NBS and Autodesk

Throughout this summer at NBS we have been doing a number of joint webinars with our partners.

This week, as part of the Building Magazine webinar series, we joint presented with Autodesk.

This full webinar is available on demand on the Building webinar portal, but as part of this blog post, I've simply embedded the video captures showing how Revit, Chorus and BIM360 all work together.

- https://events.assemblemediagroup.co.uk/webinars/

1. Collaboration

2. Automation

3. Structuring information

4. Tracking change

5. Interoperability

Find out more about NBS Chorus at:

- www.theNBS.com/Chorus

NBS Construction Leaders' Summit 2020

It's our NBS conference on the mornings of Tues 13th and Wednesday 14th October.

This year it is 100% online. Just over six months ago we would have booked a nice venue, limited places to 200 or so and put on the event in person.

In the current climate though - it has to be online. 

A slight negative is that networking and discussions may not be quite the same as 'in person'. However,
(a) without having to have the speaker physically there means that the quality of speakers we have is exceptionally high; and
(b) we don't have to cap the attendance. So with over two weeks to go we have over 1,000 delegates booked on already!

Our dedicated conference website is below - you can book on there:
- https://www.thenbs.com/events/cls2020

So, in this blogpost, I wanted to list out some of the speakers. At NBS we brainstormed a shopping list of who we thought the best speakers would be for a digital construction conference in 2020 - and when we asked them, to our surprise, all of them said yes. Seven highlighted speakers below...

1. Nadhim Zahawi MP

Government is the biggest construction client in any country. So it's going to be great to hear from the very top, the Minister for Business and Industry and co-chair of the Construction Leadership Council, Nadhim Zahawi MP.

I'm used to seeing him on BBC Question Time and Sky News - so it will be incredible to have him open up the NBS conference for us.

2. Dame Judith Hackitt

Undoubtedly the biggest changes to construction in this generation will be those that come in to place as part of the Building Safety Bill. It was Dame Judith Hackitt that led the team authoring the 'Hackitt Review' that shaped the bill. Personally I think that this will be a bigger push to digital than many of the various BIM initiatives. To legally have to keep a digital record of building information through the major gateways from planning to occupation is going to really shake up the industry and greatly improve it.

3. Phil Bernstein

Phil was the exec at Autodesk back in 2002 that thought it would be a good idea to buy Revit. Rumour has it that he was also the person who came up with the label 'BIM' to explain what was happening as the industry was moving from 2D documents to object-orientated digital information. I've heard Phil speak two or three times and he's well worth listening to. He'll be joining us from the USA.

4. Paul Morrell

I've listened to 100s of speakers over the last twenty years, and I'd say that Paul is probably the best and the most inspirational in my opinion. As Chief Construction Advisor to UK Government, I still remember him in 2010 at the BSRIA conference launching the UK Government's BIM Strategy. I also remember being on the same platform as him at the ICE 2012 event where Level-2 BIM was really getting into gear. Paul will be joining us from France.

5. David Rockhill, Mckinsey

Every BIM conference I have been to for the last five years has featured research from Mckinsey showing the connection between 'going digital' and productivity. It'll be good to hear a full presentation on this from David Rockhill. David has most recently focussed on digital transformation and business-building for infrastructure owners and construction companies.

6. Anne Kemp, UK BIM Alliance

Following BIM Level 2, it was time to take the UK PAS 1992 suite of standards and turn them into international standards to really put the UK at the vanguard of global BIM. Anne was the person that probably did more than most to win hearts and minds internationally and get the ISO 19650 series pushed through as a BIM standard for the globe.

7. Mark Farmer - author of Modernise or Die

Mark was commissioned by UK Government to review construction. In 2016 is 'Modernize or Die' review shook things up a little. Mark made ten recommendations. The Government agreed to implement nine of these.

I've heard Mark speak a few times - definitely worth listening to him.

Don't miss out, sign up for tickets now:
- https://www.thenbs.com/events/cls2020

Short codes for similar system types

At NBS recently, we've been doing quite a few webinars. One of the most frequently asked questions has been about how practices are using codes to group similar types of systems together.

