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A Fresh Look at Building Information Modeling f

Ready or not, Building Information Modeling for Masonry or BIM-M is changing the masoBy Jim Cook

It’s of little surprise that implementation of Building Information Modeling for masonry moves slowly in a

stone. But change is inevitable, however slow it may come, and building information modeling (BIM) is se

it has in other construction-related businesses. Improved technology, pressure from contractors, and a n

at masonry rms are combining to promote greater adoption of BIM throughout the industry.

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This year may be a major milestone for BIM’s use in the industry as market pressures result in greater use

proponents of BIM in masonry come to fruition.

This shows modeling coordination with framing underslab.

The Building Information Modeling in Masonry (BIM-M) initiative has been in the forefront of helping ma

construction industry with regard to BIM solutions. The organization has enlisted the help of The Digital

Institute of Technology to develop a roadmap to promote BIM in the masonry industry.

David Biggs, Building Information Modeling for masonry program coordinator, says that two recent deve

big impact on BIM adoption in the industry – the completion of a masonry unit database (MUD) for BIM s

Autodesk Revit that makes the program more useful for masons.

Biggs says the MUD results from intense efforts to categorize various masonry units by shape, size, textu

sustainability data and more. According to BIM-M initiative documents, the new database should help de

units needed for projects and allow them to design using masonry cuts and partial units, helping to reduc

With the new database, designers should be able to achieve a level of development suf cient for construc

Tom Cuneio, president of Cad Blox LLC and 3DiQ Inc., helped develop Masonry iQ, a new add-on for Revi

on provides many masonry-speci c features for Revit that make the application more useful for masons.

Masonry iQ allows Revit users to create wall types with masonry-speci c properties, create custom bond

to a model, create speci c bond patterns, easily place windows and doors, and automatically generate wa

says the add-on provides masons with needed features that had been missing from Revit until now. The development of the MUD and the add-on for Revit, Biggs explains, provide masons with critical tools

bene ts offered by BIM.

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Masonry buildings can be experienced through models like never before.  Connections to steel, unit layout, rebar

locations and complex geometry can all be easily explored in today’s models.  Models like the one shown here can

even be experienced in VR (virtual reality).

Why now?

Technology limitations and the size of the masonry industry compared to other segments of construction

masonry, until now. Cuneio says that previous BIM applications were not capable of handling the complex

models that were useful to masons, due to of the wide variety of product types used in masonry (http://

concrete-bring-innovative-masonry-products/).

Biggs says that until recently, masonry just wasn’t considered large enough to be of interest to BIM devel

“Their position was, ‘We already have 70 percent of the market,’” Biggs says.

BIM-M is sponsored by the Brick Industry Association, the International Masonry Institute, the Internati

Craftworkers, the Mason Contractors Association of America, the National Concrete Masonry Associatio

States Clay Products Association. Biggs says these groups saw the need to develop BIM for masonry and

multi-year effort.

Biggs says masonry’s late entry into BIM was actually bene cial as the delay allowed BIM technology to c

“If we had gotten into it earlier, it would have been a wasted effort,” Biggs says. “The tools needed weren’t

In addition to design programs and a new database, other modeling technology is also having a major imp

Ryan Biggs | Clark Davis says laser scanning and modeling is becoming increasingly useful to masons. New

making it easier to convert images into BIM models that designers can examine and manipulate. Davis say

mason contractors from having to spend time manually measuring and examining stone, rebar and other

projects.

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“The next great leap is going to be laser scanning,” she says. “It’s a huge time-saver and keeps us from havi

Davis’ rm recently used laser scanning technology in a restoration project for Syracuse City Schools in N

reduced the time needed to develop estimates and greatly improved accuracy.

“It makes for a much tighter bid,” she says. “It takes a lot of the guess work out of it.”

Improvements in technology aren’t the only force driving BIM development for masonry. There’s a growi

require masons to provide BIM models for their work. The motivation is simple – the use of BIM helps ma

construction professionals and also provides for faster and more accurate design and estimates. The tech

the construction process, allowing for better phasing of the construction process and placement of scaffo

“The biggest change we saw last year was more contractors getting in or being pushed into it by contract

Cuneio adds, “Masonry contractors are going to be contractually obligated to provide coordinating mode

This shows modeling of exterior walls live coordination.

Third-party BIM providers help smaller masons

Hurdles still remain to the widespread adoption of BIM in the masonry industry. Many software applicati

masonry rms. Even if they can afford the software and justify the expense of purchasing it, not all rms h

teaching an employee how to use it.

Allen Crowley, director of business development for On Center Software, says that many large and small

work to third parties. Crowley says this allows them to obtain the expertise they might need for a job for

without having to expend resources obtaining software and training or hiring employees. One of On Cent

software, and Crowley says that BIM applications have the potential to vastly improve the speed and acc

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Masonry models are taking an active role in BIM coordination and delivering real value to projects.  From exact

quantities, to material staging, to clash detection with other trade models, masonry models are one of the hottest

trends in construction.

Third-party BIM services are a major part of Cuneio’s business. He says that demand for these services h

number of masons are compelled to provide models to general contractors.

Crowley says some resistance to Building Information Modeling for masonry may be generational, as mas

by for a few more years without picking up the skills needed to use BIM technology. Younger masons taki

will absorb older masons’ business once they retire, need to familiarize themselves with the technology, h

Even older masons who have less than a decade left in the eld would do well to at least become comfort

better work with third-parties they may hire to perform BIM-related services. Cuneio says that being con

explain what they need to their third-party service providers and also helps them better understand the w

“This isn’t going away,” Davis says. “This isn’t going to reverse itself.”

Jim Cook is a freelance writer based in Dothan, Ala.

Top image: Laser scanning (reality capture) allows exact eld conditions to be captured in a surface model with incredibl

models of new construction to verify eld conditions and asses clearances and proper t before units are produced.