AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO BIM CHALLENGES

IN FREEFORM ARCHITECTURE

MANAGING ARCHITECTURAL COMPLEXITY THROUGH A STANDARDISED BIM APPROACH

Stefano Mazzer, Fabio Bellan, Bill McArthur, Marc Zobec (PhD)

Abstract

Permasteelisa Group is a world-leading Contractor in the engineering, project management,

manufacturing and installation of architectural envelopes and interior systems.
Challenges in managing operational activities are identified: number and geographical distribution of
offices and factories, configuration complexity and turnkey projects comprising massive data volume,
and specific BIM related customer constraints.
The need for knowledge sharing, sharing that knowledge in a global organization, ever changing
marketplace pressures and the value of efficiently generating, preserving and sharing huge amounts of
information were required.
An improvement philosophy was established; Permasteelisa Moving Forward (PMF), resulting in the
development of PMF Project Realization Suite of Tools. Leveraging the capabilities of these software
tools, standardized processes were developed including information sharing information with internal
procurement and production operations and external stakeholders. Due to unique organizational
demands as well as the marketplace, no off-the-shelf tool would suffice.
This paper outlines challenges faced with the increasing configuration complexity of freeform
architecture and a strategy developed to manage and utilize information derived from 3D parametric
models from the early conceptual design through to procurement, production, installation and life-
cycle management of the building and its faade.
Keywords: Permasteelisa, Curtain Wall, BIM, faade, PMF, Building
1. Introduction
In this Age of Information, the term Knowledge
Sharing has become ubiquitous. In the world
of architecture, the wholesale adoption of the
knowledge sharing philosophy has led to what
has become known as Building Information
Modelling (BIM). Commencing as a simple
exchange of CAD documents, BIM has evolved
to include systems, processes, procedures,
increasingly data-rich CAD models and an
increasingly collaborative work environment
(Arayici et. al. 2013).
Knowledge sharing has become increasingly
vital as architectural projects become
increasingly complex. But what are the
implications for a company that supplies
information to the BIM world? What are the
benefits, and what obstacles must be
overcome? This paper illustrates how crucial
knowledge sharing has become for the worlds
leading Architectural Envelopes supplier, and
how devilish the details become when the
entire lifecycle of the project is considered.
Permasteelisa Group is a world-leading
Contractor in the engineering, project
management, manufacturing and installation
of architectural envelopes and interior systems.
The Group applies its Know-How and expertise
to all projects, particularly Special Features
Buildings, commencing with the design
development phases and continuing through to
successful project completion and meeting the
customers expectations.
Permasteelisas history goes back to 1973 in
Vittorio Veneto, Italy. During the 80s and 90s,
the Group began an international expansion in
the Australian, European, Asian and US
markets.
Presently, Permasteelisa is a globally integrated
Group with a presence in four continents and a
network of over 50 companies in more than 30
countries, generating a total annual turnover of
approximately 1.5 billion euro. The Group
employs around 7,000 people worldwide in its
Engineering & Design centres, and in 14
manufacturing plants equipped with the most
modern and advanced technologies available.
The mission of the Permasteelisa Group is to
design and build turnkey curtain wall systems
for unique, innovative and avant-garde
architectural projects using advanced
technologies and eco-sustainable solutions.
2. Knowledge Sharing Challenges
In summary the following challenges are
identified:
1. Number and geographical distribution of
offices and factories and vital Capacity
Management required. From a design,
production and sourcing perspective,
distribution of peak workloads globally is
essential for optimal resources usage whilst
limiting the amount of information loss.
Furthermore, multiple cultures and
languages present additional challenges.
2. Involvement in the entire lifecycle of a
project: Permasteelisa is involved with
every stage of a project from sales to
concept design, tendering to the final
design, production and installation, through
to the warranty period. The knowledge
produced at each phase cannot be lost in
subsequent phases.
3. Turnkey bespoke Projects = massive
amounts of data: There is limited ability to
standardise products or even individual
components. Over 1 million (and
increasing) component codes* are utilised
annually, and codes produced in any given
year remain unique.
4. Supply chain requirements need to be
anticipated at an early stage in order to
effectively plan and pin down costs
(Nummelin et. al. 2011).
5. Detailed knowledge of material quantities
and dimensions need to be accurately
quantified very early in the process and
continuously updated during project
realization (Bynum et. al. 2012).
(*) A component code represents the name given to a physical
component. One component code can be used multiple times
in a project, for example: a screw or a standard bracket.
In addition, challenges to consider (Azhar et. al.
2008):
1. BIM: output from one system to another;
2. Understanding project performances;
3. Increased pressure to control costs while
