Yesterday’s NY Times Business section include an article discussing Rio de Janeiro’s “mission control center”, a system and project that promises to revolutionize the way cities are run. Reading about the system and the process of building it, one can draw quite a few parallels to our own industry and transformation.

The Operations Center of the City of Rio is the first of its kind – a citywide system that integrates data from all of Rio’s agencies.

Like BIM, Rio’s system seems to be 10% technology, 90% sociology. The city already had all of the information, but it was in different departments and systems. The system reports all city activities, but takes it a step further by identifying patterns and trends. The NYT article summarizes “Like a corporate chief executive, the mayor wanted to knock down silos among his departments and combine each one’s data to help the whole enterprise.” (We should offer them a great motto: We all work for the city!) The goal is to take Rio a city managed by data.

The $14M project was a massive undertaking for the city and IBM. The NYT article even recognized the parallel to our industry, comparing IBM’s approach to a general contractor – managing the project, subcontracting some of the work to various entities (local and international). Interestingly enough, IBM terms their role the “master integrator”. From the NYT article:

I.B.M. incorporated its hardware, software, analytics and research. It created manuals so that the center’s employees could classify problems into four categories: events, incidents, emergencies and crises. The manuals also lay out step-by-step procedures for how departments should handle pressing situations like floods and rockslides.

I.B.M. also installed a virtual operations platform that acts as a Web-based clearinghouse, integrating information that comes in via phone, radio, e-mail and text message. When city employees log on, they can enter information from, say, an accident scene, or see how many ambulances have been dispatched. They can also analyze historical information to determine, for instance, where car accidents tend to occur. In addition, I.B.M. developed a custom flood forecast system for the city.

If this doesn’t sound like a model for “data-driven building management”, we don’t know what is.

The city is already a model; the mayor spoke last week at TED, and (probably not) coincidently, City 2.0 was the recipient of the 2012 TED Prize. City 2.0 “is the city of the future in which more than ten billion people must somehow live happily, healthfully, and sustainably”. Another connection to note: Autodesk is a sponsor of City 2.0.

Design We Love meets our love for ice cream! Jeremy Garczynski, VDC Modeler shares his thoughts on a trend he’s noticed in the fro-yo industry – modern forms, contemporary colors, and of course, delicious treats:

Upon visiting Pink Berry (admittedly) for the first-time this weekend, I was struck by a recurring theme in frozen treat eateries. The lean toward the modern use of materials and furnishings while at the same time applying contemporary colors to create a playful yet clean aesthetic. Chill’s (Brighton, MA) crisp graphics and very cool millwork wall matches their motto: “stress free yogurt”. Pink Berry makes color very prominent through their plastic wall feature, while recessing lights to not disrupt the plane of the ceiling. Berryline prefers to highlight their frozen treats with simple white finishes and millwork. All three brands use furniture with personality: simple forms combined with dynamic texture (whether weaving, wood grain, or web-like). These aren’t the only examples of this phenomena, it’s prevalent throughout the fro-yo industry. Whether there’s an unspoken rule among Frozen Yogurt restaurateurs or not, each design soothes and refreshes consumers, much like the treats we go there for!

(If you’re curious which fro-yo to indulge in, check out Daily Obsession’s thoughts here.)

Laura Handler and Pierce Reynoldson were selected to speak at the upcoming BIMForum Conference. The theme of the conference centers on “VDC Deliverables”:

The Spring BIMForum will focus on the ways that the VDC deliverables are used to solve specific problems i.e,  how they saved a project time or money, enabled better decisions, enhanced quality, improved the project schedule, eliminated information drop-off between parties, enhanced communication or collaboration, or had other meaningful impact to the design, construction or operation of the building.

This topic sparked some intense internal discussions and a decision to submit a presentation with a different take (read: opposite viewpoint!) on deliverables.

Emerging forms of design construction integration are undermining the traditional primacy of the deliverable.  Why wait for the next document set, coordination report, or SK when your team can simply share information and collaborate on the project in real time?

This presentation will discuss and detail examples from projects where we have found that process supersedes product. Why issue drawing sets, when your team is already working from shared models? Why extract detail drawings from fabrication models when you can just coordinate the model? Why make a report to coordinate the model, when you can have a team continuously coordinating the model through co-location? Most importantly, how much informality can the industry handle?

Today, John Tocci spoke at NAIOP’s Risk Liability of BIM panel. Laura Handler, Director of VDC, summarized the panel discussion on her (bim)x blog:

This morning, I attended NAIOP’s Identifying the Risk and Liabilities of BIM panel discussion – which included Michael Herlihy (Ames & Gough), John Sullivan (SG&A), John Tocci (Tocci), and Bruce Tribush (Goodwin Procter). Interesting discussion, here are a few of the questions and the thoughts from the panel.

Bruce Tribuse: How does BIM change the standard of care?

John Sullivan: The BIM Execution Plan is the contractual way to define roles. If done properly, it doesn’t impact the standard of care.

BT: So is BIM the standard of care?

JS: Yes. For large, complex projects, why wouldn’t you use the best tools and process?

John Tocci: The standard of care has changed. Although there is no known litigation, there are arbitration where the design team has been accused of not using BIM therefore not meeting standard of care. This may not be easy and it may not be cheap, but firms will experience increasing risk if they don’t adopt these tools.

Michael Herlihy: Insurance is typically “review-view mirror” oriented. It appears that BIM reduces risk, but the standard is still the standard.

What is the model’s status as a contract document? What is its priority ascompared to other documents?

JS: We try to look at the model as the final work product. Contractually, it usually has higher priority, but that should evolve.

Who owns the model?

JT: The owner.

What are the issues regarding early subcontractor and contractor services?

MH: For the overall project, it reduces risk to have input from contractors and subcontractors. However, as they are providing advice and model content, they may be doing so without coverage – especially if they don’t have Professional Liability insurance.

How does BIM impact the Spearin doctrine?

BT: The Spearin doctrine comes out of a 1918 US Supreme Court decision; by issuing plans, specifications, and information, the owner implies that the information is free from deficiencies – and that the contractor isn’t liable to the owner for loss or damage resulting from those deficiencies.

JT: RIP Spearin doctrine. However, for contractors to participate in a collaborative BIM process, they need to be educated in architectural history, good design principles, code, requirements, and the design process.

How can owners help with this process?

JT: For one, get informed. Ask questions. Learn about BIM and IPD. But also, learn how to ask for it. You won’t get the value if you merely ask for ’5 lbs of thinly sliced’ BIM.

Boston Globe (02/24/12): Who’s What, Where – Tocci Building Cos.

Boston Business Journal (02/24/12): Human Capital: Julie Brown

Boston Business Journal (02/24/12): Human Capital: Moises Berrun

Boston Business Journal (02/24/12): Human Capital: Jennifer Heikkinen

Boston Business Journal (02/24/12): Human Capital: Bud LaRosa

Boston City Biz List (02/26/12): Tocci Building Adds Four Professionals to Team

Banker & Tradesman (02/27/12): Woburn Construction Services Firm Hires Four