Background
HKS, one of the top architectural firms practicing worldwide, specializes in healthcare, education, sports and hospitality design. The firm recently completed the design of phase two of the Banner Health MD Anderson Health Center in Gilbert, Arizona. This three-story, 110,000-square-foot facility provides additional space on the Banner Gateway Medical Center’s campus, which offers state-of-the-art, comprehensive cancer care. Banner Health selected HKS not only for their extensive experience in healthcare design, but also to work collaboratively with all project partners to digitize communication and deliver the facility using IPD.
Challenge
In order to meet the Owner’s IPD goals, HKS needed to digitize and streamline the flow of information to all team members. In the past, the firm had used a combination of solutions to electronically share and review drawings. However, the project’s General Contractor, DPR Construction, suggested the team use Bluebeam Studio throughout design, bid and build. Studio is the online collaboration feature of Revu, a PDF-based markup and collaboration solution that enables users to review large format drawings, redline them with customizable markups, track feedback and collaborate on PDFs with others in real time. Since HKS had already been using Revu’s PDF markup capabilities on other projects for over a year, it made sense to use Studio to host document-based collaboration sessions to foster greater collaboration among the entire project team.
Using Revu for IPD
Though HKS was no stranger to technology, using Revu enabled the firm to improve their workflows in several ways. Revu’s PDF markup technology, which includes customizable annotations such as text, highlights, pen marks, callouts, clouds, CAD symbols and measurements, took electronic commenting to the next level. In addition to providing the team with the ability to redline PDFs, Revu’s exclusive Tool Chest allowed users to save custom markups and easily standardize markup types, fonts and colors. The Markups list, which tracks every comment placed on the PDF, also enabled HKS to keep tabs on who made comments and when, and provided a simple interface for replying to comments.
Additionally, Revu enabled HKS to promote collaboration between multiple parties. By using Bluebeam Studio, HKS held online collaboration sessions with consultants, the GC and Owner. Through Studio Sessions, the team reviewed and redlined a single copy of the same PDF, which was hosted online. Everyone could see each other’s markups, but nobody could change anyone’s comments but their own. The timing of these collaboration sessions was flexible – sometimes the team members met together in real time despite their remote locations, and other times they logged in separately. “On previous projects that didn’t use Revu or Bluebeam Studio, we would have to send multiple versions of drawings from each person and filter through repetitive comments,” said Deva Powell, AIA, LEED AP, Project Architect at HKS. “Studio let everyone view and respond to each other’s comments so it was easy to see who needed to complete a task.”
Results
Using Revu and Bluebeam Studio for IPD was a huge success for HKS and its project partners. In addition to enabling real-time, document-based meetings, Revu eliminated significant paper waste. All project submittals were electronic, and since the Town of Gilbert, Arizona also uses Revu for electronic plan check, the team was able to digitally submit plans for approval.
Compared to solutions that HKS had used in the past for electronic communication, Revu proved to be much more efficient. “The combination of Revu and Bluebeam Studio helped HKS significantly improve the clarity and speed of project communication for the Banner Health MD Anderson Health Center Project, and reduce our printing and shipping costs,” added John Niziolek, AIA, LEED AP, Senior Vice President and Associate Principal at HKS. “We have already begun using Revu on other projects, and our clients are amazed at how quickly we can document items and send updates.”
To learn more about Revu or download a free 30-day trial, please visit us here.
Related Stories
Industry Research | Mar 2, 2023
Watch: Findings from Gensler's latest workplace survey of 2,000 office workers
Gensler's Janet Pogue McLaurin discusses the findings in the firm's 2022 Workplace Survey, based on responses from more than 2,000 workers in 10 industry sectors.
AEC Innovators | Mar 2, 2023
Turner Construction extends its ESG commitment to thwarting forced labor in its supply chain
Turner Construction joins a growing AEC industry movement, inspired by the Design for Freedom initiative, to eliminate forced labor and child labor from the production and distribution of building products.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 1, 2023
Multifamily construction startup Cassette takes a different approach to modular building
Prefabricated modular design and construction have made notable inroads into such sectors as industrial, residential, hospitality and, more recently, office and healthcare. But Dafna Kaplan thinks that what’s held back the modular building industry from even greater market penetration has been suppliers’ insistence that they do everything: design, manufacture, logistics, land prep, assembly, even onsite construction. Kaplan is CEO and Founder of Cassette, a Los Angeles-based modular building startup.
AEC Innovators | Feb 28, 2023
Meet the 'urban miner' who is rethinking how we deconstruct and reuse buildings
New Horizon Urban Mining, a demolition firm in the Netherlands, has hitched its business model to construction materials recycling. It's plan: deconstruct buildings and infrastructure and sell the building products for reuse in new construction. New Horizon and its Founder Michel Baars have been named 2023 AEC Innovators by Building Design+Construction editors.
Seismic Design | Feb 27, 2023
Turkey earthquakes provide lessons for California
Two recent deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria offer lessons regarding construction practices and codes for California. Lax building standards were blamed for much of the devastation, including well over 35,000 dead and countless building collapses.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Feb 27, 2023
New 20,000-seat soccer stadium will anchor neighborhood development in Indianapolis
A new 20,000-seat soccer stadium for United Soccer League’s Indy Eleven will be the centerpiece of a major neighborhood development in Indianapolis. The development will transform the southwest quadrant of downtown Indianapolis by adding more than 600 apartments, 205,000 sf of office space, 197,000 sf for retail space and restaurants, parking garages, a hotel, and public plazas with green space.
Libraries | Feb 26, 2023
A $17 million public library in California replaces one that was damaged in a 2010 earthquake
California’s El Centro community, about two hours east of San Diego, recently opened a new $17 million public library. With design by Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects and engineering services by Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering, the 19,811-sf building replaces the previous library, which was built in the early 1900s, damaged by a 7.2 earthquake that struck Baja California in 2010, and demolished in 2016.
University Buildings | Feb 23, 2023
Johns Hopkins shares design for new medical campus building named in honor of Henrietta Lacks
In November, Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Medicine shared the initial design plans for a campus building project named in honor of Henrietta Lacks, the Baltimore County woman whose cells have advanced medicine around the world. Diagnosed with cervical cancer, Lacks, an African-American mother of five, sought treatment at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in the early 1950s. Named HeLa cells, the cell line that began with Lacks has contributed to numerous medical breakthroughs.
Healthcare Facilities | Feb 21, 2023
Cleveland's Glick Center hospital anchors neighborhood revitalization
The newly opened MetroHealth Glick Center in Cleveland, a replacement acute care hospital for MetroHealth, is the centerpiece of a neighborhood revitalization. The eleven-story structure is located within a ‘hospital-in-a-park’ setting that will provide a bucolic space to the community where public green space is lacking. It will connect patients, visitors, and staff to the emotional and physical benefits of nature.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 21, 2023
Multifamily housing investors favoring properties in the Sun Belt
Multifamily housing investors are gravitating toward Sun Belt markets with strong job and population growth, according to new research from Yardi Matrix. Despite a sharp second-half slowdown, last year’s nationwide $187 billion transaction volume was the second-highest annual total ever.
