News

bSa Monthly Report - February 2011

Feb 28 2011

We have 126 people on the NBIMS-US Project Committee of those 67 have signed up to be on working groups. This is great news. I have reviewed the lists and there is some incredible talent going to be on those workgroups. The final list will be available after midnight tomorrow when that item closes.
As of today we have 90 of the 126 people on the NBIMS-US Project Committee who have voted on the ratification of the Rules of Governance for the NBIMS-US effort. The 36 remaining folks have a little over one week to cast their ballot or they will be removed from the committee list. We need to do this to maintain the quorum. If someone is removed, they will simply need to re-apply. We just need to be sure people on the committee remain active.
If you would like to be on the Project Committee for the National BIM Standard – United States it is simple. buildingSMART alliance members simply go to http://www.buildingsmartalliance.org/support/application/ to sign up. If you are not a member of the Alliance, you can sign up there also to become a member. One needs first to be a member of NIBS in order to participate on a Council of which buildingSMART alliance is one. You might be interested also in other councils. There is no additional cost to belong to any council at the Institute.
Training for the ballot module of the portal will begin this week. You will soon see voting added to your tabs across the top of the page when you sign on to the member portal. Please also watch the calendar on the portal as well as your email for the training schedule.
This was an extremely active month. It started with the Healthcare BIM Consortium meeting in Oakland. This is a group representing Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health, Mayo Clinics, Veterans' Administration, and DoD Medical. Bottom line is that they want information rich open BIM and interoperability and they want it now!
We also briefed the Society of Fire Protection Engineers early in the month. We invited them to participate on the Project Committee.
A webinar was presented late last month the Green Building Pro. It was recorded and is now available on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWLkHrfSuFI
The BIM Forum in San Diego was one of the best attended yet. The focus was on exterior closure however, as with all these events, many other issues were covered. I do recommend AGC BIM Forum as a group to track.
The week following the buildingSMART International ExCom met in Paris with several leading French firms. Suffice it to say that the French are moving out aggressively on the use of IFC's. There was a new initiative pushing IFC:Infrastructure which we are looking into through NIST. It would require expansion of the IFCs into roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects. While the idea has been around for a while, it is now gaining traction due to the expanded use of IFC for interoperability. I predict by the end of 2012 IFC's will be the primary format for interoperability.
The meeting in Paris was primarily focused on developing a vision for 2020 for buildingSMART International. A vision document and roadmap / business plan will be emerging. The early draft looks very promising.
The Institute sent a letter commending the President for his recognition of his support of BIM in his State of the Union address. The text of the letter may be viewed via the link on the website: http://www.buildingsmartalliance.org/newsevents/news/Entry/obamahighlights
That same week a group of folks from the Institute met with Representative Gregg Harper (R-MISS) who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee. The discussion was on how BIM could help reduce the impact of regulations by making it easier to report compliance as well as how BIM could help get people back to work.
The Alliance working through the Institute is looking into a new strategic relationship with the UK. There will be more to come on that effort later.
In March, we will begin receiving ballots for the National BIM Standard. We are in need of resources to move this effort along more efficiently. If you can, please consider sponsorship of the Alliance. Remember we do not get any funding from the Federal government other than through sponsorships, memberships, and project funding. Be sure also to watch for your renewal notice. It will come by mail as well as email.
Also, spread the news to others if you like what we are doing. We need experts from all facets of the industry. The products we deliver will only be as good and complete as the people involved.