It was exciting to find out that Apple has been working on their own demo video of Vela Systems on the iPad for its iTunes video podcast area that features all sorts of how-to videos.   This section of iTunes is focused on providing guidance to business users on how to use the iPad for their own particular processes.  In our case, the demo video is about construction and called “Manage Your Construction Punch List.” Check it out on iTunes.

We had been talking with Apple about this for a few months now.  As you may have heard, they can be pretty secretive so I was never actually told what, if anything, would come from us sharing a mixture of customer case studies, the Vela Mobile iPad App, and a few of our own product demos.

In their demo video, they go through a variety of aspects of the Vela Mobile iPad App, including checklists, equipment, viewing plans, marking up photos and more. In the classic Apple demo fashion, they demo the app live on an Apple white background.  The demo nicely illustrates the speed of the application and some cool visual elements like moving pushpins on a plan.  The demo is missing our Field BIM-Interactive capabilities, but you can see that separately here in a video I created.

Tell us what you think about the Apple version of the demo!

Fiatech Technology Webinar:
Tuesday, May 22nd from 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM CST

Following up from an exciting and engaging Fiatech conference in Miami, and winning the celebrated Fiatech CETI Award with Skanska USA Building for groundbreaking use of field management software in construction project delivery, here’s a webinar that Fiatech is hosting with Skanska USA Building and Vela Systems. Here are the details:

Hosted by: Fiatech
Webinar: The ROI of BIM, Vela Systems Field Management Software and iPads
Date: Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM CDT
Presented by: Will Senner, Assistant Project Manager, Skanska USA Building
In cooperation with: Vela Systems
Cost: Free
PDH Units: 1.0

Reserve for this live webinar and earn 1.0 PDH >

The Hunt Library project at NC State University in Raleigh, NC was a 250,000 sf steel frame facility and the "Signature Project" for NCSU Centennial Campus. Not a traditional library, it included no stacks – all books are stored in an automated storage and retrieval system in the basement. Complex features included a chilled Beam/Radiant Panel system for heating/cooling, a custom unitized curtainwall Skin (99% of projects on campus are brick), and pursuit of LEED Silver. The project was also unique in that it received a Skanska Innovation Grant to study the cost-benefit of BIM and field management tools like Vela Systems software on iPads. Skanska partnered with the NCSU's Engineering School and produced one of the most detailed ROI models to date of the use of these technologies.

Interested, but can't attend? Register anyway to get a recording after the webinar.

Register Now! >

Following up from the “Owners’ Expectations Today” event hosted by the AGC of Massachusetts, The Association of Commercial & Institutional Builders, themes and points discussed and debated by the owners, owner representatives, contractors, architects, engineers, other service providers and the attendees in general included diverse topics, across a broad spectrum from strategic stances to operational issues. Here are some of the key themes and salient points:

1. Flexibility and agility are critical to owner organizations and contractors serving owners, in part due to the recent economic turbulence, the sensitivity to economic recovery, and the changing regulatory environment.
2. Economic outlooks are increasingly optimistic, but the need to control internal spending  continues to strongly influence the internal decision-making processes at all levels.
3. Leading non-profit and for-profit healthcare owners are readily adopting a new stance of both proactive and reactive measures toward real estate, design and construction decisions.
4. Some healthcare owners utilize real estate, design and construction solely to support the core business, as opposed to other types of owners who also leverage facilities for investment purposes.
5. For contractors, architects, engineers, owner’s representatives, and other service providers, understanding an owner’s strategy and mission, related to business drivers and inner workings is critical to winning new work.
6. New, adaptive guidelines versus established, stringent standards are driving new processes in design and construction management, changing the way owners traditionally do business.
7. Owners continue to develop partnerships with select groups of contractors, architects, engineers, owner’s representatives, and other service providers, with proven track records on similar projects.
8. Light renovations, retrofits and repairs present one, increasingly prevalent alternative to address short and mid-term strategies, whereas master planning and relocations help replenish assets in the long-term.
9. Price is important but best value contracting coupled with qualitative decision-making helps to manage risk and avoid adverse outcomes both during construction and ongoing operations and maintenance.
10. Peer-to-peer communication is helping healthcare and other owners share best practices, drive industry standards, and increase value to shareholders, subscribers, occupants, and the public.

