Abstract
Using Digital Design Data In Construction
Track: Technology
Authors: Danny Kahler
Almost all current design is done in 2D digital files, yet most activities in construction still rely on analog plans sheets, whether copied directly from mylars or printed from PDF files. This legacy practice results in bottlenecks to schedule and efficiency, loss of value as most of the digital information is not communicated by the plotting of analog plans sheets, and the introduction of additional errors as contractors try to reverse engineer those analog plans sheets into constructable digital models.
Before the promised potential of using 3D model files in construction can be realized, the barriers to merely using these existing 2D files have to be overcome. There are many overlooked opportunities to immediately use the 2D information that is already being created by existing design processes. There are already many advanced construction contractors taking advantage of this digital data, even if the source files aren't yet digitally signed by the engineering team that created them, to support the creation of their own digital models. Many contractors find that these source files are more accurate and less error-prone than the analog plans sheets that reference them.
This session will focus on the potential of existing technologies and practice methods, already being used in other disciplines engineering, that could be quickly adapted for design and construction in the built environment.
Paper