The Dreaded Assignments
Now did I mentioned, Saturdays are reserved for group works? Well, in the group project module - which is a large part of the assignment activities - we were expected to manage our time for group projects. We had to simulate BIM Execution Planning in a project, and we had to come up with a theme to drive the project work [A School], which in our case was prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction [PPVC].
There were four of us, we grouped and tasked each individual roles as Architects, Structural Engineers, Mechanical Engineer and Contractor. This role playing was mandatory, so that we could collaborate at different dimensions. So I role played as the Architect, and I had to initiate the design and this adds some stress, as everyone now is waiting for me to deliver the design, before the rest of the engineers can proceed with their part of the work. Once the design carcass is out I proceeded to work on my objectives, which is to automate finishes scheduling and monitor PPVC dimensions and weights by creating formulas. Now that I am writing about the assignment, it is indeed a simple objective, but I learned that formulas can help monitor PPVC's tonnage so that we do not stress the crane too much when hoisting. It was not rocket science, but it is science enough for me, it was truly a learning revelation i have gained.
I am glad we did PPVC, it gave the team lots of areas to explore, and what impressed me the most is my team mate Doris Yong, and her role is the contractor. Her objective was to Computerise tracking of the PPVC modules' manufacturing and installation schedule. She made some rules by creating a 'Completion' parameters for the PPVC modules of a Yes/No type. With visibility graphics and filters in REVIT, once PPVC are completed, they are checked in the 'Completion' parameter and colours of the PPVC will change to their assigned colours of pink, cyan and orange. She did not just stop at colour coding, she furthered her assignment by producing a Production Schedule to monitor the construction progress. When I read her report, not only was I impressed by her ingenuity but of how BIM works. BIM can help facilitate automation on such monitoring tasks through real time visualisation, but also help save time and increase productivity. It was truly a revelation for me again.
to be continued in part 4...