Optimal drawing and design standard
That’s always our priority. Therefore, we wanted to establish the optimal drawing and design standard for Quadrant4. To ensure that all employees can make the most of our design package (Revit) in terms of capabilities. But also, to make sure that we can continue to work according to our quality standards and drawing agreements. In addition to two-dimensional drawings, we also wanted to provide our clients with three-dimensional models. About a year and a half ago, we embarked on this journey with the company ICN Solutions*. High time for an evaluation with Paul Born (from ICN Solutions) and Roy Bruggeman, Kurt Felicia, Remi Leunissen, and Henri van de Rijdt from Quadrant4.
"At ICN, I am the Business Unit Manager for the construction and mechanical engineering segments. I previously worked as a draftsman at an architectural firm for many years, which certainly helps in understanding the needs of customers. With Quadrant4, we have gone through a process together that ultimately proved to be a win-win for both parties. They, as well as we, have learned a lot from it."
Roy: "Firstly, we created a comprehensive plan of steps and needs, considering what we can do ourselves and what ICN fills in. The entire implementation was an intensive process that took about a year and a half. Custom-made for Quadrant4."
Remi: "Some employees already had a lot of knowledge of Revit, and some had less. We wanted to level that. In this phase, we were very critical of each other and took ample time to map out our needs. In other words, how do we set this up as effectively as possible?"
Henri: "We expressed our wishes, and identified the requirements and information we want to extract from the system. ICN anticipated that. They provided us with guidance, including how to optimize everything through the cloud."
Paul: "If we determine the standard, you won't achieve results. Quadrant4 has an idea, and we have an idea. Therefore, we looked at the current working methodology of Quadrant4, the templates, the library, and the skill levels of the programs used by employees. A sort of baseline assessment, you could say."
Roy: "Yes, this really helped us in realizing and documenting a new standard for Quadrant4. You want to work as efficiently as possible but still in your own way."
Paul: "We learned a lot from this preliminary phase. In the beginning, understanding each other was a challenge. Clearly defining what we want to achieve together and then making it concrete."
Remi: "The knowledge and expertise of Christiaan Harmse from ICN really helped us in this. He truly understands what we are doing at Quadrant4 and what we want to talk about."
Paul: "The ideal situation is to deliver an 'As-Built' model before the shovel hits the ground. That prevents a lot of failure costs. And you and I know that a major mistake in realization always costs much more than the investment you make in the preliminary phase."
Roy: "What makes it more complex is that we work with different parties. The architectural model, the construction model, and the installation model must be able to overlay each other. This way, you create an integrated design and thus limit potential failure costs."
Kurt: "We are now at the end of the process together. About 95% of what we wanted to set up together is behind us. I was already very familiar with the program, but I found out that there is much more in the families (the elements used for drawing) than I thought."
Roy: "With the focus on the last 5%, you now also see the limitations of the system. What do you do with that? Accept that not everything is possible?"
Henri: "Usually, a workaround is possible, so I think we shouldn't worry too much about that."
Roy: "We all want to be ready for the future, and we are now. We adhere to the most used BIM standard in the Netherlands. We can confidently share our 3D models, which comply with the BIM Basic ILS, with both designing and executing parties."
Paul: "Everyone really went for it. That was great. Was it easy? No. But we have worked together pleasantly and achieved what we had in mind. ICN and Quadrant4."
*ICN Solutions is an ICT specialist for architectural, mechanical engineering, and civil engineering business environments.