More to come next week…

WEBINAR: Field Management from and Owner's Perspective
Why a Major Healthcare Owner is driving the use of iPads, Vela Systems software and Building Information Modeling (BIM)

Part 3 of a Technical Series on Field Management for Quality of Building Insulation

Continuing from last week about quality management, field inspection, and field observation of building insulation, this week we’ll continue to discuss developing and authoring building insulation checklist templates, as an industry best practice and as a standard operating procedure (SOP) across a company or an organization.

Last week, in addition to names and phases being combined or concatenated to create a series of focused and targeted checklist templates, similarly, names and physical areas, spatial locations, mechanical equipment, etc. may also be combined or concatenated.

As part of a field management program for quality, installation and final inspection checklists guide project stakeholders, such as owner’s representatives, program managers, construction managers, general contractors, trade contractors, architects, engineers, manufacturers’ representatives, third-party agents, and other stakeholders. The checklists aid in the visual examination and observation of the physical work results out in the field during installation and final inspection, at the point-of-construction and at the point-of-operations – in contrast to third-part laboratory tests, for example.

As one example, 07 21 16 Blanket Insulation,  INSTALLATION checklist templates or sections of checklist templates may be expanded to address specific conditions and unique requirements to different mechanical equipment, such as condensate pumps, gate valves, and Steam Traps. Focused and targeted checklist templates or sections of checklist templates may include:

• 07 21 16 Blanket Insulation – INSTALLATION
  • 07 21 16 BLANKET INSULATION – INSTALLATION - CONDENSATE PUMPS
  • 07 21 16 BLANKET INSULATION – INSTALLATION - GATE VALVES
  • 07 21 16 BLANKET INSULATION – INSTALLATION - STEAM TRAPS

• 07 21 16 Blanket Insulation – FINAL INSPECTION
  • 07 21 16 BLANKET INSULATION – FINAL INSPECTION - CONDENSATE PUMPS
  • 07 21 16 BLANKET INSULATION – FINAL INSPECTION - GATE VALVES
  • 07 21 16 BLANKET INSULATION – FINAL INSPECTION - STEAM TRAPS

As a second example with 07 21 16 Blanket Insulation, INSTALLATION and FINAL INSPECTION checklist templates or sections of checklist templates may be expanded to address specific conditions and unique requirements to different physical areas and spatial locations, such as interior walls, exterior walls, ceilings, etc. Focused and targeted checklist templates or sections of checklist templates may include:

• 07 21 16 Blanket Insulation – INSTALLATION
  • 07 21 16 BLANKET INSULATION – INSTALLATION – GENERAL
  • 07 21 16 BLANKET INSULATION – INSTALLATION – INTERIOR WALLS
  • 07 21 16 BLANKET INSULATION – INSTALLATION – EXTERIOR WALLS
  • 07 21 16 BLANKET INSULATION – INSTALLATION – CEILINGS

• 07 21 16 Blanket Insulation – FINAL INSPECTION
  • 07 21 16 BLANKET INSULATION – FINAL INSPECTION – GENERAL
  • 07 21 16 BLANKET INSULATION – FINAL INSPECTION – INTERIOR WALLS
  • 07 21 16 BLANKET INSULATION – FINAL INSPECTION – EXTERIOR WALLS
  • 07 21 16 BLANKET INSULATION – FINAL INSPECTION – CEILINGS

Next week, continuing on the topic of quality management, field inspection, and field observation of building insulation, we will discuss industry and manufacturer organizations, inspector and observer experience, and inspection and observation checkpoints.

Part 2 of a Technical Series on Field Management for Quality of Building Insulation

Continuing from part one of the Field Management for Quality: Building Insulation blog series, this week we will discuss defining the goals and objectives for building insulation checks, and naming building insulation checklist templates to ensure a standard best practice across an organization or a company.

