Join us this month as we welcome Keyvan Ghahreman and Lauren Torres from Holder Construction as they present "BIM: From Cool Tool to Useful Tool". 

 As BIM is being implemented on more projects throughout the industry, it is easy to view BIM as a panacea for solving a multitude of issues during the design and construction process.  However, there is a need to take BIM to the next level in terms of communicating relevant information to the stakeholders who oversee and live with the end product.  By thoughtful communication with our clients early in the design and construction process, the project team can deliver a number of "customer-centric" tools that clients can use to better understand the construction process and ultimately manage their facilities much more efficiently and intelligently.

To this end, Holder's presentation will focus on two uses of BIM during construction and after a facility is turned over for operation.  Two management tools will be highlighted that incorporate BIM as a means to better communicate and organize information:

1. Synchro is an effective modeling and scheduling tool that Holder is currently using on the Cox Deer Valley Data Center project.  It marries a project's schedule to a 3-D model to communicate scheudule information graphically.

2. Facilities Information Management Systems (FIMS) is being used by Holder on several mission critical projects to help the end users organize and manage systems and equipment information in order to more efficiently maintain complex facilities.

Industry Updates will also be provided at the monthly meeting from:

• Holly Bosch, City of Phoenix
• Jeanette Polvani, Chandler Unified School District
• City of Tempe
• John Carter, Pima County
• Lynda Cull, Maricopa County Facilities
• Arlen Solochek, Maricopa County Community Colleges
• Charlie Popeck, Green Ideas
• Rodney Niemann, Dependable Project Services LLC
• Plus other