Article on 'AEC Bytes' for Green Technology Trends in Buldings / Facilities

I contributed to AEC Bytes, a leading source for AEC technology trends, and edited by Lachmi Khemlani. This article follows up on past articles and blog posts I have written on the transformation of the buildings industry and influence of key market drivers such as BIM and virtual modeling. I incorporate new insights I have gained to provide additional market strategies for both AEC tech firms as well as 'cleantech' firms in the energy efficiency, energy modeling, CSR reporting, health & safety, and lifecycle assessment segments.

Link: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2008/issue_39.html Read more!

Trends in Energy Analysis, from the BE 2008 conference

One of the presentations at the Bentley BE 2008 conference I had a chance to view was by Drury Crawley; Team Leader of Commercial Buildings R&D at DOE (Dept. of Energy).

(Side note: his title is WAY long……but he knows it, too….).

He covered trends in energy analysis, high performance buildings, and new business models for sustainability in buildings and facilities. I thought his high – level view of where the buildings / facility industry is going was very interesting, and it re-iterates a number of issues that I have seen in my work. Key themes included:

• Consolidation of the Buildings industry (mergers & acquisitions)
• Worker Health / Productivity / Comfort
• Green House Gas (GHG) inventory and management (note: 39% of carbon emissions come from buildings….)
• Green Buildings
• Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB)
• Energy Services Companies (ESCOs)
• Bioterrorism

Some thoughts on his presentation and viewpoints are below:

Water

Evaluating the impact of buildings on WAGES (Water, Air, Gas, Electric, Steam), Crawley cited figures indicating that buildings (including the electric power required) account for 45% of water use in the US alone. Not including electrical power, domestic use is 100 gpd per capita, and total water use considering the impact of electrical power generation is 140 Billion gallons a day. While most of the industry is currently focusing on driving down energy use and costs in buildings as a first step in achieving sustainability, it is clear that the ‘delta’ for improving water resource conservation is very high, and should also provide a strong market driver for adoption of technologies to maximize conservation and efficiency of water use in buildings.

Building Simulation

Similar to the advent of intelligent modeling driving adoption of green technologies (which I posted on here), Crawley maintains that building simulation allows for earlier decision making in the design – build process, particularly as it relates to energy use and analysis. In regards to technology, he sees the following major drivers: visualization, risk assessment (particularly for insurance), interoperability between systems, toxicity of the built environment, calculating ‘embodied’ energy via life cycle assessments (LCA), and integration of tools for thermal analysis, acoustics, and CFD for examples. It is clear that there is no one toolset to allow owners or consultants to conduct building simulations, and there is still a very strong need for training in simulation methodologies; not just the technology itself.

Another interesting point was that Green buildings and accreditation was driving the use of these simulation methodologies and tools; not higher energy costs.

Websites for more info on DOE’s commercial building R&D:

Buildings.energy.gov

http://www.energyplus.gov/

http://www.highperformancebuildings.gov/

Read more!

Blog post on TriplePundit.com

I contributed a recent post to TriplePundit; topic is how the major market drivers such as BIM (Building Information Modeling) in the AEC sector are allowing for growth opportunities of green technologies. (click on this blog post title to get to the 3P post).

I will follow up next month on TriplePundit with some strategies for cleantech growth, and incorporate some new insights from tech firms I have been working with. Read more!

Invited to be a Judge for Sustainability Awards at the Bentley BE Conference

I recently was invited to be a judge at "BE Conference 2008", sponsored by Bentley Systems. The categories I will be judging are "Sustaining Society" and "Sustaining the Environment". The BE conference typically covers innovative use of technologies in GIS, CAD, visualization, and collaborative project management; in verticals such as water, mining, process manufacturing, transportation, and federal government. This year's conference is focusing on "Best Practices in Sustainable Infrastructure"; the awards session will include submissions from a number of services and end user organizations who have demonstrated innovative technology applications within the broad sector of sustainability.

The conference will be held in Baltimore MD on May 27 - 30 2008; registration link is here. Read more!

