This blog is part five in a series that discusses the challenges and process involved in implementing BIM at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, a project which saw the team win the 2011 [acronym] Magazine Public Sector CAD Award. As our BIM Implementation Project progressed both Joe and I found this process to be mutually beneficial in many different ways. While there were both extremely positive and some unexpected outcomes, this effort allowed us to capture knowledge and insight that we weren’t initially expecting. In addition, we’ve both been excited to see the industry’s response to the project.

By Joe Porostosky This blog is part four in a series that discusses the challenges and process involved in implementing BIM at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, a project which saw the team win the 2011 [acronym] Magazine Public Sector CAD Award. Phase 1: Big Bang Implementation Following the all important completion of Phase 0, we were ready to kick off the actual work of developing Revit-based building information models from our AutoCAD floor plans. In June of 2011, the implementation process started with two undergraduate architecture students and two graduate architecture students from the Knowlton School of Architecture, along with one undergraduate civil engineering student, all from The Ohio State University. While their first week included on-site orientation, team building and a project overview, the students quickly became acclimated with the technology they would become expert at during a focused three day training session on Revit Architecture.

By Kristina Bollin, Technical Specialist, U.S. CAD About this Blog Series: This is the second in a series of blogs that shares the extraordinary and sometimes life-changing stories and experiences of a group of CAD, AEC, GIS and BIM experts who have chosen to share their knowledge with under-served communities and nations. These volunteers work hand-in-hand with KnowledgeWell, a non-profit organization whose goal is to transform the barriers faced by under-resourced nations into opportunities for successful business enterprise and public sector programs. From Guam to Palau and beyond, KnowledgeWell helps these communities to become more self-sufficient, increase their visibility in the global marketplace and create awareness of sustainable, environmentally friendly business practices.

This blog is part three in a series that discusses the challenges and process involved in implementing BIM at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, a project which saw the team win the 2011 [acronym] Magazine Public Sector CAD Award. Phase 0: Standards and Process Development As discussed in the previous post, Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center senior leadership signed off on the “Big Bang” approach to converting all 6 million square feet of Medical Center space from a 2D CAD based process to an intelligent BIM managed process in November of 2010. Starting in February of 2011, we began Phase 0 of our implementation plan, which included four primary objectives: • Creation of the BIM Implementation Team • Development of BIM Standards and Revit Templates • Development of a process and workflow for model development • Preparing for Phase 1 (Big Bang Conversion) kick off

By Brian Skripac, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Director of Building Information Modeling (BIM) with DesignGroup, Columbus, Ohio This blog is part two in a series that discusses the challenges and process involved in implementing BIM at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, a project which saw the team win the 2011 [acronym] Magazine Public Sector CAD Award. Partnership & Collaboration As Joe discussed in the previous post, the Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center had already reached a decision to adopt BIM in order to get more value out of its space data and transition from AutoCAD, but he now needed to better understand how to implement it. Having decided on Revit Architecture as an important foundation to their overall BIM initiatives, the team still needed to have a much deeper understanding of the technology and more importantly how it would integrate/redefine their existing team and processes. The conversations that Joe and I began to have were driven from DesignGroup’s leadership with BIM through our early adoption of this technology in late 2005. As we’ve evolved into a 100% BIM environment, since the beginning of 2009, Joe had the assurance that we could successfully lead his team through their BIM implementation. Ultimately, the idea of partnership and collaboration became the cornerstone of our success and provided a mutually beneficial outcome for both of our organizations.

By Nancy Mann Jackson, Guest Blogger City and county governments are always looking for ways to plan, design, build and manage transportation infrastructure projects smarter, faster and more affordably. And many of them use various Autodesk solutions to make that happen. With Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite Premium, local governments have access to a comprehensive civil engineering and transportation infrastructure solution as a single economical and convenient purchase. The suite includes six Autodesk software tools that give municipalities everything they need to plan, design, build and manage road and highway projects in house and on budget. Here’s how these Autodesk tools have helped solve transportation infrastructure challenges for some local governments.

Arlington National Cemetery is the first national cemetery to use an Army-designed geospatial mapping system to manage operations at its 624 acre grounds.

By Joe Porostosky, Senior Manager of Facilities Information and Technology Services at The Ohio State University The Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State University is reaching the end of a project to convert all of our buildings from 2D AutoCAD drawings to 3D Building Information Models. This project covers 53 buildings and slightly more than six million square feet. Over the next five blog posts, my colleague, Brian Skripac, and I will share how the project was initiated, how it was executed, and the impact it has had on the Medical Center.

By Pete Kelsey, Technical Account Manager, Autodesk, Inc. 2011 marked my 20th year working in the AEC space. In those 20 years I’ve been incredibly lucky to have worked on projects great and small in the private and public sectors all over the world. One might assume my proudest moments would be related to massive projects like The Bay Bridge, The World Trade Center, etc. While I am proud that I have touched many, iconic mega-projects; whenever I am asked what is the work I am most proud of my answer is always the same. I love sharing my knowledge / experience / expertise with AEC technology with folks who in most circumstances might not ever be exposed to it.

More and more government agencies are using Autodesk software to improve communication and collaboration between agencies, gain cost effectiveness and improve the productivity of design and manufacturing projects. Here’s our lowdown of the top five ways AutoCAD is being or can be deployed by agencies to improve workflow processes and reduce cost without sacrificing the quality of work.