2 business elite canada H JANUARY 2014 JANUARY 2014 H business elite canada 3

At the heart of any project is a fixed

deadline, and in an industry where

decisions are routinely changed, the

security of this deadline is never assured. For

the Architecture, Engineering and Construc-

tion (AEC) industry, shifting deadlines are

compounded by the number of associated

businesses and contractors that may be in-

volved, along with the time delays and asso-

ciated costs. Schedule changes may occur in

order to accommodate both the owner and op-

erator. Risks associated with miscommunica-

tion around any and all project changes include

missed deadlines, financial penalties, re-work,

or loss of future tenders, which is why the AEC

community is attempting to be vigilant in how

they approach such project details.

The potential impact of miscommunication

within the fields of AEC is massive – the in-

dustry in Western Europe alone represents

10.7% of GDP. So maneuvering through a

global dilemma of miscommunication requires

technologies and new approaches in order to

breathe life into one-way communications.

Construction productivity has steadily gone

downhill as compared to other industries. Be-

4 business elite canada H JANUARY 2014 JANUARY 2014 H business elite canada 5

fore IPD (integrated project

delivery), the construction in-

dustry lagged behind the rest

and decreased in productivity

every year since 1964 through

2004, and held an 80% pro-

duction ratio, whereas other

industries exceeded to up to

200%. (Paul Teicholz, Ph.D.

Professor (Research) Emeri-

tus, Dept. of Civil and En-

vironmental Engineering,

Stanford University.) VIEW

ARTICLE.

Stanford University docu-

ments productivity in the form

of monetary value for con-

struction and design compa-

nies’ operations. The research

concludes that there is a $3

million cost reduction for gen-

eral contractors, and a roaring

$300, 000.00 of savings for

design companies. Statistics

conclude that through the use

of BIM (building information

modeling) and collaboration

technology there has been a

dramatic increase in produc-

tivity within the AEC field of

up to 20%. (User Maturity and

Benefits Achieved Through

the Use of SMART Board Col-

laboration Technology in Col-

laboration Sessions, Goldar-

cena, J., and J. Kunz, 05/2013.)

VIEW ARTICLE.

With new innovations and

a change in the way people

within the construction in-

dustry interact and communi-

cate, the currently unrealized

reduction of costs, shortened

project schedules and maxi-

mized efficiencies will surely

be welcomed by everyone.

Communication is the cornerstone of any great projectThe single biggest threat to any AEC project is miscommunication. It can lead to mistakes, rescheduling and inflated costs. SMART solutions can dramatically improve communication, helping you to deliver projects on time and on budget.

smarttech.com/designreview

6 business elite canada H JANUARY 2014 JANUARY 2014 H business elite canada 7

Gone are the days when pen

and paper or hard copy proj-

ect plans were the sole ele-

ments of communicating and

capturing ideas and changes

that may have been discussed.

Today, nothing compares to

a device that allows visual

communication to stand at

the forefront. Enter SMART

Technologies’ enabled BIM

Room Solution: a revolution-

ary technology that integrates

interactive touch technology

and 3D building with struc-

ture design software, and the

sharing of information for all

project stakeholders through

an easy interface.

For companies whose pri-

mary goal is to deliver an

on-time, on-budget project,

miscommunication errors

can reach into the millions.

The AEC field is not immune

to miscommunication, espe-

cially when having to coor-

dinate between the project

site, various office locations

where architects and engi-

neers may be working, along

with bringing subcontractors

and trades into the discus-

sions. SMART’s BIM Room

Solution offers the best-in-

class technology for effective

communication within AEC

project teams. The solution

includes in-room and remote

collaboration software along

with interactive touch displays

that are integrated with in-

dustry leading AEC software

from Tekla® Adobe® and

Autodesk®. These industry-

leading companies have cre-

ated a series of applications

for architects, engineers and

contractors to design and

collaborate on buildings and

structures in 3D. SMART’s

BIM Room allows for a vir-

tual working space to be cre-

ated and this is seen in real

time by all parties participat-

ing in the discussion. Because

it is virtual and broadcasted

using SMART remote confer-

encing software, participants

can use interactive displays,

laptops and tablets, virtually

anywhere. No longer is there

the need to fit 20 people in a

room and the associated time

and travel costs that requires.

The SMART Solution offers a

seamless communication plat-

form for all parties to view,

edit and alter as required.

At the end of these working

sessions, the digital files can

Communication is the cornerstone of any great projectMiscommunication can lead to added costs for AEC projects. Improve your communication with SMART solutions and deliver projects on time and on budget.