Report says that Green Buildings are the fastest way to control GHG Emissions

Recent post in Cleantech.com refers to the "Green Building in North America" report by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation in Canada. Some interesting items:

- The potential reduction in CO2 from net zero - energy and carbon neutral buildings could equal the entire carbon emission loading of the US transportation sector from 2000.

- Key elements for acheiving goals of carbon reduction: ultra efficient materials and equipment; improvement in design processes; innovative financing; and construction and operations

- We need the development of environmental parameters and targets, and use of modeling to assess water & air impacts; use of renewable materials; maximize urban renewal and use of 'brownfields'; and meet water needs of the watershed

From an information management standpoint, it would seem that this is another validation point for the need for integrated lifecycle solutions (i.e. data modeling from the design phase all the way to operations & retirement of assets). This integrated information approach is also consistent with use of a sustainability platform to 'link' and access data sources (GHG emissions, toxic material use, environmental impacts, etc) and provide a roadmap for improvement and also report performance to all stakeholders and regulatory bodies.

Read more!

Article on Greenbiz.com: "How BIM and Green Tech Will Change the Construction Industry"

Just published an article for Greenbiz.com titled How BIM and Green Tech Will Change the Construction Industry. This article is reprised in three earlier posts here on my blog; covering the basics of BIM, benefits of BIM and greentech, role of the federal government & owners, and strategies for greentech companies in leveraging BIM for growth.And here is the rest of it. Read more!

Strategies to grow Greentech via BIM adoption

BIM (Building Information Modeling) is not just the adoption of new technology, but also incorporates new collaborative workflow. There is more emphasis on collaborative design and planning in the beginning phases of a project, so that costs and risks in later stages like construction and operations (where most of the costs are incurred) may be managed and contained. Green tech vendors should be involved in these early planning stages, so that a realistic assessment of cost savings and improved environmental performance are identified. Also, they can add value to the optimization process (conducting ‘what if’ scenarios), which may lead to additional savings and benefits that may not have been readily apparent.

International markets are proving to be quite viable for BIM deployments and green tech as well. Increasing awareness of global warming, green house gas emissions, and sustainability have driven significant market opportunities in international markets of Europe and Asia Pacific as well. John Kennedy of Green Building Studio concurs, and provides advice to green tech start ups: “Look outside the US to both the EU (European Union) countries as well as to Australia”.

Buddy Cleveland of Bentley Systems mentioned that the UK facilities market is farther advanced than the US market, in terms of green certification tools. “New regulations for improving building performance require quantitative assessment of carbon emissions; not just a qualitative assessment”. In this market, it is conceivable that green technologies may assist to “pull” the growth and adoption of BIM, given the regulatory climate.

‘Go to Market’ strategies should also reflect the importance of leveraging established companies in the AEC space for sales, branding, and deployment channels. A key component to this strategy: identify a technology partner who may bring brand awareness, marketing, and channels access. “Plan to partner in order to scale your business”, said Kennedy, who has partnered with a number of leading AEC software companies.

It should also be noted that the ‘exit strategy’ for successful green tech start ups could be acquisition by a larger established software provider in the space. Kennedy’s Green Building Studio was recently acquired by Autodesk, and Bentley Systems acquired a smaller software firm last year that it had partnered with called Hevacomp, which provides MEP (Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing) and energy analysis modeling. Both Autodesk and Bentley are advocates of BIM adoption, and one would assume that these new acquisitions will allow them to integrate green technologies into BIM software platforms.
Read more!

GSA's BIM Program, and application to Green Building Technologies

A primary driver of BIM (Building Information Modeling) adoption is the US federal government. The GSA (General Services Administration) has created the National 3D-4D BIM Program, designed to allow for advanced and superior cost effective management of federal buildings and facilities. Currently, GSA has over 35 projects utilizing BIM, and has mandated that every new facility and major modification project should utilize a BIM model for spatial validation.

Along the lines of green technologies, GSA's Office of the Chief Architect is currently encouraging, documenting, and evaluating the implementation of Building Information Modeling (BIM) technologies to assist energy performance analyses and operational practices.