Defining Checklist Objectives for Building Insulation Inspection

Project stakeholers may have numerous objectives when inspecting and observing building insulation work. Defining checklist objectives for building insulation inspection, or for any scope of work/work results, is a critical first step. A checklist may focus on one objective only, or may address many objectives. For example, checklist objectives include checking, testing, or verifying conformance to or compliance with:

1. Building codes
2. Federal, state, local and other regulations
3. Owner’s project requirements (OPR)
4. Organizational standard operating procedures
5. Contracting requirements, e.g., conditions of the contract, general conditions, supplementary conditions, etc.
6. Specifications
7. Contract drawings
8. Resource drawings
9. Warranty requirements
10. Building Product Manufacturer’s (BPM) installation instructions
11. Industry organization recommendations
12. Industry best practices

Naming Checklist Templates for Building Insulation Inspection

MasterFormat® is the recognized construction industry specification-writing standard for most commercial building design and construction projects in North America.  MasterFormat provides one means to organize and to name building insulation checklist templates, and other checklist templates. With this standardized approach that is readily transferable from project to project and from business unit to business unit, project stakeholders are able to immediately understand the checklists without a need for additional information. For example, building insulation checklist template names may include the following, categorized under MasterFormat 07 20 00 Thermal Protection:

• 07 21 00 Thermal Insulation
  • 07 21 13 Board Insulation
    • 07 21 13.13 Foam Board Insulation
    • 07 21 13.16 Fibrous Board Insulation
    • 07 21 13.19 Mineral Board Insulation
    • 07 21 16 Blanket Insulation
    • 07 21 19 Foamed-In-Place Insulation
    • 07 21 23 Loose-Fill Insulation
    • 07 21 26 Blown Insulation
    • 07 21 29 Sprayed Insulation
    • 07 21 53 Reflective Insulation

Additionally, building insulation checklist template categories and checklist templates may be developed for 07 22 00 Roof Deck Insulation, 07 24 00 Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS), 09 81 00 Acoustic Insulation, 21 07 00 Fire Suppression Systems Insulation, 22 07 00 Plumbing Insulation, 23 07 00 HVAC Insulation, 40 42 00 Process Piping and Equipment Insulation, 03 52 00 Lightweight Concrete Roof Insulation, etc.

Defining Checklist Phases for Building Insulation Inspection

Checking and inspection building insulation is key across numerous areas and during numerous phases during construction and handover. For example, either standalone checklist templates or subsections within a checklist template may include checking and inspecting building insulation during the following field management processes and procedures:

• PRODUCT DELIVERY
• INSTALLATION
• PRODUCT HANDLING
• APPLICATION
• PRODUCT STORAGE
• PROGRESS CLEANING
• TEMPORARY PRODUCT PROTECTION
• WASTE DISPOSAL
• PREPARATION
• RECYCLED MATERIALS
• CUTTING AND PATCHING
• INSTALLED PRODUCT PROTECTION
• ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH & SAFETY (EH&S)
• CONCEALMENT OF WORK
• MOCKUP OR BENCHMARK
• FINAL INSPECTION
• FIRST PRODUCTION WORK
• EXTRA MATERIALS

Accordingly, when developing building insulation checklist templates names and phases may be combined or concatenated to create a series of focused and targeted checklist templates, which then may be scheduled as specific tasks by area, quadrant, floor, etc. For example:

• 07 21 16 Blanket Insulation - ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH & SAFETY (EH&S)
• 07 21 16 Blanket Insulation – MOCKUP
• 07 21 16 Blanket Insulation – FIRST PRODUCTION WORK
• 07 21 16 Blanket Insulation – INSTALLATION
• 07 21 16 Blanket Insulation - PROGRESS CLEANING
• 07 21 16 Blanket Insulation -  WASTE DISPOSAL

More to come next week…

Come see Vela at the ARCHIBUS Healthcare Center of Excellence (COE) program!

Attention owners, operators, facility managers, operations and maintenance managers, program managers, project managers, service providers, and other attendees of the upcoming 2012 ARCHIBUS International Users' Conference. See Vela present Field Management for Owners on Sunday, May 2^nd at the Healthcare COE -- Thought Leadership Panel S14 during the 2:00PM – 4:30PM concurrent afternoon sessions.