For example, if your project has 5 of 6 different floor covering systems, then giving each of these a code such as FCS001, FCS002, FCS003 etc... so these codes can be used in planning sheets, annotations, schedules etc...

Examples of this are shown below...

Planning the specification and drawings

Annotating drawings from a linked model and specification

So to get further feedback, I posted a request within our NBS Chorus ideas forum.
- https://support.thenbs.com/support/discussions/topics/7000040360
(to follow link you need NBS ID linked to Chorus subscription)

Chorus ideas forum

Request for contributions

It was great to then see some of our subscribers passing their codes to us to create a 'crowd sourced' Google Sheet. Thanks to Patrick C from AHMM for the list below...

Architectural codes

Lewis from Hydrock then pointed me in the direction of Carl from CIBSE who provided more...

Building services codes

It's an interesting subject. I personally really like the balance between Uniclass 2015 for the in-depth classification, but then an accompanying short code (a bit like a car registration plate) for packaging items and quickly verbally referring to a specific type.

Please keep the feedback coming in. Message me on Twitter or drop me an email into NBS.

NBS Chorus and model integration

Since the launch of NBS Chorus in 2019 one of the features that has received the most positive feedback is the model integration feature.

This blog post looks at seven reasons why those still using keynoting in their design software may want to consider transitioning to the NBS Chorus plug-in.

As of January 2020, this article applies to both Autodesk Revit and Graphisoft ArchiCAD modelling software.

Click on the images below for larger versions.

1. View the project specification from within the modelling software
Probably the biggest advantage of the plug-in is to see the actual clauses from the project specification from the context of the design.
Providing permissions are granted, the spec can be modified from the modelling software. Furthermore, new clauses can be added at the point when corresponding objects are added to the model.

View spec inline

2. View technical guidance from within the modelling software
The benefits of an NBS subscription go beyond the creation of a project specification. It also provides access to thousands of pages of maintained technical guidance and corresponding links to key industry publications. This is now synchronised with what is being clicked on in the model.

Access 1000s of pages of NBS technical guidance

3. View team notes from within the modelling software
The notes feature within NBS Chorus means that those working on the design and specification can share comments alongside the model and specification so that issues that arise can be efficiently resolved.

Capture decisions on projects against the spec

4. See which objects are associated and which ones are not
It is likely that hundreds if not thousands of items are annotated within a large model. A model report is available from the NBS plug-in which clearly shows which objects are Associated and which objects are not. It is also possible to jump to view the object and spec from this page.

View what is linked and what isn't

5. See which associations are broken and get assistance in fixing these
Over time, it is likely that some object associations will break. Clauses or objects may be removed. The type codes may change. In the example below, the type code is 'Type D' for a particular set of doors in the model, it is DRS-004 in the spec. The Chorus plug-in alerts the user to this and gives assistance in fixing this.

Fix any issues that arise as the project develops

6. Link to a single source of truth
When working with files on a file system (such as Keynote TXT file), there can be a problem knowing what the latest version is and whether multiple copies are in exisistence. By linking directly to the live specification in the cloud - designers can know that they always working off the correct, up-to-date information.

A single source of truth in the cloud

7. Many-to-many associations
It is not always the case that there is a one-to-one link between the specification and the model file. The Chorus plug-in allows one model to link to multiple specifications. Equally it allows multiple models to link to the same specification. This gives the project team the flexability to split model and specification the way they want to.

Split your models and specifications as you want to

For those wanting to use keynoting for projects that are in progress. Export to keynote format is not yet available within Chorus - as a manual workaround we would suggest.

Export the specification to MS Word and generate a table of contents that goes three headings deep...

Export to Word

Copy and paste this content to Excel and format the text to suit the keynote file format required.

Copy and paste to Excel

The feature request to generate a keynote export from NBS Chorus has been added to our feature request Support area. This will be considered alongside other requests - so NBS subscribers can comment in the support area. Additional features to the plug-in - or export functionality can be requested here.

