As Shockey’s Virtual Design + Construction manager, Charles Goin directs a team of specialists who develop visualization and computer modeling of buildings. His team can quickly identify and resolve unforeseen issues in a set of construction drawings — saving time and money once actual construction begins.
We asked Charles to discuss how Shockey has been leveraging BIM and VDC technologies and to share his thoughts about the power, practicality, and opportunity of AI as applied to the VDC process.
What is Virtual Design + Construction (VDC) and how is it different from Building Information Modeling (BIM)?
VDC and BIM are two distinct parts of the preconstruction process, but they work hand in hand. VDC is a broader methodology which relies on the BIM process, much like a car depends on its engine. The effectiveness of VDC is based on the quality of the BIM components provided. Let’s start by defining the terms:
- VDC (Virtual Design + Construction): A multi-step process integrating design intent with construction methods to minimize risk, cost, and schedule.
- BIM (Building Information Modeling): A digital representation of the physical design intent, encompassing a 3-D model, geometry, and related data.
Can you explain the importance of VDC to a non-engineer?
VDC sharpens Shockey’s cost-estimating process, improves communication among the AEC team, and reduces the possibility that constructability issues will be encountered in the field. VDC essentially mirrors the construction process — but in a digital, virtual space where issues can be identified and changes easily made — before actual building begins.
Shockey’s BIM and VDC team members use the latest technology for scanning, modeling, and virtual design and to perform quantity take-offs.
Both small and large projects can benefit from the VDC process. However, the larger and more complex the project, the greater the advantage (as VDC can quickly inform about how to minimize risk, improve coordination, and optimize construction efficiency.)
How do clients benefit from VDC?
When we identify potential issues that can lead to delays or cost overruns in our digital models, VDC keeps us on track and within budget by detecting clashes and suggesting solutions. VDC is tremendously helpful in reducing schedule duration. The average schedule reduction for projects using VDC varies, but VDC plays a key role in making overly optimistic schedules more achievable. It helps limit delays by identifying and resolving issues early in the design phase, reducing the risk of schedule creep caused by design conflicts or unwieldy coordination.
Construction is often complicated, and VDC consistently helps control costs by catching design and coordination issues early. By minimizing rework, reducing delays, and improving overall efficiency, VDC can prevent costly changes during construction.
What about Artificial Intelligence (AI) in construction?
AI can quickly and powerfully automate many processes in construction projects, but it is still an evolving tool. A deeper level of decision-making seems to be needed to resolve complex constructability issues.
AI cannot yet reliably able solve clash conflicts found in design drawings. Given the exponential growth of AI, this could happen soon — possibly within the next year or two. The primary limitation lies in the hardware; it’s simply not advanced enough for the scale and complexity of what we need in the industry. Current AI and VR technologies struggle to handle the immense data sets we generate in construction, especially when trying to consolidate different trades and disciplines into a single, comprehensive 3D model.
Limitations of headset displays, battery life, processing speed, and data storage also pose barriers to integrating technology seamlessly into construction workflows.
Do you think demand for VDC will continue to grow?
VDC is already firmly established as standard operating procedure. Every day we create virtual environments to visualize the construction of structures before they’re actually built in the physical world, ensuring that Shockey is able to maintain budgets and construction schedules. In our experience, VDC is money well spent.