Executive Order 13123 is a national initiative to reduce the average annual energy consumption of the GSA’s building inventory. With the use of BIM, more complete and accurate energy estimates earlier in the design process, improved life-cycle costing analysis, increased opportunities for measurement and verification during building occupation, and improved processes for gathering lessons learned in high performance building should result. In general, advancements from BIM may increase the role energy modeling and alternative materials play during both design and building operation, leading to an overall reduction in energy consumption by GSA buildings.

Patrick Suermann of the NBIMS has conducted a number of BIM projects for the USACE. “They have allocated approximately $24B in military construction (upgrades and new facilities).” The USACE also will spend additional monies of $15-20B for upgrades and base reconstruction efforts; creating a broad market for BIM adoption, and as a consequence, BIM – add on applications in the green tech area.

Why should green tech vendors monitor the GSA’s BIM program as well as other agencies such as the USACE? As Suermann states:” Federal agencies have to compete against each other to be the most efficient constructor and manager of assets, which lead to higher budget allocations from Congress. Cleantech firms should pitch to both agencies and their prime contractors to assist them in successful deployment of BIM”. Read more!

Building Information Modeling & Green Technology Opportunities

I have been working on BIM (Building Information Modeling) strategy for the past month, and have also had the chance to interview a number of leading professionals in the green building technology area, as to how BIM might be leveraged to drive growth of green building technologies. A summary of this overview is provided here, with follow up posts on specific market opportunities.(A column covering these topics will be published in early March on a leading green technology web site).

The terms ‘cleantech’ or ‘green technologies’ have been applied to a wide array of processes, technologies, and services. Within this overall market space, there exist a number of specific target market segments such as transportation, energy development, and manufacturing, as examples. The buildings & facilities segment is a large target market segment for green technologies, given the size and projected growth around the world and opportunity to leverage a disruptive new technology for adoption of green technologies.

The building & facility industry is undergoing radical change today, as owners are demanding more project visibility; lower costs, better risk management (scheduling & costs), and increased use of technologies that will allow for less waste, more efficient energy consumption, and ultimately lower costs over the lifecycle of the facility (from design and construction to operations).

What is Building Information Modeling (“BIM”)

The rapid (but uneven) adoption of BIM in the buildings industry has changed the way facilities are designed, constructed, and even operated. The National Institute of Building Sciences (NBIS) defines BIM as “a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility, serving as a shared knowledge resource of information”. This knowledge or database contains the ‘intelligent objects” of a structure; not just lines and arcs typically associated with traditional CAD or drawing tools. As such, BIM can represent multiple, dynamic, and collaborative views of information such as spatial data (3D), un-structured data (text), and structured data (databases, spreadsheets), as well as new views including scheduling and cost information (termed ‘4D’ and ‘5D’, respectively).

This type of technology, with its associated benefits of visualization, built – in intelligence, and simulation is a dramatic step forward from the current technology used for design and construction: 2D CAD (computer assisted drawings). Patrick Suermann is a Testing Team Leader for NBIMS (National Building Information Modeling Standards Committee, a part of NBIS), and has led a number of BIM deployments for the US Army Corp of Engineers (USACE). “BIM is the next evolution of CAD maps, and allows for the design of a virtual model” states Suermann.

Why is the BIM adoption trend important for green technology companies to understand and incorporate into their market strategies? The use of BIM (both the technology and changes in increased collaboration) allows for significant exchange of data & information by all stakeholders involved over the lifecycle of the facility: owners, architects, engineers, contractors, and operators. This information includes that associated with green technology adoption: efficiencies in energy use; increased emphasis on environmental health; and the drive to generate less waste.

BIM and GreenTech Benefits to Owners & Operators

BIM allows provides the following benefits to stakeholders, with opportunities for green technology to add value:

Risk Management: BIM may provide more visibility into projects, and allow owners to manage risk through a collaborative and inclusive process. The inclusion of green technologies allows stakeholders to collaborate as well in this process.