meeting ever more stringent deadlines;
4. Increasing project complexity (Fig.1)
Geometric complexity made possible
with new modelling software
Configuration complexity, for example
upper-end residential buildings where
every apartment owner desires space
customisation
Fig.1 Curtain Wall complexity trend
5. Continuously evolving market and the need
for new solutions.
6. Historically, the various companies within
the Permasteelisa Group were fairly
independent and created their own
solutions and processes. These local
successes created information silos
resulting in significant complications when
projects were distributed among various
companies.
7. Powerful new 3D modelling and parametric
software removes many restraints on
architectural imagination, thus increasing
the difficulties involved in realizing the
design vision (Stavric & Marina 2011).
Challenge constraints included: the need for
knowledge sharing and the special challenges
of sharing that knowledge in a global
organization (Fig.2) engaged in a variety of
activities, pressures of a changing marketplace
and the value of efficiently generating,
preserving and sharing the huge amounts of
information involved in architectural projects.
Fig.2 Project global resource organisational complexity
A unique continuous improvement philosophy
was established called Permasteelisa Moving
Forward (PMF). The practical result of this
philosophy was the development and
deployment of the PMF Project Realization
Suite of Tools. Subsequently, leveraging the
capabilities of these powerful software tools,
standardised processes were developed that
included efficient sharing of information with
internal procurement and production
operations, as well as external project
stakeholders. Because of the unique
organisational demands and marketplace, no
off-the-shelf tool would have sufficed. An
extensive internal development process, based
on a thorough understanding of organisational
needs and the latest industry developments
was required.
3. The PMF Suite of Tools
The PMF Suite of software is a proprietary BIM
system as well as a powerful configuration
management system which supports technical
teams in curtain wall project execution as they
create, configure and specify components,
units and field parts that make up a project.
Fig.3 - PMF software suite architectural schematic
Essentially a 3D model of the architectural
envelope is used as an attachment point for all
of the projects essential information. This
information includes not only geometric data,
but also:
Data relating to costs for each element and
used during Tendering
How the envelope will be configured with
the various panel types that make up the
design
How the design, production, planning and
installation entities arrive to an agreement
relating to how to split up the project into
the various realisation phases
How packing for transportation from the
factory to the site will need to be
undertaken
Current physical status of every panel; if it
has been produced, shipped, installed, etc.
Projected number of components a project
will have
Placement and origin of every component
Size, shape and other physical attributes of
every component
Position of every machining operation, be
it a hole in an aluminium profile or a bend
on a titanium sheet.
The transmission of all relevant
information to the ERP (Enterprise
Resource Planning) system.
3D solid models to reveal potential clashes
and/or analyse solutions in a virtual
environment.
As well as much more information used to
predict, plan, and realize faade projects.
All of this information is stored in a centralised
location continuously accessible requiring an
Internet connection. PMF provides a platform
that permits internal sharing of vital
information throughout the organization, as
well as with external project stakeholders.
4. PMF in Action
What does all this work mean for our projects?
Fig.4 describes how less information is now lost
during the course of a project as it proceeds
from Tendering through to design, production,
installation and finally the warranty phase. Not
only is Information loss reduced in the various
phases of a project, fewer information silos are
created that prohibit productive knowledge
sharing.
Fig.4 - Comparison of project information loss with time
(Conventional vs PMF process)
The three primary applications (Fig.5) that make
up the PMF Project Realization Suite, and the
database structure that underlies them
includes:
PIM - Project Information Manager
BCE - Building Configuration Editor
ICE - Inventor Configuration Editor
Project Information Manager (PIM) is a primary
user interface used for the definition,
management, and reporting of tender and
technical project attributes for curtain wall
projects.
Building Configuration Editor (BCE) is an
application based on AutoCAD and used for the
editing of 3D Building Models.
Inventor Configuration Editor (or ICE) is built on
top of Autodesk Inventor, used for the creation,
editing and management of 3D Solid Models.
ICE allows a 3D model builder to model the
physical components that make up a curtain
wall unit, and to specify the fabrication and
assembly operations. ICE is able to
parametrically control and generate the
correctly-sized and machined elements needed
for a curtain wall project.
Fig.5 - PMF Project Realisation Suite primary Tools : PIM, BCE, ICE
5. Two Case Studies
Two case studies (Fig.6) are presented in
parallel:
1. The 20 Fenchurch Street (London, UK)
project is a good example of how PMF was
applied over the entire project life-cycle.
The case history below focuses on early
project phases and illustrates how complex
