Konstrukshon CPD Archive up and running

I am happy to tell you, the old site archive of all several 1000 blogs I have made over the last 5 or so years is back on a wordpress.com domain :

https://konstrukshonarchive.wordpress.com

So head over and use the search button to read all those old blogs

I will add a link to all my sites and also to the current domain at Blogger.

For some reason Google Blogger will not allow the files size wordpress exports to be imported into blogger asking you to reduce it, !!

But the free wordpress.com site will allow it and when I tried it, I had no problems, even sent me an email to tell me all is well and site working .

8 Types of Big Data for a construction Project

A single large construction  project is going to collect a lot of data throughout the design and construction phase of its life culminating with all the data it will collect during its operational life of say 60 years. but the types of data can easily be split split into 6 different types of data.

When we look at all the data we generate for a building you might just look at it all and think we are entering the world of Big Data, but here we have to be a little careful on the word "big" as we compare different uses of the word Big, when we look at the 2560 terabytes of data that retailer Walmart collects every hour by capturing customer transactions, and the vast size of all the videos on /youtube although spread over many servers its estimated to be in the several Exabytes,

by comparison Birmingham city Council in 2007 had 7 terabyte of storage just for there immediate data only storage needs for  roughly 35,000 staff, this probable That this doubled every year meaning after 19 years of planning going digital and so many services adding new data types they must be in the 1000 terabytes or more, of data storage.

So is our small building to be considered big data, not on its own no,considering the list below I can see all a medium buildings data being kept within say 2 terabytes, but when we start to build our building file structure and link it into a big city data scenario them perhaps yes it is big data, not because of its data storage but use of data, from external sources, like weather centres and traffic data whose storage could easily be considered big data.

Add to that the handling problem from the shear size to the vast array of file types the different types of data and the sorts of error we are bound to see that are so common in big data sets.

So what are we looking at, my best guess is a building well need 7 different file types :

Design & Cad Data

There will be a large collection of CAD files related to any building from simple details to the larger floor files to 3D files for almost all the major cad packages, to ifc files from nay different members of the team as they update their drawings. Plus of course survey files from simple data loggers to point cloud laser scans. Its here all the emails and letters scanned in will be stored for reference.

Quick data

This will be for those files associated with immediate access, marketing web site. a more open access, ideal for web site and public data.

Related Data

Purchased data will form part of the life cycle of may building, looking at weather patterns, sensor data on incoming weather, met office data and the like, stored for easy access by the buildings autonomous software.

Dark Data

Video , pictures and audio files are now forming a great archive record and from the initial survey through to the eventual demolition a building might have several hours of footage taken.

Contractor Data

Manufacturer data of all equipment purchased, by the contractor I differentiate this from the CAD files as it will be generated by the contractors purchases of all materials and equipment, and will be detailed enough to see say an individual toilet purchased and where it was installed in the building.

Sensor Data

Over the life of a building it will record the sensor data from many thousands of small sensors embedded within the fabric of the building, some pinging data hourly some hardly at all, but some on a more frequent basis of perhaps minute by minute.

Operational data

For a building to organise its self it needs to know whats going on in its rooms, so activity booking diaries will be the norm, its not huge, but needs to be accounted for in my data types, Also stored here are the buildings operational or autonomous programs and the add on suites to support it , with records of heating temperatures and fuel use and the like.

Standardised process for the sharing of product data

I see this a lot in the construction industry, a committee wants standardisation. The BIM Task Group in association with the Construction Products Association, BIM4M2 and CIBSE are looking to develop a standardised process for the sharing of product data, You have to ask why, does it not go against the very nature of the development of big data, what Hadoop, Hana and all the other new ways to view and analyse large datasets, which I might add do not need standardisation, rather the opposite.

Large projects need to establish data use before it gets to site, develop rules to show how relations are make and kept, data shared, looking to associations for advice not rules, but thats for an individual project, and it may change as new projects are started, adding the benefits of hind sight and advances seen in the industry, but thats for a good project team to sort out, not a committee.

I sit back an wonder who is pushing for this and why, I feel like writing a paper on this and submitting it, just to outline the danger of rigid control, which seems to be at the for front of the way BIM is being developed, at least in the UK. The USA seem to be a little more open and allow the system to develop on its own.

I had a similar conversation yesterday when I had a tech chat with the some colleagues re the use of Point Cloud and laser scanning, 3D CAD files, IFC, and how we can pull them together, and we have not even scratched to ground re data. As for planning don't even go there.

Are we not inventing a new way of designing and transmitting that design to the construction team, and developing the use of the data we generate, so why control that development with rules right at the start of its development. 3D its use of BIM, and the way we are using it must be aloud to develop on it's own, we the market place will trial and develop, look for new ways, pull in new methods, and most of all talk and develop. Adding rules now, just throttles any thought process.

I am open to the rules if they come in the form of an academic paper for all to see, read, and act upon, but free thinking and market development is the way forward.

