Construction projects face various challenges, such as delays in decision-making, communication issues, and inefficiencies in design iterations. Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and collaborative contracts have emerged as solutions to these problems, promoting better trust among stakeholders. The traditional “Big Room” concept has been an invincible piece of IPD with proven benefits in improving project outcomes. It has fostered teamwork, trust, and communication by uniting all stakeholders in a single physical space.
Table of Contents
- 1.1 Introduction to Big Rooms and Virtual Big Rooms
- 1.2 Why Virtual Big Room (ViBR) is Important in Digital Age
- 1.3 The Triumvirate of ViBR: People, Processes, and Technology
- 1.4 Collaboration and Connection for Success: Knotworking in ViBR
- 1.5 VisiLean: Leading the Charge in ViBR Implementation
- 1.6 Impact of Pandemic on Big Rooms
- 1.7 Conclusion: The Future is Virtual and Lean
1.1 Introduction to Big Rooms and Virtual Big Rooms
A Big Room is a collaborative and physical workspace co-locating key stakeholders to work on projects in a shared environment. It serves as a central hub for real-time communication, enabling the team to address issues, and streamline workflows on the projects. By uniting all the teams in a large physical space, this approach facilitates productive decision-making aligning the stakeholders with the project goals.
The proven benefits of the Big Room catapulted into the digital age brings the concept of Virtual Big Room (ViBR) on the table. ViBR leverages advanced technologies to create a virtual co-location space where stakeholders can collaborate seamlessly, regardless of their physical location. It’s a whole new world where project teams can interact in real-time, visualise models, planning tasks, and making decisions with unprecedented efficiency.
1.2 Why Virtual Big Room (ViBR) is Important in Digital Age
Big Room is worthwhile in large-scale projects. While on smaller or medium-scale projects, physical co-location of the entire team in a large facility is often not feasible due to the availability of the resources.
ViBR outshines Physical Big Rooms for effective project management. By leveraging technology, ViBR allows project participants to collaborate seamlessly from anywhere in the world. This virtual co-location eliminates geographical barriers, making it accessible to projects of all scales. Moreover, ViBR offers a more flexible and adaptable approach depending upon the complexity of the project.
1.3 The Triumvirate of ViBR: People, Processes, and Technology
The essence of ViBR lies in aligning people and processes. It’s not just about having the right tools; it’s about fostering a culture of collaboration and trust on construction projects. Here’s how ViBR achieves this:
1.3.1 People
The heart of any project is its people. ViBR ensures that the team players are motivated and engaged. By mimicking the physical Big Room environment, ViBR provides a platform for social interaction and knowledge sharing. It’s flexible for both virtual and face-to-face interactions and caters to diverse team preferences and needs.
1.3.2 Processes
ViBR supports a variety of lean construction processes, such as the Last Planner System (LPS), Target Value Design (TVD), and Value Stream Mapping (VSM). These methodologies are integrated into the ViBR framework, enabling teams to plan, execute, and review tasks in a collaborative manner.
1.3.3 Technology
The backbone of ViBR is its robust technological infrastructure. Building Information Modeling (BIM) plays a central role for product and process modeling, visualisation, and communication. Additionally, IoT-based communication channels, cloud computing, and social networking tools create a highly collaborative virtual environment.
1.4 Collaboration and Connection for Success: Knotworking in ViBR
The concept of the “knotworking” approach aligns closely with the collaborative and flexible nature of the Virtual Big Room (ViBR) framework. Rather than relying on a rigid, hierarchical structure, knotworking emphasises the fluidity and adaptability required in construction landscape. It emphasises the importance of collaboration, communication, and knowledge sharing among all stakeholders involved.
In the context of ViBR, knotworking is exemplified by the integration of lean processes, BIM tools, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, social networking, and knowledge management. These technologies enable teams to stay connected, share insights, and make informed decisions in real-time. The collaborative nature of ViBR encourages innovation and creativity, as teams can leverage diverse perspectives and expertise to develop new solutions. This not only enhances project outcomes but also drives continuous improvement, ensuring that each project is more efficient and sustainable than the last.
