Remember when a pro sports stadium would only cost about $500 million or so to build? Ahhh, they were the good old days of seven or eight years ago. Now, we're putting up ballparks reaching dollar values well above $1 billion. The new Yankee stadium which opened for business this spring complete with a martini bar and steakhouse is the second most expensive sports arena ever built at $1.5 billion, next to London's Wembley Stadium which wasn't very much more.While the 2009 World Series may or may not be heading back to this monstrosity in the Bronx, Yankee stadium will remain for this season or next as a brilliant product of building information technology.
BIM allows builders to effectively build a facility twice. This collaborative review of the constructability of the building helped minimize costly design clashes and field coordination problems before they occurred in the field.
BIM exemplifies the essence of construction project coordination among owners, general contractors, designers, and subcontractors. And while this takes time, effort, headaches, and of course money up front in a project, the benefits in the construction process can far outweigh any initial cost.
However, it is very difficult to put a number on how much money was saved by using this 3-D, collaborative project delivery method, because you of course don't know what conflicts would have occurred in the field had you not used it. This is actually one of the biggest deterrents to BIM at the moment because there is not enough quantifiable evidence showing it's benefits. Also, subcontractors are wary of getting involved in such projects because of their lack of experience.
James Barett, the Regional Manager of Virtual Construction Technologies for Turner Construction in New York made the following comments about the implementation of BIM on the Yankees Stadium:
And what if your subcontracting firm is unfamiliar with BIM at this time?
Frank Falciani, a senior vice president with Skanska USA Builing says,
Man, I really hope we get back to work before 2013 or 2014, but in the meantime, I agree that this is a fantastic opportunity to implement BIM into your business operations and can give companies a large advantage over the market.
James Barett, the Regional Manager of Virtual Construction Technologies for Turner Construction in New York made the following comments about the implementation of BIM on the Yankees Stadium:
This was one of the first major jobs in New York that was doing this at
this level, so the subs were all learning. This was a full coordinated effort
with all the subs. It was such a high profile job it gave us some leverage to
encourage them to do this, as well. Going forward that’s going to mean a lot to
these subs on future jobs and it’s going to mean a lot to us because we’ll have
an idea of who to look for on certain jobs. And now they’re pushing us. They say
“We want this to be a BIM job.”
And what if your subcontracting firm is unfamiliar with BIM at this time?
Frank Falciani, a senior vice president with Skanska USA Builing says,
"Subcontractors should take this downturn that we have right now and invest. If money is available for anything, they should invest in this technology to be ready for the explosion that’s going to happen in 2013 or 2014 when we finally wake up and realize that it’s time to go back to work."
Man, I really hope we get back to work before 2013 or 2014, but in the meantime, I agree that this is a fantastic opportunity to implement BIM into your business operations and can give companies a large advantage over the market.
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I wonder just how easy....ahem..difficult.... it was to work with some subs on that project. Obviously its a very large project, so many of the subs are more professional and organized. But there always seem to be those kooky guys in the field who don't want to listen...
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