One of the key benefits of BIM for members of the AEC sector is its ability to enhance coordination and collaboration between multiple project stakeholders by granting them joint access to a shared source of detailed, up-to-date project information.
BIM solutions provider Invicara hopes to further extend this core capability with the latest version of its collaborative cloud-based platform BIM Assure, which adds a slew of new features for improving data quality and information sharing.
BIM Assure already facilitates the creation of a readily accessible BIM environment via a web app that lets project participants manage building data via their smart mobile devices.
This is an increasingly critical feature for BIM data users, as it enables them to access project information with greater convenience while on-site, instead of confining usage to CAD software users, office-bound computers or burdensome laptops.
The cloud and mobile capabilities added to BIM Assure 1.2 increase information sharing and facilitate data validation and reporting.
Chief among these capabilities is the Element Data Editing feature, which improves the ability of users to make amendments to BIM models directly by means of their mobile devices.
Element Data Editing lets users access building data and establish new workflows that can be directly altered in BIM Assure before these amendments are synced back in Revit.
When it comes to improving information sharing, BIM Assure 1.2 has added a new Elements Report capability that helps with the dissemination of building data.
The Elements Report feature permits the conversion of model data into detailed Excel format reports, making it easier to access and manipulate this information for other project purposes.
The creation of Excel reports on model data also improves information sharing by making project information accessible to those who aren’t direct participants in the BIM environment.
Other new features include the Data Slice capability, which permits the creation of focused model element sets that make navigation and data reporting easier, as well as Interactive 2D Views, which permits users to highlight elements in the 3D model by selecting them in the 2D plan.
Invicara hopes that this expanded functionality will help users to improve the quality of BIM data as well as share and communicate it more effectively with people they collaborate with on projects.
According to Tim Luke, CEO of BIM consultancy Basepin, the ability to access quality building data is an issue of increasing importance for the AEC sector.
“My owner clients are demanding better data,” said Luke. “Basepin’s LOD-based contracts specify exactly what model data is required and how it can be used.”
Luke said that cloud-based solutions like BIM Assure play a critical role in maintaining the quality of information and then disseminating that information to relevant stakeholders.
“We use BIM Assure to check models against agreed LOD requirements and produce LOD reports … helping us ensure the models have the right information, reducing RFIs and providing a better project handover.”