Autodesk University 2016

November 14-17 I will be attending my third straight Autodesk University conference. The last two followed a marathon flight from the opposite side of the globe. It's great to be back!

On 8 a.m. Tuesday at one of the first sessions, it is my pleasure to introduce my colleague from the Middle-East, Kelvin Tam, whose presentation "Strategizing Mega-Projects" discusses modeling alternatives for large and complex projects.

Kelvin is a passionate architect and scientist with many accolades to his credit. He has worked for RTKL and Rosetti in Los Angeles, and NBBJ in Ohio where he was named 2014 'Mentor of the Year'.

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All SCRUG members who are attending AU and would like to meet up, post in the comments section. Perhaps at the...

Party at the Promenade

Celebrate all you’ve learned and accomplished at AU 2016 and raise a glass with new friends. Enjoy food, drinks, and entertainment throughout the evening, all within walking distance of the conference. Wednesday November 16, 7-10 p.m.

SCRUG BIM Survey Results

Colleagues,

Thanks again to all who attended the October SCRUG meeting. Thanks to LPA and our host Alejandro Lopez, and to our sponsors Kelar, Microdesk and U.S. CAD.

SCRUG BIM Survey

The survey will remain open for collection of additional data. To participate follow the link above.

Survey results are also published and available for members' review. A big surprise to me was the revelation that three-fourths of the firms surveyed do not practice BIM planning:

The Future of SCRUG...

In addition to reviewing the results of the survey, attendees were invited to discuss ideas to re-invigorate the group and provide more value for members.

One of our challenges is the broad range in the application of BIM technology among members. Different markets, design disciplines, and firm dynamics. From sole practitioners to the multi-office national design leaders - we have them all. These differences should strengthen, not weaken, the group.

The Artificial Intelligence Revolution
Wait But Why

Having been on the "bleeding edge" of technology change for more than three decades, I believe this is the most exciting time ever. New technologies and increased computational power provide new business opportunities, and innovators will rise to fulfill them.

Futurist Ray Kurzweil suggests that the progress of the entire 20th century would have been achieved in only 20 years at the rate of advancement in the year 2000. Because of the Law of Accelerating Returns, Kurzweil believes that the 21st century will achieve 1,000 times the progress of the 20th century.

3D building modeling has been around for thirty years. Computational design is in its infancy. Artificial Intelligence is on the horizon. How will this impact you? Largely due to the UK BIM Initiative, there is a global trend toward unification of standards for BIM. These are some of the issues that are worthy for discussion across the entire group membership, regardless of distinctions. The future of the group will be shaped by all.

Our next event will be a holiday season celebration in early December. Stay tuned.

Allen Jay Holland
Chairman

SCRUG Survey Update - BIM Standards & Protocols

Colleagues,

The purpose of our anonymous SCRUG BIM Survey is to determine some characteristics of our current membership and the practices in which they are involved. We have about 300 group members identified in Orange County, and nearly 200 who practice in the Greater Los Angeles area. Your feedback will help shape the purpose and direction of the group going forward.

For example, one surprising statistic is that almost one-half of the respondents so far report that their practice does not have published BIM standards.

One of the goals for most design practices is the achievement of graphic consistency, both within a single project and also between successive projects. Published standards and protocols are useful for orienting new employees, and for assuring that all team members follow best practices.

Furthermore, for those working with external consultants, there is a need to define a level of quality and content that is expected to be achieved, and for this to be legally binding, it must of course be documented.

Standards also serve to define to the client or owner what level of information and quality will be delivered upon project completion. This is especially helpful when there is a limited understanding of the purpose (and value) of Building Information Modeling among stakeholders. An example of such a document is the AEC (UK) BIM Technology Protocol, which has been used as a starting point for many global BIM design concerns.

Please join us on Thursday, October 20th to learn the full results of the survey and to help determine the focus of the SCRUG in 2017! To RSVP go to SC-RUG on MeetUp.

Allen Jay Holland
SCRUG Chairman
 

Hello Again!

Colleagues,

Thanks and congratulations to LPA's Design Technology Director Nick Kramer, who is retiring as Chairman of SCRUG after three very successful years. Nick continues to serve the community in his role as Program Manager of Revit Technology Conference, and will be attending RTC Europe in Lisbon, Portugal October 20-22.

According to our tradition, the South Coast Revit Users Group was the first group of it's kind. Formed in October 2000 by Jim Balding of WATG. The history of the group was featured in the premier issue of AUGI-EDGE magazine. I previously served as organizer and co-chairperson (with some interruptions) from 2006-2013. 

Now, after almost three years in the Arabian Gulf, I've returned to Southern California and I'm eager to reconnect with everyone as Chairman of the SCRUG.

There has been an amazing amount of progress and innovation surrounding BIM since those early days, and SCRUG meetings have always provided the community the opportunity for networking and fellowship among our peers. We are grateful for the continued support from our sponsors.

I would like to ask all of our members to participate in a brief survey of local BIM maturity, which will help shape the purpose and direction of the group going forward. There have been some surprises in the early responses, not including the BIM delivery stats below.

Results of the survey will be shared and discussed at the October SCRUG meeting, to be held at 6:30 pm on Thursday the 20th (tentatively) at LPA, Inc.To respond to the anonymous survey, follow: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7Y8LWVP 

Autodesk University is November 15-17 in Las Vegas, and consequently we will then be on hiatus until January, with the possible exception of a holiday season social event. Stay tuned,

~AJH