You might notice I have not mentioned the law in this piece yet, the courts scare me, and I fear once they get involved because of a spat between contractor and who ever, they will impose rules without any thought to any one but the winning party, but I can live in hope here.

You can add the teaching of this subject, to the list of why I want a free and open development, I am supposed to develop young minds, teach them to think, look at whats happening, and add to the development, not sit there and say, ok we need to control with a few rules, might get out of hand here !.
I want to teach students to look at a 3D cad file and ask, what BIM information can I add that will increase the data pool, that some one will find useful, adding open industry rules that prevent this is wrong. But adding rules to a contract controlling a job is correct.

Food for thought I hope.

Todays photo has no relation to the subject, just a dining table laid for 6 for a dinner party. Notice the gap down the middle, ready for the Terrines. Wine to the far right so I can keep our guests topped up.

Time Lapse Video - So much to see

I am a massive fan of Time Lapse video, I think its an excellent way to teach construction, the number of site videos out there is well worth trawling. But this video is all about weather, and shadow, its effect on a building and how the building deals with it, although the last part is so up the the lecturer to explain, I take my students on a walk though the old Birmingham to show this.
But for the mean time, take a look at how the weather creeps in, and brightens up, plus the shadows.

A little nearer to personal VR

Take a look at this video Scoble put up on his Facebook blog, I like this a lot, google glass developed a little more.

https://www.facebook.com/RobertScoble/posts/10153966287844655

An unpredictable Future

For all you futurist out there this report is not only required reading, but I might suggest its the basis of so many changes we are going to see in all walks of life.

Entitled "Samsung Shows What Our Somewhat-Upredictable Future Will Look Like" , and its going to so different, to what ever you think now, and its all down the the unpredictability of progress,

All manufacturers need to read this, and start thinking, what is going to affect my business plan, no wrong answers and certainly plenty of right answers, all suggestions are valid, the article makes big on the IoT and I for one so agree, but we need to break free from rigid thinking and open up ideas. I have just uploaded it to my Evernote Account.

My presentation on this, wakes up an audience, and asks so many questions, I have no firm concrete answers, but so many paths to suggest following.

Visit my Web page, for my list of presentations, including this presentation "The Manufacturers Glass ball"

I will go over what is, may be, and could be, for the manufacturer who sells into the Construction Industry.

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• Reading is part of research

In or Out of Europe for the Architectural Technologist

Over the next few weeks as we head for the poles on the 5th May 2016, we are going to get some pressure from both sides to vote one way or the other.

Foe me its not a simple yes or no, I have many questions, and all I can say at present is I am errring on the Exit side, mostly because of the way law is added to the UK by none elected people, and who I have no control over,,,,,,  but I will change my side several times in the weeks to come, so before I final head one way or the other I need to ask some questions, research some facts and read a little,

But one area I have been asked is, will an exist affect the UK Architectural Technology Market. The simple answer is I have no real idea, I have a gut feel and its more the labour market for site more than anything else, but perhaps we need to sit and think things through a little.

So my starting list of items to consider looks like this :

Exit

• We loose a wide pool of general contractor labour
• Some materials might be more expensive
• Jobs for local projects probably will increase as European offices open up UK branch for tax and administrative reasons
• I have not really seen many projects in the EU being that important to UK Architects, so leaving might not matter here, Big global projects for the like of Zaha Hadid and Foster offer no change.
• But the question of investment in the Uk still bothers me, a lot to be looked at on this point
• Some materials might be limited or have a import tax added, costs might go up, manufacturing here, is it better
• BBA certificate cross boarders never really worked so no change
• Current British standards harmonised to EU:BS might revert back, but why bother they are good standards and keeping in sink will help even if we leave.
• What do the USA think, they have always stated the UK is their contact with the EU, does leaving alter that, good or bad !
• The political question of England Ireland and Scotland, what if one votes the opposite way to England, this 2015  article by Jane Merrick on the independent site explores this.

Stay

• We still have a large pool of contractor staff
• BS will inevitable remain the same
• Same goes for Building Regs
• Material supply remain the same
• Life goes on no change

As you can see, a lot to think about, so I shall come back to this post several times I think in the weeks to come, to update and add comment.

But in the meantime take a look at this excellent article on Building Specifier aimed squarely at the construction industry by Jamie Smith on leaving or not the EU, and this article in the Huffington Post by Simon Thomas argues some good points on Investment and the problems of leaving.

I am beginning to see that its not just a question of Architectural Jobs or just the Construction industry, there are a lot of interwoven links and internal political problems to be considered.

Take a long look at this article in this sat Daily Mail Melvyn King ex head of the Bank of England talks about Europe, seems to me it's another reason to leave.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3488649/The-eurozone-s-calamity-brutally-candid-interview-former-Bank-England-governor-Mervyn-King-reveals-profound-worries-single-currency-mighty-Germany.html