NBS Chorus - Project case studies

NBS Chorus continues to be used more and more now on construction projects around the world. It's been really good this year to hear how it is being used and learn from the experience of the architects and engineers who have been the early-adopters.

We now have a nice case studies page on our website:
- theNBS.com/Case-Studies

In this blog post, I just wanted to highlight two of these below.

1. BDP - Large Multi-disciplinary practice
The BDP case study tells the story of mutli-disciplinary specification across the project team on a new build primary school project in Scotland.

Primary school

The case study is taken from the AU London class from myself and BDP's Alistair Kell. It looks at how specification and model can be developed in parallel from the Developed Design stage of a project through to Technical Design.

If you are interested in learning more about producing a fully coordinated set of design and specification information all classified to Uniclass 2015 then check out the story below:
- https://www.thenbs.com/knowledge/producing-coordinated-project-information-in-a-digital-world

2. David Miller Architects - 10-20 SME architectural practice
The David Miller case story covers similar principles to the BDP story. However, it is nice to view the same approach from a small architectural practice that is delivering on complex projects by leveraging an innovative approach to technology.

Wall details from a housing project

Even in a smaller project team, the need for collaboration and coordination is most definitely there. The above screenshot shows complex wall details generated from a model that are coordinated with the specification information in the NBS Chorus cloud platform.
- https://www.thenbs.com/knowledge/customer-success-story-david-miller-architects

Watch out for more case studies in 2020. We're hoping to soon have some good stories from practices using Macs/ArchiCAD and clients and contractors who are now seeing the benefit of collaborative cloud specification.

UK BIM Alliance - BS EN ISO 19650 Guidance - Part 1

Edit (24/12) - Blog post on Part 2 now added

A free guide to the BS EN ISO 19650 series is now available:
- https://www.ukbimalliance.org/stories/information-management-according-to-bs-en-iso-19650/

UK BIM Alliance - BS EN ISO 19650 Guidance

This guide has been produced by UK BIM Alliance in association with Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB) and BSI.

The guide sets the scene of why digital information management is important and what the rationale for the 19650 series was. It then looks at the legal and security implications and in particular signposts the CIC BIM Protocol and the PAS 1192-5 standard.

The second half of the publication looks at the information delivery cycle and provides some practical examples.

It's good to see references to NBS resources. In particular:

• Secton 6.5 looking level of information need. The guide references the work in progress here at a CEN level and also the free-to-use LOD and LOI guides on the NBS BIM Toolkit.
• Section 6.6 gives a good overview on how to classify information and uses examples from Uniclass 2015.
• Finally, Section 7 looks at the National Annex to BS EN ISO 19650-2 and provides guidance on the naming of information containers and associated metadata with respect to information delivery using common data environments. I blogged on a similar subject earlier in the year and NBS colleagues have been in discussions with the UK BIM Alliance team on this topic.

With respect to the National Annex, expect further alignment between the Form of Information and Roles Tables in Uniclass in the next month or two.

So - a good publication - great to see that support such as this is being produced for free for the industry and well done to those that have given up their time to contribute.

Download it from the link below:
- https://www.ukbimalliance.org/stories/information-management-according-to-bs-en-iso-19650/

Autodesk University 2018 - Handout

Details on the class I am delivering at Autodesk University 2018 next week are below:
- https://autodeskuniversity.smarteventscloud.com/connect/sessionDetail.ww?SESSION_ID=225026

Hopefully see a few people there on Tuesday Nov 13 at 8am.

The class is completely full :), but in previous years they have let people queue and then take the place of those who don't show up.

Again, it's an honour to be co-presenting with Jim Quanci from Autodesk who has led out the Autodesk Developers Network for years and more recently the Autodesk Forge programme.

If anyone attending AU would like to catch up over a cup of coffee - please send me a tweet at @StephenHamilNBS.

My class handout can be downloaded from the link below:
- Stephen Hamil - NBS - Handout - AU 2018.pdf

As always, I'll do an accompanying blog post to go with the class as a record.

