Voyansi Voices Blog

Last we got a call from one of our long time customers. He had finally quit the grind of his corporate job after 20 years. After knowing them for several years both as one of Voyansi's production team members, then later in a commercial role, I knew this would not be retirement! There is an allure to architects to be able to pick and choose what you work on. As an architect myself, I know this feeling, it's experiential and almost indescribable. However, tempering that, the ability to pick and choose comes with the need for industry standard tools and workflows. 

Personal feelings aside for the state of social media today, I realized there is some truth in the importance of creating content for exposure. No, I'm not suggesting you go purchase a pair of black skinny jeans, a go-pro, and quit your job to travel.

Imagine for a minute that you’re a plumber working on a building back in the paper age, maybe right around 1956. You have three, 12” storm pipes that need to run through an entire 30.000 sq.ft floor. To complicate matters, these pipes are going inside a Lab. They are sloped, and the piping needs to be as continuous and straight as possible along the way. Oh yea, remember, it’s a lab, so there is a ton of MEP equipment, and there are a handful of beams that you absolutely cannot clash with because they are structural. 

Implementing BIM. It sounds challenging, scary even. Maybe it's on your radar, but the budget is not yet approved and you are still planning. There is a vast unknown ocean you are about to dive into, what kind of monsters lie in wait? Rework, lost productivity, expense, or additional effort are all lurking out there in the depth. 

The more I learn about nature, the more coincidences I find with my work at Voyansi. 

Before writing this post, I reached out to a few people in the AEC space to talk about strategic BIM planning. For me, it's a catharsis to talk about BIM. However, anecdotally, about 75% of space owners are reluctant to engage in strategic planning sessions and my colleagues in the software and data world echoed this.

The biggest shift in real estate usage history is occurring. As a business leader, I’ve recognized and made that call myself for Voyansi. In 2020, like many other companies, we realized a new way of working was here to stay and capitalized on the opportunity of our employees working remotely to renovate and consolidate office spaces.

Leading with a Limerick

This is the first of many announcements we will be making this year. Our mantra here has been: Nothing is sacred. Go try something new. We know that BIM will change the world. More people should be using it. The only way to make that happen is to help everyone know BIM better. There’s no better way to start building awareness than a limerick, but first, we hope this has intrigued you enough to sign up for our blog!

Imagine for a minute that you are in the market to buy a new vehicle? You have your heart set on a new convertible, maybe it’s a large SUV for an addition to the family, or it could be a practical everyday sedan. What if it did not have a feature we take for granted to day: a radio for instance? What if the salesman told you it only came in black? Many people would balk, and look for another option.

I’m sure you’ve heard the term “Industry 4.0.” Similar monikers have been applied to other areas, EHS 4.0 for instance. I’d like to introduce a new term: Workplace 4.0. I’m not one to create hard definitions, but in my mind, many new standards fit into Workplace 4.0: Casual wear such as jeans & a Metallica t-shirt are usually ok for a meeting; children in the workplace are a fact; sometimes the dog barks on a call and we all just smile at the innocent disruption. 

Architects: just beyond your screen exists an oasis of automation, where doing your work is just as easy as building it, and day-to-day changes are automatically communicated across the entire team.  Need to revert back to an older version?  Done. Want to see your project built in real-time as you’re designing it?  Great.  Come join our oasis, the magical world of software development.

Last week, our blog discussed McKinsey's latest report: " The Next Normal in Construction." Some of the figures they mention are eye-watering: below average industry growth rates, razor-thin profit margins, and $1.6 trillion in potential value-add that is left on the table through inefficiency. Our main takeaway is that the AEC industry is undergoing a digital transformation from a bespoke industry to a product-based approach.