BIMForum A resource for collaboration and successful BIM implementation Florida Construction News staff writer T he BIMForum provides an in- terdisciplinary venue to facili- tate and accelerate the adoption of building information mod- eling (BIM) in the AEC industry. “We will lead by example and syn- chronize with counterparts in all sec- tors of the industry to jointly develop best practice for virtual design and construction (VDC),” says BIMForum’s mission statement. “We will share our experiences and execute our goals via online forums, highly useful deliver- ables and practical industry confer- ences. We will revolutionize the building industry.” The Orlando BIMForum Conference The upcoming BIMForum conference, an annual event, this year in Orlando from Oct. 20 to 21, provides intensive and comprehensive resources for any- one in the AEC industry to dig deeply into BIM’s practical applications, chal- lenges, and trends. The 2015 Orlando forum will focus on VDC for Design Phase Manage- ment and Pre-construction. The use of virtual design and con- struction (VDC) techniques is becom- ing more widespread in just about every global economy,” says the con- ference brief. “Governments, such as in the United Kingdom, are even set- ting targets for required VDC/BIM within the next few years. We would like to explore how the utilization of VDC techniques in the design and planning phase are ultimately impact- ing our project outcomes.” “With architects, engineers, builders, and design-assist trade con- tractors widely using VDC tools during the design and planning phase, how is this early utilization impacting our ul- timate project outcomes?” “How are we engaging this newly transparent model-based design process? Or are we still missing key interfaces or cross-disciplinary under- standing? Are we managing and cop- ing with the iterative design process better, or simply locking in designers earlier? Are we still glorifying the printed set, or have we truly found a new medium of communication (and what does it look like?)” For information and to register to attend the conference, see http://meetings.bimforum.org/annual. BIMForum’s organization The BIMForum operates as a unified group, chaired by John Tocci of Tocci Building Corp., based out ofWoburn, MA. Ten subforums address each rel- evant industry sector and topic. “These subforums collaborate with each other and other industry organi- zations (AIA, NIBS, NIST, IAI, C3T, 3xPT, CURT, etc.) on interdisciplinary projects to accelerate the adoption of BIM,” the BIMForum website reports. HERE ARE THE SUBFORUMS WITH CONTACT INFORMATION Academic Subforum ——————————————— Mission: To develop BIM curricu- lum, support academic research and foster discussion between BIM programs at various universities and colleges. Chair: Guillermo Salazar, WPI salazar@wpi.org Vice-chair: Michael Puddicombe, Norwich University mpuddico@norwich.edu Insurance Subforum ——————————————— Mission: To identify risks, to support enhancements and improvements to existing insurance policies, and to support the development of new in- surance policies which relate to the project and project participants’ use of BIM technology and processes. Subcontractors’ Subforum ——————————————— Chair: Michael Hastings, Marsh michael.d.hastings@marsh.com Mission: To perform a key role in the AGC BIMForum to ensure ongo- ing success in IPD and BIM and to provide the AGC BIMForum with the subcontractors’ pool of knowledge and opinion to ensure equitable and quality output. Legal Subforum ——————————————— Mission: To reduce the perception that BIM increases liability for archi- tects or contractors, through open discussion of liability, new contracts and insurance. Chair: Pat O’Connor, Faegre & Benson LLP POConnor@faegre.com Vice-chair: Carl Roberts, Ballard Spahr LLP RobertsCG@ballardspahr.com Owners’ Subforum ——————————————— Mission: To become the primary re- source for owners who are exploring how to understand and procure BIM- related services in order to influence the use of BIM throughout the industry. Chair: Maureen McDonough, Harvard University maureen_mcdonough@harvard.edu Florida Construction News — SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015 – 3