architectural requirements can be
communicated and solved within the team
requirements;
2. Northeastern University ISEC (Boston, USA)
outlines how the information stored within
the PMF system can be used to
communicate with external stakeholders,
fulfilling external BIM requirements.
Both projects feature complex geometrical
faades.
Fig.6 - Fenchurch St (London) & Northeastern University ISEC (Boston)
6. Tender Case Study
With Fenchurch, the complexities and size of
the project required rationalisation during the
tender phase in order to reduce project costs.
This meant reducing the number of unique
components required and developing a precise
estimate of the number of project components.
Decisions made at this stage were shared with
other stakeholders (contractors, client and
architect). Since the PMF approach is based on
a 3D building model, communication was clear
and precise, and estimates received were far
more accurate than those of any system
previously used on a project of this complexity.
Estimates of material dimensions and
geometries were also communicated to
potential suppliers so that accurate cost
estimates could be generated quickly.
The result of the optimizations and the ability
to fully understand the details of the project
resulted in lower pricing for the client, as well
as a more cordial professional relationship with
the external stakeholders.
Fig.7 - Examples of PMF Project visualisation tools
7. Project Realisation
Projects were realised using various teams and
people. Information exchange was always, by
definition, related to the 3D building model,
central to the PMF system. Various workflows
were also automated due to the ease of
information extraction from the system. A
typical example is the use of this information to
comply with external BIM. Fig.8 represents
some workflows adopted internally and
externally for the Northeastern University
project .
Fig.8 Northeastern University project PMF related workflows
8. The Future
Since PMF is essentially a continuous
improvement philosophy, new ideas are
constantly being implemented and planned to
meet the ever increasing challenges of a
changing marketplace.
BIM: Continuous BIM evolution and gradual
adoption of industry standards are driving
the development of a standard BIM
methodology (AEC (UK) 2010, NIB 2007,
GSA 2007). In the interim, PMF continues to
evolve in order to manage growing volumes
of information with the flexibility to meet
changing market needs, resulting in easier
integration with external BIM software
packages
Production and installation Information:
The information from the ERP system (SAP)
is being increasingly incorporated into the
PMF system so that all stakeholders have
an increased understanding of the project
 as it advances. Status information received
from SAP (packed, shipped, received on
site, installed, breakage, etc.) can be readily
viewed, understood and communicated via
the PMF system due to powerful 3D virtual
environments.
Design phase statuses: via the building
model, project coordinators are able to
understand how the project is advancing
and if anything has been forgotten
Integration with a high-end PLM Product
Lifecycle Management and Project Platform
solution which will control, manage and
report all documents and work tasks during
the design phase of a project Aram &
Eastman 2013).
More of the same, for example:
Obtaining better data sooner in the
project lifecycle;
Adapting to even more challenging
architectural challenges;
Incorporating more user workflows so
that the best solutions can be found,
reducing costs and time, for the
multitude of project-specific challenges.
9. Conclusions
In the development of the PMF Project
Realization Suite of Tools, the following
approach was undertaken:
1. First take care of your own internal
knowledge sharing requirements. Each and
every organization and industry presents its
own unique challenges in the area of
knowledge sharing. Whatever systems and
procedures are adopted, they must first and
foremost address the needs of the organization
in managing information required for its own
operations. Avoid duplication of effort, reduce
time needed to access required information,
lower costs and improve time performance,
and eliminate errors which can result from
incorrect or untimely information;
2. Develop internal systems which support
the controlled and efficient sharing of
information with external partners. It is
essential to share some information with
others involved in complex projects, but it is
also vital to control how it is shared, and
exactly how much. This means being aware of
compatibility issues with the information
systems of your partners, and frequently
involves negotiation with these partners
regarding their information requirements.
Internally, knowledge sharing is a question of
profitability, enabling different parts of the
organisation to work together more efficiently.
Externally it means lowering projects risks
where there are a multitude of trades
competing for the same physical spaces and, at
least in our industry, it is also a question of
marketing. The company that can partner
more effectively with other project
stakeholders, including contractors, architects
and clients, will be the recipient of more
awarded contracts. Their ability to successfully
complete those contracts on time and within
budget, in part because of their knowledge
sharing capabilities, again provides a marketing
advantage.
Effective knowledge sharing is an ongoing
benefit for any company that can master this
vital skill.
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