Topics during our presentation on field management for owners at the ARCHIBUS Healthcare Center of Excellence (COE) program will give an overview of Vela Systems and our software suite, including a demonstration of Vela Mobile iPad plus Vela Field BIM-Data and Vela Field BIM-Interactive. You'll hear two owner success stories with Unum and Kaiser Permanente, utilizing field management for construction, commissioning, and handover to ongoing operations and maintenance across the facility lifecycle. Learn how leading owners Unum and Kaiser Permanente are unlocking new value and creating new benefits across a portfolio of facilities. Our presentation will be followed by a question and answer session.

2012 ARCHIBUS Event Information:

Event: 2012 ARCHIBUS International Users' Conference
Session: Healthcare COE - Thought Leadership Panel, S14
Date: Sunday, May 2nd
Time: 2:00PM – 4:30PM
Location: Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel, 606 Congress Street, Boston, MA
Industry: Healthcare
Level Of Expertise: Any
Areas of Interest:

• Field Management
• Field BIM
• Construction Programs, including Renovations, Retrofits, Re-use and Repair
• Commissioning Programs
• Handover Programs
• iPads and Cloud-computing in Facility Inspection
• Capital Project Management
• Space Planning & Management
• Move Management
• Asset Management
• Environmental & Risk Management
• Building Operations

Details: The Healthcare COE encourages participants to engage with peers to better understand how healthcare organizations achieve  peak performance with ARCHIBUS and with partners such as Vela Systems. The session will focus on how organizations use ARCHIBUS, and other software suites including Vela Field Management, to transform their business processes and achieve business results. Topics include performance metrics, platform integration, building information modeling (BIM) and Field BIM, field management, construction, commissioning, and owner handover programs.

2012 marks the 17th consecutive year for this annual ARCHIBUS community event. Known in the industry as the world's premier Users' Conference for Real Estate, Infrastructure, and Facilities Management, it spans four days and offers invaluable technology and business value presentations that spotlight the vision and ingenuity of users who have driven rapid deployments, increased organizational efficiency, and realized significant cost savings with ARCHIBUS.

Build or print your personalized agenda >

For a century now, the HESS name has been synonymous with the highest-quality craftsmanship.

Cannon Road Elementary School Montgomery County Public Schools Silver Spring, MD	Harry J. Parrish Hall, Manassas Campus Northern Virginia Community College Manassas, VA	Community Aquatic and Recreation Complex Garrett College McHenry, MD

Last week in our Company Spotlight blog series, we featured a company-wide deployment with Consigli Construction Co., Inc. This week we’re spotlighting HESS Construction + Engineering Services, with offices in Richmond, VA and Gaithersburg, MD.  HESS manages the planning, design, and construction of learning institutions.  Included within HESS’ portfolio are colleges and universities, primary and secondary schools, training centers, fine arts spaces, athletic facilities and laboratories located throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.  From the renovation of widely recognized landmarks, to award winning higher education buildings, the foundation of HESS’ work is their solid relationships with their clients who rely time and again on their experience, financial strength and expertise to make their vision a reality.

“Fred G. Hess and Sons, founded in 1914, established the family’s reputation for quality workmanship and customer service.  For a century now, the HESS name has been synonymous with the highest-quality craftsmanship. Continuing these core values today, HESS is leveraging Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Virtual Design and Construction (VDC), coupled with field management practices that include iPads in the field and cloud computing, to manage, measure, and improve quality, safety, and commissioning across all projects, as a company best practice – enhancing the company’s reputation for quality workmanship and customer service, and sustaining a competitive advantage.”

—Andrew D. Hess, President & CEO, HESS

HESS adopted Vela Field Management (VFM) software across all projects to:

1. Utilize Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Virtual Design and Construction (VDC), as part of a Field BIM program, throughout the building life-cycle including construction to handover to operations.
2. Ensure the highest-quality craftsmanship with a detail orientation, through a company-wide field management program for quality, as part of the core values of HESS since its founding in 1914.
3. Prevent injuries, incidents and accidents through sound, reasonable and proactive safety practices, with best-in-class construction practices and a culture of safety-consciousness at every level of the organization.
4. Improve systems performance and building function by collaborating continuously with the Owner’s Project Team and the HESS commissioning agent, part of a field management program for commissioning.
5. Drive customer service, client satisfaction, and client retention, to delivery work on time and within budget, and with quality in conformance to the contract requirements the first time, defect free and without rework.

Stay tuned for another Vela Company Spotlight…