New York City Department of Buildings approves 3D BIM site safety plans

The New York City Department of Buildings recently unveiled a safety initiative that encourages contractors working on large projects to submit 3D/BIM site safety plans. The initiative makes the City’s Building Department one of the first to accept and review safety plans in this manner.

Turner Construction Company is the first company to have their three-dimensional, Building Information Model-based plans approved by the New York City Department of Buildings.

The plans – which show the locations of site fencing, perimeter protection, cranes, hoists and other equipment and materials – were created by Turner using detailed Building Information Modeling tools and submitted to the Department of Buildings electronically in both 3D and 2D formats. Digital submission follow-up required fewer office visits and expedited the approval process as the 3D images enhanced communication between field inspectors, office supervisors and Turner. Most importantly, the virtual models and walkthroughs helped identify potential safety risks earlier in the review process, before the start of construction. The approved 2D documents and 3D models were then stored in a secure online site from which Building Inspectors could access them in the field on mobile computing devices.

The first projects that benefited from this process were the Energy Building at NYU Langone Medical Center, which will satisfy the energy demands of the University’s growing medical campus, and a new building for NYU’s College of Nursing that will also provide expanded facilities for the College of Dentistry, and create space for a new multi-school bioengineering program. +

Global architecture firm Goettsch Partners (GP) announces that James Zheng, AIA, LEED AP, has been named CEO, and Paul De Santis, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, joins James Goettsch, FAIA, as co-design directors for the practice. As the primary partners in the firm, the three have worked closely together for more than 17 years. Goettsch will also continue to serve as chairman while Zheng now assumes the full CEO title as well as president.

| Aug 12, 2022

Monthly Construction Input Prices Decreased 2% in July, Up 17% From a Year Ago, Says ABC

Construction input prices decreased 1.8% in July compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released today.