Summit BIM begins work with BC Housing

The Vienna Housing project embraces a digital project delivery process

According to the Lean Construction Institute, over 50% of a typical project’s value is waste.

Want proof?

Look no further than the value lost through miscommunication, lack of coordination, and over/under design. The costs associated with requests for information (RFIs) and change orders, and the time associated with processing them, imposes a significant burden on all members of the project team

Over the past 40 years, there has been a shift from analog to digital production in order to improve productivity, quality, and efficiency in all industries. AEC has lagged behind. While digital tools such as BIM are changing the industry, it still relies heavily on paper-based processes.

Vienna House a proposed zero-emissions rental apartment community in East Vancouver — aims to test out promising materials, strategies, and processes to advance solutions to affordability, climate change, and social equity. It provides an ideal opportunity for project partners to demonstrate the benefits of following a true digital process from start to finish, rather than using digital technology to generate traditional output.

Summit BIM will develop the BIM Specification establishing the requirements for all parties, undertake model audits to ensure everyone is staying on track, and provide the interface BIMFMi® to enable the collection and linking of all data and documents required to support a digital handover for facilities, maintenance and operations.

BC Housing will study the project results to assess how they can be applied to future projects

“Improving the predictability and reliability of construction projects by establishing a set of BC Housing specific standards is key to improving the affordability and sustainability of our housing projects,” says Denisa Ionescu, Senior Manager, Research & Education, BC Housing. “By establishing the BIM requirements before even design is involved, we have a unique opportunity to define what data will be tracked at the outset, to create a robust cost versus benefit model, and to record and publish our processes.”

“Adopting a BIM strategy that focuses on generating and reusing information for other purposes offers huge benefits to all participants,” says Geraldine Rayner, Managing Principal, Summit BIM. “It has been shown to improve design quality and building performance, mitigate risk, and reduce cost. We are really excited about the project that BC Housing is embarking on and we see it as being key to encouraging change within the industry.”

Summit BIM will consult in collaboration with AEOS Consulting (now BIM One) who will focus on supporting the Design Team.

BC Housing

BC Housing develops, manages and administers a wide range of subsidized housing options across the province. They also license residential builders, administer owner builder authorizations and carry out research and education that benefits the residential construction industry, consumers and the affordable housing sector.

Vienna House Project

In response to both the global climate crisis and the regional housing affordability crisis, BC Housing, British Columbia’s housing authority, is proposing an innovative zero-emissions rental apartment community in East Vancouver. Learn more about the project here – https://viennahouse.ca