item was originally posted here: Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

How can we provide clients with a perfect record of their facility so that they can reap the benefits of digitalisation? I sat down with James Dixon, digital construction lead for ISG\u2019s science and health business, to discuss his method.<\/strong><\/p>\n

ISG is a global construction specialist working across Europe, the Middle East,\u00a0and Asia creating smart, resilient places where people and businesses thrive. Dixon\u2019s role in the company is twofold: he\u2019s hands-on in project deliveries and takes part in the strategy development of the business unit. As a strategist, he looks at the big picture: how to streamline processes while delivering exceptional value to clients. As a\u00a0digital construction lead<\/strong>, he deals with daily project tasks, scopes out requirements, addresses issues, reports on progress, and so on.<\/p>\n

After joining the company in late 2020, Dixon\u2019s primary responsibility has been\u00a0a \u00a3300 million Institute of Neurology\u00a0project\u00a0for University College London<\/a>, UCL.\u00a0ISGis the\u00a0main contractor on the first phase, and\u00a0Arcadis,\u00a0a\u00a0consultancy firm,\u00a0is the project manager.<\/p>\n

A project like this requires specialist knowledge about science and health services. In addition to demanding architectural and structural design, mechanical engineering is a massive part of the project. A large amount of maintainable equipment and data is needed over its lifecycle. Consequently, the M&E subcontractor\u2019s data requires special attention from Dixon.<\/p>\n

IFC and COBie \u2013 The opportunity and challenge<\/h2>\n

IFC plays a vital role in the UCL project\u2019s data management and is the application-neutral format that allows data exchange between project stakeholders. It is a natural choice for clients who receive as-built data from various projects and design software.<\/p>\n

Construction Operations Building Information Exchange, or\u00a0COBie, is a subset of IFC.\u00a0Its most common use is in product data handover from construction to operations.\u00a0COBie relates only to non-geometric data, so it can be exchanged in tabular formats, such as a spreadsheet file.<\/p>\n

To make COBie useful, each project participant must export consistent IFC data from their respective tools like Revit and Archicad. Otherwise, getting a high-quality COBie file would require a lot of manual tampering and interpretation.<\/p>\n

Dixon uses Solibri to check the models and make them freely available to all the project contributors. He needs to automate data extraction from models, retrieve the correct parameter data, and place the data in the right COBie location every time. To be able to do that, he devised a process that every contributor now follows.<\/p>\n

From requirements to asset parameters<\/h2>\n

Clients use\u00a0Employer\u2019s Information Requirements, or EIRs, to describe their information needs during a project\u2019s delivery and handover. The information includes requirements\u2014among others\u2014for fire, acoustic, or thermal resistance ratings. The data eventually goes into the client\u2019s FM system. Consequently, the COBie file must be up to spec to avoid misinterpretations or errors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u00a0look at what asset data is needed per discipline or per package and then work backwards\u00a0from there,\u201d Dixon explained.<\/p>\n

Dixon wants each organisation in a project to structure their data similarly. For example, if he wants to store the fire rating, he requires the parameter to exist in the native software, which is not always the case.<\/p>\n

When he exports the IFC, he\u00a0links\u00a0that native parameter back to the exact location\u00a0he\u00a0wants\u00a0it sent out. This way, the fire rating data always goes into the same place\u00a0irrespective of whether\u00a0the object is\u00a0a concrete beam, a floor,\u00a0or a door.<\/p>\n

Guiding the process<\/h2>\n

To get everyone in a project on the same page, Dixon has devised a step-by-step guide as a part of the project execution plan. This guide shows how to use IFC exports, structure IFCs, and even operate the designer\u2019s respective software. This level of detail is necessary for the moment but not so much in the future as the procedures hopefully turn into a routine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dixon supplements the hands-on guide with workshops. He thinks that\u00a0people\u00a0might not\u00a0be able to follow a\u00a0potentially\u00a0new workflow without education and training.\u00a0In addition, he follows up on how designers manage their data.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will undertake audits every three or four months on this particular project to make sure that they understand what\u2019s going on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Even though the designers get specific instructions on performing certain workflows, he has not experienced a noticeable resistance to change. The designers benefit from the same process as they work with other contractors and clients in the future.<\/p>\n

Collecting every piece of data<\/h2>\n

Data must be not only present but also accurate and complete. Even though most model data stem from the design process, the subcontractors augment them with information that only they can know.<\/p>\n

ISG provides the site crews with intelligent submittal forms. The contractors fill in installation dates, model numbers, and other site-born data. They don\u2019t have to interact with a massive 3D file since ISG transposes the information back to the model.<\/p>\n

Subcontractors\u2019 data becomes part of the\u00a0technical submittal\u00a0process, and other\u00a0people in the project team confirm\u00a0the correctness of the data.<\/p>\n

A positive outlook<\/h2>\n

Dixon feels confident that he can deliver an impeccable COBie model at the UCL project completion in 2024. They\u2019re already on the right track.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, our classification data and our type and system data are to be 95% complete by this Christmas,\u201d Dixon assured.<\/p>\n

The Clients Project Manager (Arcadis) receive reports on a quarterly basis and can monitor project progress on a particular dashboard. ISG works on a New Engineering Contract (NEC), which allows them to\u00a0flag issues\u00a0proactively\u00a0through the early warning notice.\u00a0That\u2019s another practice that makes risk management easier for everybody.<\/p>\n

Dreaming smart<\/h2>\n

Dixon believes that new opportunities would emerge if ISG structured COBie data consistently in every project.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An AI platform could analyze and optimize the performance of designs and enable considerable benefits in terms of CO2\u00a0emission and energy use of facilities. Data would become the driver of social, economic, and environmental improvements. It\u2019s not about technology but more about methodological and process change.<\/p>\n

One of ISG\u2019s values is \u201cDream smart.\u201d They\u00a0encourage new thinking and bold ideas backed by knowledge, sound decision-making, and first-rate implementation.\u00a0Dixon\u2019s actions and thoughts match that value perfectly.<\/p>\n

This content is provided by Solibri on the Impeccable Construction Channel<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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