Robert M. Leicht

BIM server requirements to support the energy efficient building lifecycle

Energy efficient building design, construction, and operations require the development and sharing of building information among different individuals, organizations, and computer applications. Building Information Modeling (BIM) servers are tools used to enable an effective exchange of data. This paper describes an investigation into the core BIM server requirements needed to effectively support information sharing related to energy efficient retrofit projects. The requirements have been developed through an analysis of existing functional capabilities combined with a case study analysis. The set of requirements identified includes fine-grained queries such as selective model queries, information queries (e.g. weather, building description), and operational information queries (by building parts, proximity, and context). A set of RESTful programming interfaces for building tools to access and exchange data, including security and data privacy issues, is being explored to provide a server-centric building information model exchange and interoperability to facilitate energy efficient retrofit.

Assessing the Relevance of Media Synchronicity Theory to the Use of Communication Media in the AECO Industry

Recent developments in technology, such as building information models (BIMs), immersive displays, and mobile computing tools, have enabled changes in the means and locations of communication throughout the building architecture, engineering, construction, and operation (AECO) industry. This paper presents the findings from an exploratory study regarding the planning of physical media for effective communication in conjunction with the developments in BIM use. While literature shows that there has been noticeable impact of physical media on communication, there has been little evidence of consistent and thorough planning and evaluation of media for investment or project level planning. The exploratory study identifies media synchronicity theory as a starting point for identifying the media needs by task for more effective planning of communication, as well as potential considerations unique to the AECO industry. The paper concludes with studies which have begun for planning more specific applications for ...

Process Indicators to Track Effectiveness of High-Performance Green Building Projects

AbstractHigh-performance green buildings, which maximize energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality, require increased collaboration among interdisciplinary professionals during project delivery. Recent theoretical and applied research illuminates the critical role of delivery attributes in performance outcomes. Despite such evidence, rigorous research is still needed to establish links between delivery attributes and performance outcomes in sustainable projects to further motivate owners and project teams to adopt and successfully implement sustainable practices and eventually improve actual energy performance and indoor environmental quality of buildings. This paper used quantitative methods to identify statistically correlated in-process indicators with project performance outcomes such as green level, cost, and schedule in sustainable building project delivery. The sample set used data from two previous studies totaling 51 green-certified building projects. Results yield statistically signific...

Integrating BIMserver and OpenStudio for energy efficient building

Energy Efficient Building (EEB) design requires many simulation tools to support making decisions for optimized building solutions, resulting in frequent interactions between computational tools. Building Information Modeling (BIM) server platforms can support the storage, maintenance, and query of IFC-based building information models. However, the lack of a unified interface to support information exchange and interoperability among different building design and simulation tools has become a bottleneck of the EEB design process. This paper describes an integrated approach at the data level to combining BIMserver and OpenStudio to build a unified EEB data exchange model. Our first step is to build an information exchange bridge between BIMserver and OpenStudio, which will enable different design and simulation tools that are connected to either of them to interoperate and exchange needed data. In the paper, we also discuss the challenges of the seamless integration due to the dependency on both BIMserver and OpenStudio. The integrated approach, which organizes the data flow in a unified model, enabling effective exchange of data, is currently in a beta-testing phase.

Impact of Team Integration and Group Cohesion on Project Delivery Performance

AbstractThe architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry is often criticized for its fragmented approach to project delivery. Traditional procurement and contracting intentionally serves to isolate designers from contractors to provide checks and balances, but limits opportunities for collaboration. This research presents a structural modeling approach to studying the role of integration in the performance of building construction projects. A sample data set of 204 completed projects was collected to compare cost, schedule, and quality performance under different delivery methods. Integration of project teams was proposed and tested in the form of two latent constructs—team integration and group cohesion—that mediate the link between delivery methods and performance. More integrated teams interacted with more participants from all levels of the building construction process, from designers to specialty trade contractors. These interactions included design charrettes, joint goal setting, and ...