Materials Management: Developing bid quantities and verifying them in a BIM process allows for more efficient material use, as well as opening opportunities to use more energy efficient and environmentally friendly materials. BIM may align scheduling and material quantities for better cash flow analysis as well.

Marketing & Branding: BIM provides a visual representation of a facility, and encourages collaborative review and discussion by stakeholders and public alike. Inclusion of greentech furthers the visual representation, by illustrating energy saving concepts and adherence to key green certifications, such as LEED. Green branding is thus improved as well

Portfolio Management: For owners of multiple facilities or enterprise level owners, BIM allows for the re-use and purposing of models to standardize design and construction; thus driving down material use & costs, as well as technology applications across a portfolio.

Optimization of Building Performance: BIM allows for integrated facility management, so that energy use, occupant health & comfort, and space planning may be monitored and improved upon.


“Not only can BIM optimize building performance via less waste generation during construction, and improved energy management during operation, it can accelerate certification for LEED status”, said Buddy Cleveland, SVP of Applied Research at Bentley Systems (www.bentley.com) , a leading technology provider in the architecture, engineering & construction (AEC) market. LEED (‘Leadership in Environmental and Engineering Design’) is a highly accepted rating system for the design and construction of green buildings.

According the 2007 Green Index Study (conducted by Autodesk and the American Institute of Architects), 44% of architects surveyed are using BIM currently. The report went on to state that architects adopting BIM are more likely to adopt green building design software practices such as HVAC energy analysis, energy modeling, and also the evaluation of more environmentally - friendly building materials.

But across the AEC industry, the general interpretation, use, and even terminology of BIM are still in an early phase. “People are defining BIM as whatever they want it to be” commented Buddy Cleveland. BIM training, cultural acceptance (in the AEC sector), and business process modifications are all unique challenges that must be overcome for continued adoption in the marketplace.

Green Technologies in the Buildings & Facilities Industry

General categories of green technologies that apply to the buildings and facility market have been documented in many periodicals; for the building & facility industry, the key technologies of interest are:

Energy & Resource Efficiency (HVAC systems, day-lighting, water management & re-use)

Alternative Energy Development (self - contained solar, wind, and other power sources)

Advance Material Use (for insulation, walls, windows, structural)

Information Management (energy modeling, sensors, life cycle assessment)

Environmental / Health (occupant health & comfort, waste reduction, carbon emissions management)


Next up: the role of federal owners in driving BIM & Greentech growth, and some recommended strategies for greentech start ups.
Read more!

Visualization Solutions to Leverage BIM / 3D Modeling

Have had the chance to discuss market opportunities with a couple of visualization solution vendors recently. I think this type of solution (integrated hardware / software, advanced optics, interactive displays) is close to the 'tipping point' in terms of market acceptance and use, in the engineering design, environmental / sustainability, and building construction industries. These solutions have already been effectively deployed in energy development, life sciences, and educational & museum sectors; where there is a strong need and interest in viewing 2D and 3D environments in an 'immersive' setting.

With the advent of 3D modeling and BIM (Building Information Modeling) throughout the E&C industry, there is now a greater demand for presentation solutions to fully leverage the collaborative and insightful nature of these technologies. There are a number of technology firms that are innovative solutions, including Mechdyne, Perceptive Pixel, and Elumenati, that have already developed visualization centers for energy, engineering design, and other infrastructure projects.

Some of the advantages for AEC firms for adopting use of these visualization solutions:

• Optimize collaboration between disparate workgroups, especially during design phases
• Faciliate stakeholder input, and thus minimize potential miscommunications and scheduling issues
• Opportunity to differentiate their brand and provide a competitive advantage on bids
• Display and leverage the power of 3D Modeling technology in CAD systems
• Complement the trend towards centralized engineering design centers

One E&C executive I spoke to recently mentioned that visualization technology was a critical component to their strategy of centralizing engineering design:

"We are moving towards a 'service center' approach for design engineering, where we can not only deliver services, but also work collaboratively with clients"

Read more!