In essence, knotworking in ViBR is about creating a connected and collaborative environment where teams can work together effectively to achieve project goals. It highlights the importance of leveraging technology and collaborative practices to navigate the complexities of the industry, ultimately leading to better outcomes for all involved. By breaking down silos and promoting knowledge sharing, knotworking helps to overcome the challenges inherent in complex construction projects.
1.5 VisiLean: Leading the Charge in ViBR Implementation
VisiLean as a cloud-based solution is at the forefront of implementing the concept of Virtual Big Room (ViBR) in construction. As an easy-to-use solution, it collaborates stakeholders in a unified digital environment. The web and app interface seamlessly connects the teams to coordinate every phase of a project, from planning to execution. VisiLean ensures alignment and efficiency throughout the project lifecycle to bring the power of Big Room on every project. By breaking down silos and facilitating information sharing, VisiLean fosters a culture of transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement regardless of size or location, or stakeholder availability. Here’s how it’s transforming the construction landscape:
1.5.1 Collaboration and Knowledge Management
The project partners can be collocated on the VisiLean platform as a virtual big room. From designers to all the stakeholders at various stages of production are added as users on the web platform. They can report on the latest status, review available designs, and raise any blockade which limits the execution of work. With our 2D markup a user can import, highlight, comment or connect tasks on their drawings. While the 4D BIM models incorporates the fourth dimension of Time to demonstrate how the project is progressing day by day in a visual format. This helps in improving design document quality by constantly evaluating the design against constructability. Additionally, users can also picture project sites on VisiLean maps, mark specific areas, and link geofences to locations. In this cloud-based collaborative environment, clear status of activities is available to all. Although the teams might be distributed, VisiLean creates an ideal platform in uniting them for production management.
1.5.2 Real-Time Accountability for Project Success
The holistic status is accessible to all irrespective of the ownership role on the project. It synchronises efforts and depicts their accountability towards the collaborative success in the execution of the project. This leads to a continuous momentum of the project teams in the virtual big room environment.
VisiLean’s mobile app, LiveSite, provides a common platform for communication and data sharing. LiveSite is prebuilt on personalised view as per the ownership roles. The onsite app enables swift handovers of tasks on marking them as complete. This next-gen app then prompts the next stakeholder in line to take the due course of action with respect to the task. While the live data is feeding the web platform, it depicts as is performance status of the project at all times!
1.5.3 Advanced Visual Management
VisiLean’s live 4D BIM allows teams to visualise the product information during planning before executing it onsite. The detailed tasks are linked to the elements of the BIM model. This model plays a significant role in reviewing the 4 or 6 or 12 week lookaheads for the upcoming tasks. This unites the stakeholders on the same page and reduces misunderstandings. With the right information being communicated to the right team, it enables quicker responses to issues for more informed decision-making. VisiLean as the most powerful and unique Lean-BIM integrated engine allows you to successfully deploy BIM for production planning, monitoring, and control.
1.6 Impact of Pandemic on Big Rooms
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a digital transformation across industries, and construction was no exception. It highlighted the need for effective digital tools to maintain continuity in project execution. This emphasised the significance of robust communication and collaboration platforms that could support distributed teams. With the transition from physical big rooms to digital boundaries also led to “Virtual Big Rooms.” The cloud-based platform, VisiLean, has always embodied the core principles of Virtual Big Rooms. With data being stored on the cloud, it is very convenient during remote working. With the project data being accessible on the move and in real-time, it leads to transparency across the stakeholders. Not only does it streamline the processes but also helps in better decision making.
1.7 Conclusion: The Future is Virtual and Lean
The Virtual Big Room (ViBR) concept is underpinned by Lean principles and advanced technologies like BIM and cloud computing, represents the future of construction management. VisiLean stands at the forefront of this revolution, offering a platform that not only promotes seamless collaboration but also enhances project efficiency and effectiveness.
The construction industry is poised for a digital transformation, and those who embrace these innovations will undoubtedly lead the charge into a new era of productivity and success. So, are you ready to step into the future with ViBR and VisiLean? The time to act is now. Embrace the change, disrupt the norms, to switch the way you manage construction projects.