To learn more, visit smarttech.com/designreview

8 business elite canada H JANUARY 2014 JANUARY 2014 H business elite canada 9

be saved and immediately

emailed to all participants. No

longer does someone need to

painstakingly attempt to de-

cipher discussion notes and

transcribe mark-ups in order

to share such details.

IBSECAD, a UK based 3D De-

sign Company runs a series of

workshops on various com-

puter aided model (CAD) ap-

plications including Autodesk

Navisworks. Here is how Rich-

ard Baglow, Regional Director

of IBSECAD, describes the

benefits of using SMART’s

BIM Room. “This is a big step

forward from looking at paper

drawings and makes it easi-

er for the clients to visualise

their projects. However, the

challenge lies in how we work

with those models, record the

collaborative process and cap-

ture changes to the plans. We

were limited to using screen

grabs of images and marking

them up by hand, using Pho-

toshop packages or the com-

mentary tool on Autodesk

Navisworks, but it was a rel-

atively slow process.” The

combination of hardware and

software support ensures bet-

ter coordination and commu-

nication during any phase of

project delivery from concept

to construction to close-out.

AEC project team members

now have the ability to col-

laborate, communicate and

coordinate with other project

members using SMART’s re-

mote collaboration capability.

This keeps the right people

connected throughout the

project– whether they are in

the same room or remote -

making miscommunication a

thing of the past.

“The solution facilitates the

ability to bring in a wide vari-

ety of visual content – every-

thing from a simple sketch in

early project stage to high res-

olution images and 3D models

– and to be able to bring all

that content into a discussion

where people can freely col-

laborate, mark up or capture

and it doesn’t matter if they’re

physically located together or

geographically separated. Ul-

timately this will shorten cycle

times, produce better results

and reduce costs,” says Rick

Kennedy, SMART’s Business

Development Manager spe-

cializing in the AEC market.

Kennedy has been intimately

involved in the evolution of

SMART Solutions for busi-

ness users for the past seven

years. During that time he has

worked with hundreds of cus-

tomers and helped shape the

design and user experience of

AEC solutions.

Having all parties interact us-

ing visual communication will

inevitably improve project pro-

ficiency. “To have visual con-

tent available like a 3D model,

we can all pick up a pen and

visually describe exactly what

we’re talking about… This

encourages engagement from

Rick KennedyBusiness Development Manager

10 business elite canada H JANUARY 2014 JANUARY 2014 H business elite canada 11

everyone, which ultimately

delivers both faster and better

results,” adds Rick.

The development of SMART’s

BIM Room Solution is sig-

nificantly influenced by the

people who use them. In es-

sence, SMART consults with

customers to help define

their products. For example,

SMART turned to two of the

largest construction organiza-

tions in the United States –

Turner Construction and DPR

Construction - to help create

the requirements for the inte-

grations with industry leading

AEC software applications.

“When everyone sees the im-

pact that changing something

in one spot has on other ar-

eas – it gives everyone an

appreciation for what each

person is bringing to the proj-

ect,” says Atul Khanzode,

DPR Construction’s Director

of Virtual Building. “This op-

portunity to explore and re-

solve pain points in a virtual

environment ahead of time

will have a direct impact on

how smoothly construction

will go.” Echoing these senti-

ments, Dan Gramer of Turner

Construction asserts, “It has

changed our meetings. We’re

able to get on topic, pull up

a 3D model, show the prob-

lem and quickly get others on

board.”

SMART has worked with Stan-

ford University’s Centre for In-

tegrated Facility Engineering

(CIFE) and its clients for close

to a decade. As a premier aca-

demic research center for Vir-

tual Design and AEC industry

projects, CIFE supports ex-

ceptionally reliable engineer-

ing and management practices

to plan, design, construct and

operate sustainable facilities.

The world-renowned Univer-

sity has closely assessed the

application and released a re-

search paper on the economic

impact of adopting SMART

Solutions into organizations

that have implemented build-

ing information modeling.

Their findings conclude that

these companies can real-

ize a return of investment in

as little as one week and im-

prove on-time performance.

John Kunz, Executive Direc-

tor of CIFE, relays that, “the

result of an economic analy-

sis of these benefits and as-

sociated costs suggest a very

strong business case for this

collaboration technology for

a broad spectrum of design

and construction organiza-

tions.” The study confirms

that shorter project meetings,

improved safety and a bet-

ter understanding of client

requirements are a result of

implementing SMART’s hard-

ware and software solution.