Automated Rule-Based Constructability Checking: Case Study of Formwork

AbstractConstructability has been raised to optimize construction knowledge and experience in the design phase to improve project performance. However, the traditional constructability review is often conducted manually and considered inefficient for constructability implementation. In order to minimize the inefficiencies of the process, the current work presents an approach of an automated, rule-based constructability checking with the help from building information modeling (BIM). Focusing on cast-in-place concrete construction methods rule-sets for horizontal formwork, decisions are developed based on previous constructability research and tested on a case study project. The new procedure for testing the formwork constructability issues with corresponding BIM contents is further explained. The findings demonstrate not only the model contents can be checked for the optimal formwork selection, but also for the design variance from requirements for all of the formwork options— enabling future analysis to ...

Project Impacts of Specialty Mechanical Contractor Design Involvement in the Health Care Industry: Comparative Case Study

AbstractRecent research efforts on project delivery have been heavily focused on using project-level indicators to predict cost and schedule outcomes. However, specialty contractors performing at the system level have an increasingly important role in the design and construction of healthcare and other high-performance facilities. From curtain wall assemblies to HVAC systems, specialty contractors possess the system knowledge and field expertise to support delivery of energy-efficient, cost-effective systems. Therefore, this research adapted the use of existing metrics from broader, project-level applications to a narrower building system, focused to contextualize the importance of system delivery. A comparative case study analysis was conducted to collect quantitative data on schedule and cost outcomes, construction safety, and building energy performance on two large healthcare facilities. By comparing a design-build and design-assist case, this paper demonstrates how increasing design involvement of me...

INVOLVE: Developing Interactive Workspaces That Impact Communication and Task Performance When Using Virtual Prototypes

AbstractIndustry shifts to the use of digital tools have created a need for new means and methods for approaching team interaction and planning for collaborative tasks, in particular, the shift from typical and understood interactions based on paper media to dynamic multimedia when using virtual prototypes in alignment with advanced visualization, analysis, and simulation tools. The INVOLVE framework was developed to respond to the need for planning for collaborative tasks focused on the architecture, engineering, and construction industry when using virtual prototypes. This study presents the elements of the INVOLVE framework, then demonstrates the validation in team interaction when different media configurations are used for two different collaborative tasks, a schematic site plan development, and a four-dimensional schedule review. The team interactions were implemented through a series of quasi-experiments within a collaborative interactive workspace. Observational methods were used to quantify the t...

TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED PROCESS MODEL AND DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE GREEN RETROFITS

There is widespread recognition of the importance of the built environment in tackling the current energy and sustainability challenges. It is well known that with existing buildings constituting more than 98% of the building stock, the greatest impact on reducing building energy consumption in the US will result from retrofitting existing buildings. These need to be based on radically improving their energy efficiency and overall performance. The aim of the project, on which this paper is based, is to develop an integrated process model and decision support system (DSS) that can provide proactive guidance to facility owners/managers in undertaking high performance green retrofits of existing buildings. This is being addressed through detailed case studies of a number of high performance green retrofit projects, the modeling of the retrofitting process, the identification of key decision criteria, and the development of an appropriate decision support system (DSS). The DSS will provide guidance on technical alternatives available at each decision point along the retrofitting process, including the link to associated energy performance outcomes and cost implications. The paper presents the approach being adopted in the development of a process model for energy efficient retrofits, and an intelligent DSS that enables informed choices to be made.

ASSESSING TRAITS FOR SUCCESS IN INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM PERFORMANCE IN AN ENGINEERING COURSE

1 Graduate Researcher, Penn State, rmleicht@engr.psu.edu, 104 Engr Unit A, University Park, PA 16802 2 Graduate Researcher, Penn State, ama259@psu.edu, 104 Engr Unit A, University Park, PA 16802 3 PhD, Associate Professor, Penn State, driley@engr.psu.edu, 104 Engr Unit A, Univ. Park, PA, 16802 4 PhD, Associate Professor, Penn State, jmessner@engr.psu.edu, 104 Engr Unit A, Univ. Park, PA, 16802 5 Brent Darnell International, brent@brentdarnell.com, 2317 Pembrook Place, NE, Atlanta, GA 30324