Derek Cheung - The Employee Response

Summary

The video features Derek Cheung discussing the implementation of standardized construction activities using Building Information Modeling (BIM). Despite initial challenges and mistrust due to errors in the outputs, the initiative aimed to simplify construction processes and enhance efficiency. By creating specialty drawing sets tailored for specific trades, such as framing cut sheets for carpenters, the project sought to minimize errors and streamline operations. The construction team valued the potential benefits and emphasized that while innovative solutions are welcome, they must not hinder existing workflows. The video concludes by highlighting the importance of technology adding tangible value to be accepted in a practical, well-oiled construction process.

Highlights

• Derek Cheung shares a funny story about standardizing construction activities 😂
• Introduction of framing cut sheets aimed to simplify tasks for carpenters 🛠️
• Initial errors in outputs caused a loss of trust with construction workers 😬
• The new system showed promise in making construction more efficient ✨
• Innovation must complement, not complicate, existing construction processes 🚧

Key Takeaways

• BIM standardizes construction activities for better efficiency 🏗️
• Specialty drawing sets like framing cut sheets simplify tasks for specific trades 📏
• Mistakes in outputs can lead to mistrust, highlighting the need for precision 🤔
• Innovative solutions must integrate smoothly with existing workflows ✨
• Technology should add tangible value to be successfully implemented in construction 🚀

Overview

In the video, Derek Cheung takes us through the journey of integrating standardization in construction using BIM technology. He talks about the challenges faced, including initial skepticism and errors that led to mistrust among the construction workers. But don't worry, Derek's got some humorous insights to share about the whole process—because who says construction can't be fun?

The highlight of their project was the introduction of specialized drawing sets like the framing cut sheets. These were game-changers, making life easier for trades like carpenters by reducing the complex calculations usually needed on-site. Derek describes how even a small misstep in the output could lead to significant challenges, but when done right, it paves the way for a much smoother construction process.

Derek wraps up with a powerful message about the importance of innovation that genuinely improves efficiency without derailing existing practices. He likens the traditional construction machinery to a well-oiled 18-wheeler that may lack the sleekness of a sports car but packs a punch in reliability. Any new tech introduced needs to fit seamlessly into this setup, offering real, tangible benefits to ensure it’s embraced by the industry.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 03:00: Standardizing Construction Activities The chapter titled 'Standardizing Construction Activities' discusses the processes and impacts of standardizing certain activities within the construction industry. During the conversation, it's revealed that the idea of standardization was met with mixed reactions from construction workers. Some workers were resistant to the change, viewing it as a potential threat to their established work methods. However, the necessity of standardization for efficiency and management was emphasized. A humorous anecdote was shared, illustrating the unpredictable outcomes—likened to opening a Pandora's box—that resulted from attempting to implement standard practices even on a small scale. The narrative captures both the challenges faced in bringing about change and the strategies employed to handle worker reception and adaptation to these new processes.
• 03:00 - 06:00: Challenges and Solutions in Traditional Construction The chapter discusses the challenges faced in traditional construction and the potential solutions offered by Building Information Modeling (BIM). It highlights the importance of foresight in anticipating issues and the role of BIM in standardizing construction activities, which provides comprehensive information management capabilities. The chapter suggests that while BIM is not a cure-all, its structured approach can mitigate some common problems within traditional construction practices.
• 06:00 - 09:00: Innovation and Trust in Construction Process The chapter explores the dynamics of innovation and trust within the construction process through the example of a pilot project. It delves into the collaboration between teams to establish a set of desired outputs. Unlike traditional methods that rely on working drawings or issued for construction drawing sets, this project sought to innovate the process, fostering trust and enhancing the outcomes.
• 09:00 - 10:00: Maintaining Balance in Innovation The chapter discusses the use of architectural drawings in construction, emphasizing their universal applicability across different trades such as framers, masons, and concrete forming crews. Despite being traditional, these drawings contain extensive information that is crucial for various construction processes.

