Leverage Collaboration Between The Design And Construction Team

The AEC sector is one of the most complex and fast-paced industries in the world. Design and construction teams are under constant pressure to ensure projects are completed in budget and time. Furthermore, constant collaboration between the design and construction teams is essential for projects to stay on schedule.

The AEC industry is looking at Building Information Modeling (BIM) as the most viable solution to boost various complex projects viz. residential, commercial, healthcare, infrastructure, hospitality, etc. The power of process and technology integration will enable project stakeholders like Architects, General Contractors, Design Engineers, Projects Managers, Fabricators, Owners, and other stakeholders through robust data analytics, automation, and data mining.

There is one crucial constant that AEC teams and project stakeholders rely on i.e. “INFORMATION” which is accurate, complete, robust, and transparent. The accuracy, flow, completeness, and transparency of information determine the outcomes of construction projects.  

 [iF]Meets is one cloud-based software that enables AEC companies and users the potential to leverage powerful project collaboration & video conferencing– all under one roof.

The Design, Modeling, and Construction teams are three crucial pillars that need to perpetually collaborate at every second of the building process. When an architect is done creating detailed architectural drawings with elevations, sections, etc., it moves on to structural designers and then MEP designers to design highly detailed drawings for BIM modelers to refer and generate clash-free 3D BIM models.

These models are then referred by various teams and project stakeholders to build accurate project schedules, cost estimates, etc. Accurate fabrication drawings are leveraged by fabricators to build precise construction components for onsite installation. As BIM modelers identify and resolve clashes, collaboration meetings are held by project stakeholders viz. architects, structural designers, and MEP designers to update their drawings.

Construction personnel relies on 2D drawings, fabrication drawings,3D models, etc.  for onsite construction and installation of various building components. With so many processes and conversations taking place through kick-off meetings, construction meetings, project team meetings, contractor and sub-contractor meetings, etc. collaboration is key to accomplish client requirements and project deliverables.     

Integrating various collaboration enablers that include video conferencing, BIM collaboration, Construction Management, Cloud Data Storage, and more is crucial; distributed design, modeling, and construction teams can improve & optimize processes, workflows, communication through powerful integration.   

Design and construction teams latch onto video conferencing for efficient coordination & collaboration.

As remote work becomes the new norm, construction project teams need to rely on the best video conferencing solutions to enable productive communication between globally distributed trades and teams. Online Video Conferencing Software allows streamlined collaboration for the construction industry and allows architects, engineers, general contractors, onsite personnel, and other stakeholders to spin up inputs in real-time. Implementation of video conferencing tools & features facilitates better training, project management, HD communication with site teams, clients, etc.

How does video conferencing enable design, modeling, and construction teams to collaborate quickly and efficiently?

Agenda-based meetings – Meetings without an agenda can turn out to be extremely unproductive. As every construction meeting has a different meaning or outcome, setting meeting agendas proves to be exceptionally productive for design, modeling, and construction teams. Agenda-based meetings list out the purpose of the meeting and the order in which items are to be discussed. With the construction team relying completely on the design team for accurate 2D drawings for onsite construction and installation, creating agendas in video conferencing software helps remote participants –

• Prepare for the meeting
• Leverage a structure for the meeting
• Control the meeting
• Judge meeting success  

This promotes collaboration and saves on a lot of onsite rework, mitigates greater no’s of RFI’s, saves on time & cost, etc.

Breakout Rooms – Breaking large meetings like kickoff, construction, project team, contractor, pre-installation, etc. into smaller ones enables better clarity on how each trade or team functions. Project managers can leverage this feature to monitor project progress, brainstorm ideas, take notes, get feedback, upload and annotate design documents, and more.

The use of breakout rooms enables collaboration through meeting clarity, focused virtual collaboration, streamlining processes and workflows, etc.   

Whiteboard and Annotation –The construction industry relies on a more visual approach through 2D drawings and important construction documents like PDF’s, fabrication drawings, etc.; design and construction teams can leverage Whiteboard tools and annotation to facilitate greater engagement by taking notes, producing project call-outs, marking specific areas of 2D drawings, etc.

The use of whiteboard and annotation enables design and construction teams to enhance global team engagement, speed up the analysis and feedback process, point out inconsistencies in drawings, and more.   

Record Meetings & Transcripts – Recording every facet of the meeting process and generating a searchable record of your meeting through line-by-line transcripts is key for design and construction teams for future review. Losing decisive data in physical space can create serious problems for project stakeholders. The recording tool can be used to record presentations, whiteboard collaboration, HD video & audio, etc. Auto transcripts help design and construction teams free-up valuable time and aid the design and construction team work on high-value activities.

The use of meeting recording enables design and construction teams to review virtual meetings, presentations, etc. to facilitate better communication, information security, improve decision-making capabilities, reduce rework, and save on project time and cost.

Screen-Sharing – Video conferencing tools like Screen-Sharing helps design and construction teams collaborate better with secure screen-sharing. To understand the meeting better, project teams can leverage screen-sharing by presenting various construction assets like 2D drawings, RFI’s, BOQ’s, etc. for teams to understand project scope, present scenario, and progress better.

The use of screen-sharing enables design and construction teams to make clear and informed decisions on what is presented or shared through virtual conferencing.

Wrapping it up

The AEC industry perpetually relies on the power of information and technology integration for various teams to collaborate efficiently on a single super-suite software that has the ability and tools to connect the dots. The power of [iF] has given the AEC sector an all-round platform for modern AEC professionals to build quicker and better, and use “information” as the tip of the spear backed by state-of-the-art technology.

Visit us: – https://www.ifmeets.com