CanBIM Toronto 2018 - NBS presentation

To watch my presentation from CanBIM Toronto 2018, please click play on the video below.

It covers three areas:

1. Setting a BIM strategy
2. The importance of data quality
3. Examples of tools to help with BIM implementation

I hope to be back in Canada for a CanBIM in 2019!

Toronto pics...

Producing coordinated project information in a digital world

This blog post includes a few extracts from my BiLT NA presentation at St Louis, USA. Please consider this a digital 'handout' to accompany the class.

1. The need for quality information
My colleague Dave Watson (President Digicon Canada, NBS) presented the first section.

Dave also wrote an article for theNBS.com covering the topic that can be read below:
- https://www.thenbs.com/discover/its-all-about-the-information

The first part of this message is one that could pre-date the use of computers. The need for quality information - whether this is the template content-sets that a practice uses to write their technical information - or the final information that is issued out of the office.

Lots of great tips were given, I like the 'seven Cs' of specification writing in particular.

Master specification systems provide template content

The presentation then moved to look at the further benefits that a digital master specification system can bring over attempting to manage specifications using a tool such as Microsoft Word.

I worked with Dave to do an article for theNBS.com on this subject that can be read below:
- https://www.thenbs.com/discover/ten-benefits-of-a-master-specification-system-over-microsoft-word

Digital master spec systems - use the right tool for the job

2. NBS Chorus illustrating good specification practice

At the BiLT NA event, we were launching NBS Chorus, our new cloud-based specification platform. I used the opportunity to demonstrate a number of advantages a modern digital system can bring to information assembly.

2.1 Specification creation

When creating a specification, the user is offered a selection of content-sets. In the example below, it can be seen that content-sets from the UK, Canada and Australia are presented to the user.

2.2 Specification editing

When editing a specification, the user experience has similarities between the content sets. The content can be quickly accessed from the right-hand pane. The specification is edited in the central pane and synchronised guidance is displayed to the right. The differences are with respect the classification and section structure. Uniclass 2015 is the format for UK and Australia and MasterFormat for Canada.

2.3 Specification within other key workflows

The following example demonstrates how NBS Chorus will integrate with other software applications within the BIM workflow. As Chorus is a web platform with an exposed API, it will be relatively easy to embed in other applications and websites to give an improved, more integrated, user experience.

2.4 Formatting well-structured data

The well-structured data within NBS Chorus is preserved when assembling a document for printing/exporting to PDF. In the following example, the navigation pane in the exported output demonstrates how this content can easily be reformatted to present in its most suitable format as tender/contract specification.

2.5 Collaborating in the cloud from any platform

Typically specifications have been written on a Windows desktop machine and then shared as Word or PDF or paper documents. The example below shows how two members of the same team can work collaboratively from different devices - in this example, using Google Chrome on a desktop PC and using Apple Safari on an iPhone.

Find out more...

Further information on NBS Chorus is now available on theNBS.com website. Content sets include specification libraries to Uniclass 2015 for use on projects to UK standards and MasterFormat for use on projects to Canadian standards. We also have a preview library for projects to Australian standards.

Find out more at:

- theNBS.com/Chorus

Discover NBS

We have a number of different events coming up where you can come and hear about some exciting product developments from NBS.

Last week we published our Discover NBS web portal which will provide details on these plans:
- theNBS.com/Discover

Some dates for the diary - either to come and see us in person - or watch out for social media to keep in touch from a far:

1. BiLT NA - St Louis, USA - 9, 10 and 11th August 2018
   Hear the keynote from our Chief Exec Richard Waterhouse. Classes also from myself on collaborative specification and standardized BIM objects.
   Register for a one-to-one meeting - or register for a class.
   
2. CanBIM - Toronto, Canada - 19th and 20th September 2018
   Presentation on collaborative specification and smart cities. Also come to see us at our exhibition stand.
   More information here.
   
3. Discover NBS event - London, UK - 25th September 2018
   A review of recent product developments, customer case-studies, networking and a look at the future of NBS.
   Sign up here.
   