Derek Cheung - The Employee Response Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 in what you're doing you're standardizing uh construction activity to an extent could you talk about how that was received by the construction workers and and how you're managing that um so a funny story on that one and it partially has to do with what i said about the pandora's box because despite being going small scale uh those and
• 00:30 - 01:00 having the the foresight essentially to see that this could be a possibility of happening it still ended up happening a little bit for us so um on because bim is uh it's standardized construction activity it's supposed to deliver um information management capabilities and so on and so forth so it's not just it's not a one-trick pony so to say but on the standardization of construction activity uh on that side of things uh what
• 01:00 - 01:30 happened was this we we worked with the construction team to define and one particular construction team as i said pilot project went small and we defined uh a set of outputs that we would really like to see um nor and to to qualify this normally construction is done in our world using um using working drawings so issued for construction drawing sets
• 01:30 - 02:00 uh from the architect and those drawings are absolutely are absolutely fine we've been building with that that level of information for years and years and years however there's um there's a lot of information on those drawings and so uh because if you think about it that set of drawings is used by a framer in the same way it is used by mason in the same way it is used by a concrete forming crew in the same way it's used by a uh
• 02:00 - 02:30 exterior trim contractor and because of that there's if you think about each of the each of the trades obviously there's some trades that might be able to overlap in their usage but there's some critical trades that would have a let's call it not necessarily a tough time but that's a lot of information to parse through before they go into construction and what happens normally is we send these drawings out to the foreman and those four men go in and
• 02:30 - 03:00 they mark they mark up as necessary cross out what you don't need maybe sometimes some highlighters get popped out sometimes some uh you know correction tape or whatever you might get popped out scissors and glue sometimes get popped out as well when you're combining and gluing together uh options and so on so forth and what we wanted to do in in managing that or in supporting that was to make things more simple um which is all
• 03:00 - 03:30 within the capability of this many trick pony let's call it um what what we did was we created a um a specialty drawing set that we've deemed the framing cut sheets uh so ultimately that is for the specific purposes of the carpenters if you are you know who will go in and frame the house um that way they don't need to calculate or back calculate the measurements for
• 03:30 - 04:00 drywall thickness they don't like measurements are stuck to stud as opposed from the exterior of a wall which would be the edge of a stud to another edge of the stud plus drywall right um it it essentially gives data and information that uh was never was never available before because we never modeled down to that detail um and it you know it was something that um
• 04:00 - 04:30 we believe and to this day we still believe this to be true we'll give an edge to our framers as they as they go through and produce the homes and the other thing is that there's a it creates a level of a level of expectation right if in previous in the previous world uh you know uh a plumber comes in and does something and then an hvac uh contractor comes in and can't
• 04:30 - 05:00 run his duct where he was expecting to well he runs he'll have to run the duct around it and that creates scenarios where uh you have undesirable uh circumstances that you have to you have to go in and what we call back frame uh but essentially we have to create a box around some of these uh these cases in order to accommodate for it and you know as time goes on and like one box that may cost you know a couple dollars in one house but when
• 05:00 - 05:30 you multiply that across 4 000 that ends up being a fair number so um long story short is that that doc that documentation plus the uh what we what we nor actually normally do but is done in-house by our uh super superintendents or foundation builder specifically which is marking up a foundation cut sheet so that specific set is for the
• 05:30 - 06:00 foundation crews um what we've done with this is you know we put it together and we we've handed it off to our trades to do testing uh and in the sense of you know them seeing it and thinking that it's useful and it's great that's that worked out extremely well what did not work out well was um because it wasn't well refined enough
• 06:00 - 06:30 and our outputs had some mistakes on it uh at the end of the day and that caused a loss of trust which is again obviously undesirable for the same reasons that i talked about when we were talking about pandora's box but um overall the uh because our construction team sees the value in having this their ask from us is actually quite
• 06:30 - 07:00 simple is that if we can provide something that makes their life easier and their work more efficient they will lap it up and they will use it absolutely the moment that it creates additional work additional confusion um and uh any and and forces any setbacks to our production schedule that's when it will have a very negative impact and won't allow us to continue down the path
• 07:00 - 07:30 and this is again that's why we highlighted uh katera earlier on i think understanding that piece and understanding the absolute like how absolute that declaration is is extremely important if anybody wants to come in and do innovative work in uh in this industry because you can't stop this well-oiled machine and this this well-oiled machine might not be
• 07:30 - 08:00 uh you know put put it this way it's uh if you think of uh if you think of our giant uh 18-wheeler truck and that those engines well they're not they might not be precise machined uh ferrari engines but if you want to keep them running they're very powerful they can tow a heck of a lot and they will keep running and running and running with regular maintenance and that's what i believe the traditional control construction
• 08:00 - 08:30 process uh is um and so if you bring in an innovation and you want to do something different it better be good and it's better it better knock everybody's socks off and that is something which is you know not obviously not just the case in construction but would apply elsewhere you know you want the technology has to work and the people who are going to be using it need to
• 08:30 - 09:00 gain a benefit from or see a value in the in the change that you're trying to make you