When we hear the term Building Information Model (BIM), the word building stands out, but let’s not forget that BIM and Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) go well beyond just buildings. This presentation will bring together VDC Leaders from the water/wastewater market segment who will highlight the value of BIM and VDC on these project types from the perspective of a designer, builder, and owner, demonstrating a full lifecycle approach to leveraging these technologies and processes in design-build.

The Virtual Design & Construction Leadership Exchange (VDCLEx) was co-located with this year’s Design-Build Conference & Expo. This half-day pre-conference event explored how VDC is impacting designers, builders and Owners by enhancing design excellence, increasing quality and productivity, and improving lifecycle costs. The event included a general session, Leaders Forum and two specialized tracks: one for experienced VDC professionals and those new to VDC. No matter what your level of VDC experience, the VDCLEx offers opportunities to better understand how design and construction technology and emerging processes are integral to driving greater efficiencies on design-build projects.

The use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and 3D drawings have become a de facto standard for the design of water and wastewater treatment facilities. These BIM models have proven to be very effective in communicating ideas early in the design process to optimize a facility’s performance and achieve consensus with an owner. However, there are few examples and limited standards for design-build projects, particularly for progressive design-build, on how contractors should best apply BIM during construction, and establish requirements for final BIM delivery to owners, that will provide efficiencies and cost savings for ongoing operations and maintenance. This webinar will discuss the practical applications for BIM through the design-build process, and considerations for contract documents, owner’s requirements, and final submittals that will support long term facility maintenance and asset management systems. The promise of BIM is for information developed during design to aid in building assembly modeling, or BAM, through the construction phase to enable efficient scheduling, contractor coordination, and cost control. Ultimately, if design-build is done right, the owner can leverage BIM and BAM for building operations optimization modeling, or BOOM, to support enterprise asset management that minimizes energy consumption, optimizes maintenance, and guides overall facility operations.