AAMA to create BIM standard for manufacturers

The American Architectural Manufacturers Association, Schaumburg, Ill., started a task group to create a standard for manufacturers to follow when creating Building Information Modeling models for their products. The BIM Modeling Task Group held its first meeting June 2 during the AAMA National Summer Conference 2009, May 31-June 3. “We want to supply a base entryway for manufacturers," said Mike Turner, vice president of marketing for YKK AP America, Austell, Ga. "Show the type of content that needs to be included in your model … explain what attributes are important and how BIM is being used.” David Bandi, director of content and partner development for Autodesk Content Network,San Rafael, Calif., presented an overview of BIM and how glass and glazing companies can become involved in BIM during the task group meeting. “What’s happening in the [design and construction] industry as a whole is frankly what happened in your own manufacturing operations 20 years ago: the use of technology to visualize and predict,” Bandi said. “There is no mystery behind all of this. It’s just a transition to increase productivity through the use of technology, which every other industry adopted in the last 25 years.”Read a full-length article from the May 2008 issue about BIM and its emergence in the glass industry. Bandi says the glass industry is at the forefront of manufacturer involvement in BIM, along with the heating ventilating air conditioning industry. “The HVAC guys are the farthest ahead, mainly because of the power of the interconnectedness between HVAC and other areas of building performance. Their customers have pushed them the fastest,” he said. “In wall systems, you are the first guys who have stepped up. You guys are ahead of the game.”Bandi recommends that manufacturers who are interested in learning basic BIM information and building industry usage statistics read the McGraw-Hill Construction BIM Report.