RFI’s (request for informa-

tion) are required when the

parties involved in the proj-

ect need additional informa-

tion or clarity, either at the bid

phase or construction phase.

Improving the collaboration

12 business elite canada H JANUARY 2014 JANUARY 2014 H business elite canada 13

and communication between

project stakeholders can re-

sult in significant reduction

in the number of RFI’s and ul-

timately deliver better quality

projects – faster.

To visually review project

plans in a group environment

will allow for faster under-

standing, and thereby reduce

the number of RFI submis-

sions. “The research conduct-

ed by Stanford shows there

is a significant reduction in

RFI’s as a result of improved

collaboration,” says Kenne-

dy. “It’s not just the time to

do the work but the time to

respond, because when you

submit an RFI you’re not get-

ting an immediate response,

but when you visually look at

content and have everyone on

the same page it can signifi-

cantly reduce the time.”

The solution for AEC proj-

ect teams has applications

at every stage of the project

from a simple sketch in the

early project stage or ‘fat pen’

stage, to the ability to work-

ing directly in industry lead-

ing AEC applications ranging

from Autodesk Navisworks,

Revit, AutoCAD to Tekla BIM-

sight during the design phase

and construction phases.

“We have achieved a signifi-

cant return on investment

from the implementation of

SMART Board interactive

whiteboards and SMART

Bridgit conferencing soft-

ware,” says Ken Cartier, Part-

ner and Lead Architect of

GEC Architecture. “SMART

collaboration solutions en-

able staff and clients to easily

view highly-detailed architec-

tural drawings and experience

greater collaboration which

has resulted in meetings that

are quicker and more produc-

tive. Our entire investment in

the solution was easily paid

for with one architectural

project.”

Integrated Project Delivery

(IPD) is the process where all

stakeholders are rewarded or

penalized based on the overall

success of the project. They all

share accountability and risk

throughout each phase which

greatly influences the need to

work collaboratively.

“In order to do that more effec-

tively they need the tools and

will benefit the entire indus-

try,” Kennedy says. Because

of this shared accountability

of risk and success along with

everyone having equal access

to the pie, it is no wonder why

the IPD process is growing in

its popularity.

One of the challenges the AEC

14 business elite canada H JANUARY 2014 JANUARY 2014 H business elite canada 15

industry faces is reluctance

to adopt new technology un-

less they are highly motivated

and is easy to use. “When we

have students arrive or new

hires join, at first they can

be a bit hesitant to use it. But

once they do, there’s just no

going back. You just keep us-

ing it and finding new ways

to use it, as well,” says Peter

Osborne, Partner at GEC Ar-

chitecture. “There’s always a

challenge in terms of people

having to work differently

with a change of technology,”

says Kennedy. “Our consult-

ing and adoption services

were created to try to under-

stand how the technology is

to be used and how organi-

zations will work differently

given the new capability. We

go in and work with custom-

ers and show them how they

can take full advantage of the

technology to enhance their

workflows. We have a vested

interest in people’s success.”

“With the SMART solution,

we can very easily demon-

strate what works in a design

and what doesn’t. The evolu-

tion of a plan can take place

right there, when normally it

would take three meetings,”

explains Helma Gansen,

President of Gansen Lindsay

Design Consultants. “The

SMART Board is a tool that

is very relevant to the way we

communicate and work to-

day.”

A critical success factor also

proves to be that industry

leaders, such as Trimble, have

worked closely with SMART

to improve the software –

which is constantly evolving

and improving -- and help

provide specific solutions.

“If I were to describe some-

thing in words and voice only,

there would be miscommu-

nications and clarifications

required, but if I show you

visually and draw out how it

works it’ll be clearer and re-

quire less time,” Kennedy ad-

vocates. It is because of these

significant results and savings

reaching into the millions that

the members of the AEC in-

dustry have dubbed SMART

Solutions for AEC Project

Teams as “game-changing.”

SMART Technologies Inc. -

the mastermind behind this

imperative product - is a lead-

ing provider of technology so-

lutions that enable inspired

collaboration in schools and

workplaces around the world,

by turning group work into a

highly interactive, engaging

and productive experience.

SMART delivers integrated

solutions of hardware, soft-

ware and services, designed

for superior performance and

ease of use, and retains its

place as a frontrunner in in-

teractive displays.

For more information on The

SMART BIM Room and other

solutions, visit:

www.smarttech.com

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