DPR Sees the Benefits of 4D CAD Modeling

Whoever said, “time is of the essence,” may not have been talking about construction, but in today’s 24/7 world, that phrase is on the lips of every project manager. As part of its goal to be one of the most progressive construction companies and with the promise of saving customers time and money, DPR has begun using a new technology that incorporates the dimension of time into object-oriented drawings. Known as 4D CAD modeling, this new tool allows the construction team to build “virtually” in a time oriented series. DPR is contributing to the development of this technology as part of its ongoing participation in the Center for Integrated Facility Engineering at Stanford University (CIFE), which focuses on new technologies for the AEC industry.

“We are a very visual society,” said DPR’s Dean Reed. “However, during the early stages of a construction job, project team members often have difficulty visualizing each step of the building process. By using a 4D model of the facility, which shows the project being built in a virtual environment, the preconstruction process becomes more tangible for everyone.”

The 4D model allows the entire project team to see how the project is supposed to progress, before it even starts. If there is a problem in the construction sequencing or a schedule conflict, the model will help to identify it.

The system proves especially valuable on technically complex projects, DPR’s specialty. On a recent biopharmaceutical project, more than 250 change orders were generated, approximately 75% of which were due to interference related issues, missing information and an inability to visualize the final product. If the 4D technology had been available, DPR believes most of these changes orders would have been eliminated.

As with the adoption of any new technology in the AEC industry, the biggest challenge is changing old processes. End users must be trained, including owners, subcontractors and architect/engineer team members. According to Jim Ray of DPR’s Portland office, which is using the 4D system in the construction of its new office space, “The full benefits of 4D CAD are just beginning to be realized. We implemented a 4D process on our own office to explore the tool’s capabilities and advantages and have recently presented the 4D process to several customers within the technology and healthcare sectors, where it has been well received.”