Group E- Practicality of the Future of BIM

       Group E discussed whether the proposed developments in BIM and technology to integrate design and technical engineering will be both possible and practical.

       After discussion among the group, it was determined that while the future of BIM does show to be integrated with the engineering field (that is, rapid iterative modeling integrating with the necessary engineering work), there are several proposed issues with the practicality. The group holds integrated technology is possible, even maybe in the next 10 years. Yet, at the same time, we believe there will be issues with practicality.

       First, and quite obviously, there will be a steep learning curve. With any new software and technology, there will always be a gap in the skills and knowledge of professionals with the technology. This introduces a need to advance education and introduce these developments into higher education. As a group of all non-architectural engineering students, we've never seen Revit or similar programs before. This means students and professionals like us in these fields are at a severe disadvantage when trying to adopt this technology. 

       On a similar note, there comes the "threat" to older generations in the work force. As is quite common in company culture, there exist large age gaps between employees (especially due to increased diversity and the need for older people to remain employed). So, this will further prove that before we can implement the technology, we have to overcome the hindrance of age and skill level. 

       It is also important to note that certain fields of engineering have different views than others. Architectural and structural engineers always work with static projects, while mechanical engineers always work with moving elements. So how would they work together? How can we design something while also making it work at the same time? The only way to know is to wait and see.