July 16, 2009

Technology

Building Information Modeling training firm picked for London, Ontario

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

The London & District Construction Association has engaged the firm of ImaginIT to deliver its Building Information Modeling (BIM) course content.

Derek Smith, the LDCA’s executive director, said the association wants to ensure that its member companies “are ahead of the curve” in implementing BIM strategies and applications.

Initial classes will be delivered the first week of October at the association’s BIM training centre. The facility will be comprised initially of six workstations, a digital projector and interactive whiteboard.

The centre is the first such to be housed in a local construction association.

The LDCA said five courses have been created using AutoDesk’s Revit training program but customized for contractor, consultant and sub-contractor use.

The curriculum covers a basic introduction and orientation to the Revit interface for all members of the LDCA including consultants, suppliers, general contractors, design/builders and subcontractors.

Following the prerequisite Revit introduction, trade contractors will be able to access a myriad of specialty software for mechanical, electrical and plumbing including Quickpen or East Coast while consultants can move forward into more detailed Revit architectural and structural applications.

The LDCA also will be delivering business process workshops for integrated project delivery (IPD) “in an effort to demystify the business impacts of embracing the technology,” Smith said.

The LDCA used a competitive bidding process to find ImaginIT.

“Being the first association to go through the process in Canada, as well as being the first in London to seek out a BIM training provider, we had to look to the training industry as well as our own members’ expertise to find the right curriculum.”

Smith said the curriculum will be a “living” one and will likely grow “as we learn what works for the industry.”

ImaginIT has been delivering AutoDesk training in CAD for a decade and is a licensed reseller for AutoDesk.

Smith, also interim administrator of the Canada BIM Council, said that while AutoDesk “is certainly leading the applications industry in BIM software solutions, it is not the only provider.

“When we looked at it, we felt that we needed to start with the leading solution provider and augment those applications with other software that the trades will ultimately deploy,” he said.

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