4. Discover NBS event - Manchester, UK - 2nd October 2018
   A review of recent product developments, customer case-studies, networking and a look at the future of NBS.
   Sign up here.
   
5. Discover NBS event - Newcastle, UK - 4th October 2018
   A review of recent product developments, customer case-studies, networking and a look at the future of NBS.
   Sign up here.
   
6. Discover NBS event - Edinburgh, UK - 10th October 2018
   A review of recent product developments, customer case-studies, networking and a look at the future of NBS.
   Sign up here.
   

We'll be publishing lots of accompanying web articles over the coming weeks to support the announcements at BILT NA - keep an eye out for them (and I'll highlight and supplement these on this blog). But some articles already live:

Read how we have been working with a group of customers that deliver projects around the world to understand customer needs around a online specification platform with global content:

- https://www.thenbs.com/discover/nbs-innovation-panel

Learn more about Dave Watson who is leading the NBS activities in North America:

- https://www.thenbs.com/discover/introducing-david-watson

Find our more at:

- theNBS.com/Discover

Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #DiscoverNBS

Westminster

At the end of January I had two trips to Westminster to discuss digital construction.

The first was to take part in an 'expert roundtable' chaired by Chi Onwurah who is Shadow Minster for Industrial Strategy, Science and Innovation. NBS provided some of the participants as did the Federation of Master Builders and the British Property Federation.

After doing a number of projects over recent years to support the Government's construction initiatives, it was nice to be invited to participate in an event to help shape the oppositions strategy in this area.

Whenever you do a roundtable, you know that you will not get too much time to speak. So in preparation I wrote notes on the train down as to some of the key points against the discussion topics. These are below...

A roundtable session helping to influencing political strategy

1. How can we ensure we have the workforce required to meet the needs of the nation with future potential impacts on immigration?

We have to not take for granted that our young people will choose a career in the industry. At secondary school, those with a talent for designing and with a talent for building things must be made aware of the opportunities in the AEC sector. We need to show it’s an innovative, modern, rewarding career for those wanting to design or build. And something like engineering isn’t just for white males. The best talent it school is from a diverse background – this then isn’t represented in industry.

Going further, for those attracted to getting a professional qualification and university. There must be support on funding to help with fees. Equally the case to choose a career in the AEC sector must be made – and we’re up against stiff competition from automotive, aerospace and increasingly digital industries.

As we grow our countries infrastructure, we will of course still need immigration to meet demand. But in parallel to pulling in talent from around the world, we need to maximise the opportunities for our young people coming through our education system.

Examples:
- Design Engineer Construct in secondary schools
- Go Construct resources

Stats:
6.3% of GDP
£45bn of government spend
16% of UK employment = 2.9million jobs

2. To what extent can modern-methods-of-construction (MMC) and digital technologies transform the construction sector and how we can maximise their potential?

To appreciate the impact of digital technologies, you need to simply look at ten year steps to see how much has changed and how much will change. Ten years ago we had desktop products, physical libraries and the prime exchange format was paper. Twenty years ago we were taught design on a physical drawing board.

In ten years’ time we will be working collaboratively in the cloud and the knowledge we consume will be from a feedback loop coming from actual operation data with processing from artificial intelligence. Undoubtedly, MMC will grow and grow, we’ve standardised brick, block, door and window sizes and produce these in a factory. The same will happen with bedrooms, classrooms, bathrooms and surgeries.

Example:
- Bryden Wood publications for Government last year

3. How do we drive up productivity and standards within the small to medium enterprise (SME) construction sector?

SMEs do not have the research and development budget that larger organisations have. They cannot afford the luxury of dedicated staff to manage and champion standard, process or information in their office.

To allow SMEs to drive up their productivity standards there must be organisations and groups that pull together best practice and distribute this knowledge. At NBS we recognised that there was standardised way of producing specifications in the 1960s. We filled that need and now have affordable offerings for all sizes of projects. Five or six years ago we recognised there was no standardisation around objects and classification for BIM. Again, we filled that need and this gives great efficiencies and reduces waste across the industry.

