A Real Estate Management Firm Invests in Innovation & Content Creation

The Problem: Reinventing the Wheel

UNIFI has a customer that has built cities, literally.  The diversified real estate firm constructs, owns and operates a portfolio of properties that span residential, commercial and master-planned communities. Many of their buildings share the same design elements, or “building blocks”, that are rearranged in different ways for each project.  Yet, there was little to no knowledge sharing between projects, meaning the wheel was reinvented for each new project which became highly inefficient.

This firm saw an opportunity to invest in data-consistent content across all of its buildings.  They needed a library of these building blocks that could be leveraged across multiple projects & easily accessed by various partners throughout the building lifecycle – including architects, designers, engineers, contractors and facility managers.  This would not only ensure that everyone was working from the same set of information, but also streamline the building process and help maintain the high level of quality expected from every project.

The Solution: Create the Objects Once, Store in the Cloud and Use Repeatedly

The firm reached out to UNIFI to create custom building information models (BIM) unique to their buildings and house this information in UNIFI’s cloud-based content management solution.  First, UNIFI created the objects with custom parameters to meet their design, construction and maintenance standards.  Then, the building content was placed into UNIFI’s cloud-based structured library to ensure proper organization, data consistency and access throughout the construction and operation lifecycles of the building.  By working with UNIFI, the organization is now able have concurrent projects use the same content, as well as reuse that very content for future properties, enabling them to realize significant benefits, including:

• Data Consistency: Onboard everyone with the same set of information – one library and use the content as building blocks across all projects.
  • Single source of content for multiple projects easily accessible in the field or the office via the cloud.
  • Naming conventions are standard across the building lifecycle recognizing significant time efficiencies for all stakeholders involved.
  • Parameter data consistency providing valuable information that can be mined and analyzed across a portfolio of projects.
• Content Creation: UNIFI’s dedicated team creates unique BIM content based upon the firm’s unique specifications.
  • By leveraging UNIFI’s content services, the firm can efficiently meet the cyclical demand for content without having to staff a team of their own.
  • A common content format for building objects yields high time saving and quality returns across the building lifecycle.
  • Building content parameters are customized to “match” the firm’s standards for design, construction, operation and maintenance of assets.
• Improved Efficiency: UNIFI streamlines the building process by making the model work together and thereby realize significant efficiencies.  Now, all areas of the firm – construction, property management and ownership groups – speak the same language thanks to standard content.
  • Design Efficiency: Easily re-use the same building blocks across multiple projects. Financial Efficiency:  Reduce the risk of budget overages by using specific, well-defined content in plans.
  • Construction Efficiency: Raise coordination with field personnel by embedded geospatial points in content that can be leveraged by GPS powered total point stations during construction.
  • Operational Efficiency: Files pushed out to field technicians are delivered in a format that allows them to maintain and service buildings.