The 2012 Design-Build Conference & Expo was held November 7-9 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This annual Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) national conference is a favorite for exhibitors as the expo hall is not open while other conference activities are underway. The setup allows exhibitors to attend the key note speaker presentations as well as the training sessions. Read more
BIM Texas Alliance held their first conference last week in San Antonio. The two day event allowed attendees to explore the state of Building Information Modeling (BIM) being utilized in the public sector, standards for BIM excellence, and the future of BIM in the built environment. The intimate setting of the conference endorsed conversations from BIM users, experts, and project owners. Read more
In October a team from The Beck Group attended the SindusCon 2012 conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil. SindusCon is a construction industry forum focused on the education and promotion of BIM in the Brazilian construction industry. Currently the Sao Paulo, Brazil construction industry is expanding rapidly with many discovering BIM and its uses. Over 450 people attended the all-day conference comprised of general contractors, architects, government employees and other BIM users. Read more
The 2012 BIMForum was last week in Tacoma, Washington. The event is always well put together and gives attendees a great pulse on the “state of BIM” in the industry. The attendees are made up of builders, architects and owners with the event’s format as a full day of speakers on the first day and a half day on second day. BIMForum mixes in “rapid fire” technology presentations from software vendors to show off new innovations. There is a growing vendor sponsor area for product info and demonstrations outside of the presentation area. The event also includes panel discussions around the theme, which for 2012 was “BIM and Facilities Management”. The panels generally offer ample opportunities for the audience to participate with questions and comments. Read more
Two recent blog posts outline how a couple of general contractors on the continent’s opposite ends share something vital in common: They have found effective ways to connect with potential clients long before projects are designed and bids are put up for quote.
Translation of article published on Mexico’s Inmobiliare Magazine number 73 p. 80-81
Every industry evolves with the help of new technologies and in the last few years technological solutions have come about more frequently. In the Real Estate Industry, the technological solutions have mostly been oriented toward construction processes generating important savings however, what technological solution have focused on the Decision Making Process?
DProfiler is a new technology that BECK has implemented for over 10 years in many different countries and is now introducing in Mexico to reduce uncertainties and achieve suitable cost estimates in early stages of a project when approximately 70% of the costs are defined. Read more
Beck Technology has two lines of business: DESTINI Profiler software sales and consulting services. Our largest consulting services client is the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Overseas Building Operations (OBO) which is responsible for planning, designing and building all of the U.S. embassies around the world. Since our commercial launch in 2006, Beck Technology has worked with OBO on a number of U.S. embassy projects in many far flung places around the globe including: Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei; Islamabad, Pakistan; Port Moresby, Papa New Guinea; and Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, to name a few. Our consulting services teams have also worked on other international projects in Tianjin, China; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and London. Read more
New ideas are flourishing within Beck Technology thanks to Innovation Week. Twice a year, the team sets a week aside to innovate and be creative. Out of this week came new applications, innovative and fun product features, defined metrics, out-of-the box web development, and a host of other creative solutions. There are no parameters to what the team has to work on and there is only one rule: you must present the work you did during Innovation Week at Beck Technology’s semi-annual company retreat. This year, Innovation Week ran from August 22 through August 28 with presentations given August 29 and 30.
The reason behind this specific week is to foster creativity and provide ample time to work on fun projects that the team may not normally be able to work on. The results usually end up enhancing Beck Technology to be a better place to work and encourage the innovative culture that the team strives to achieve. Also, several of the innovative ideas end up in production which makes the products and services Beck Technology offer that much better.
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Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools continue to prove efficient and effective in the built environment. This technology allows for buy-in from the designer, contractor and owner to develop a project that is ideal. A 3D model can be manipulated in ways that a 2D drawing cannot. However, submitting drawings for plan/code review requires a flattening of the model to a 2D set for review. This cycle of 3D modeling and 2D flattening can repeat itself several times until the drawings pass the review.
AUTOCodes, a project involving several owners, software partners including Solibri, and sponsored by FIATECH, is on the cutting edge of reducing the repetitive cycle of model flattening for code review. Jonathan Widney discusses how AUTOCodes are leveling the playing field in the review process and paving the way for a streamlined technique. Read more
Stewart Carroll, Chief Operating Officer with Beck Technology has been named co-chair of the Technology Subforum of BIMForum. BIMForum’s mission is to facilitate and accelerate the adoption of building information modeling (BIM) in the AEC industry. Composed of ten subforums, including designers, builders, owners and technology, BIMForum members collaborate with each other and other industry organizations. Their goal is to promote interdisciplinary projects and accelerate the adoption of BIM.
The Technology Subforum seeks to proactively support the larger group through proposing and developing content for conference participants, development of educational curriculum, and serve as a facilitator between BIMForum and the wider BIM user community. The goal is to discuss and share ideas on technology application to inform and influence members. This process is designed to educate the BIM Forum audience about technology that is being developed to better serve project and process requirements.
“My goal has always been to develop and present innovative technologies and services to the AEC profession,” said Carroll. “Serving as co-chair of the Technology Forum is an important link to the BIM community and an opportunity to understand its needs and find ways to fill those needs.”
Stewart Carroll joined Beck Technology in 2000. As leader of Beck Technology he runs all aspects of the corporation, corporate strategy and vision, and continually evangelizes the use of technology. Stewart is an expert on AEC technology and its application in the marketplace. He is a lead AEC technologist and continually speaks on the integration of cost and scoping technologies to owners and developers. He received his BS in Computer Sciences from the University of Iowa.