Abstract
Managing Engineering and Surveying in a Digital World
Track: Architecture, Engineering, Construction
Authors: Danny Kahler
The recent MAP-21 transportation funding law, providing $105 billion for the improvement of the national transportation infrastructure, includes an obscure but revolutionary requirement for movement into the digital world. It requires the US Secretary of Transportation to encourage and promote the use of advanced digital models, including but not necessarily limited to 3D models, in the delivery of all federally funded transportation projects.
Most engineering and surveying is already done in a digital world as part of internal design processes, but is almost always delivered in traditional analog documents for bidding, construction, inspection, and acceptance. A 2004 NIST report has estimated that 40%-60% of all of the time and cost of professional work is spent producing and managing these analog documents, which merely communicate information originally created in digital form.
How will engineering and surveying firms respond to the growing pressure to abandon their analog plans and specifications and deliver all of their final work in pure digital form? Do we have the practice methods and philosophies we need to effectively manage this fundamental change in the nature of engineering communication? What will construction layout, quality control, and quality assurance look like in a digital world? This session will address the philosophies and techniques that need to be developed for engineers and surveyors to confidently work in a model-centric digital world throughout the entire project lifecycle.