Big Ben is poorly

Some impressive architecture/engineering within Portcullis House

The most expensive meeting space in London in £/m2?

The second event (the following week) was in support of an iniative to build a hub for global construction in the North East. A project called ic3. This event was at the Palace of Westminster.

NBS are one of a large number of companies in the 'BIM arena' within the North East that are supporting this initiative. In the words of Northumbria University vice chancellor Prof Andrew Wathey... “Building information modelling, smart cities, sustainability and the digital industry will have the ability to come together to play a significant role in the economic future of the North East.

“This centre, building on core research strengths at Northumbria University, in association with other partners, will make a key contribution to this process. The new centre will establish the North East’s role in the global leadership and application of this work.”

To read more about the ic3 project see:
- http://netimesmagazine.co.uk/times-live/future-digital-built-environment/
- https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/business/business-news/newcastle-spearhead-smart-cities-revolution-14208836

Inside The Palace of Westminster on the banks of The Thames

Artwork looking like the Throne Room in GofT!

North East Business Leaders and politicians address the delegates

NBS article from a North East Digital Construction publication

Read the full interview with Richard Waterhouse NBS below:
- http://netimesmagazine.co.uk/times-live/major-bim-leader/

For all things ic3 Newcastle - see the new website at:
- https://ic3newcastle.wordpress.com/

Publishing your specification - Post 3 of 3 (Online model viewer)

This is the third of three posts looking at publishing information from NBS so that it can be used by the wider project team. The first of these posts looked at exporting to Microsoft Word to improve the aesthetics of the published output, the second post looked at exporting to the open data format COBie.

This post looks a little more to the future where the specification can be published to a secure website where the wider project team can view the information from the context of the 3D model.

The traditional method of publishing a specification is to print it out or export to PDF format and send to the project team. A hard copy/PDF record is clearly required (and still will be required) contractually - but problems can arise if multiple copies of this are distributed around the project team and as the specification is intended to be viewed from the context of the design - it means that there is a lot of navigation required to find what is needed. Figure 1 illustrates this.

Figure 1 - Recreating the paper workflow - but with PDF

Figure 2 below displays the concept of (in addition to the PDF record) the specification being uploaded to the cloud in its native format so that the rich data can be viewed from the context of the model.

Figure 2 - Access the model and specification using the cloud

I put together a video explaining this new development...

To try out the functionality, simply create a project in the BIM Toolkit and then hit the 'model' button upload your specification and/or model. This will then be hosted in the cloud and you can invite project team members to view this information read-only without installing any software. These steps are shown below:

A. Select 'Model'

B. Browse to specification and/or model

C. Invite the project team

The specification information may be viewed by clicking on the specification to the left. This also selects any linked instances of this in the model. Alternatively, items in the model may be clicked and the associated specification will be shown.

Models may be in IFC or Revit format. With IFC format the author must link objects using the viewer. With Revit format, the objects may be pre-linked using the NBS Plug-in for Autodesk Revit. Figure 3 below shows the viewer working with the 'famous' IFC Duplex Apartment model. Figure 4 below shows the viewer working with our model of our own NBS office building in Newcastle.

Figure 5 - IFC linked to the NBS spec

Figure 6 - The spec for our cafe roof up in NBS Newcastle

There are lots of nice things to discover such as classification mappings, first person walkthroughs, clause linkage, automated quantities, links to standards, links to manufacturers, standardised object properties - but maybe they are a subject for a follow up post.

Please try out this functionality and let us know what you like and your suggestions for improvement at our ideas board:
- Try it out now - toolkit.thenbs.com
- nbsonlineviewer.ideas.aha.io/

Give us your ideas

The technology used for the 3D model viewing is Autodesk Forge. NBS are Autodesk Solutions Associate partners.

With all developments, I love to look back at the initial sketches for the idea. Below is a couple of photos from the Forge Conference in 2016 and some sketches on the back of an envelope over a beer with Jim Quanci.

Forge DevCon 2016

Scribbles that start the development process