...which is a platform accessible to a wide range of users. The “mash-up” files are executable using the Google Earth desktop application but can also be used via a web browser from a secure web portal.

“Changes are visible to everyone at any time,” McDonald says. “Someone said it is like Twitter for BIM.”

The BRAC mission at Fort Belvoir is executed by six Corps districts, with hundreds of contractors. The model is their communications hub. Outside users, including Fairfax County and private utilities, use the tool to coordinate overlapping projects with the Army.

“Until we had this tool, to have a coordination meeting, you had to figure out what you wanted to discuss, find all the information, create a map and bring it to a meeting—where everyone would talk about it and then go back and make changes,” McDonald says. “Now all the information is available at all times. We can go anywhere and drill down onto the model in meetings and get answers on the spot. It works great at the executive level. The working level gets even better.”

Once BNVP started populating the model and projects launched, improved site coordination was an early benefit. “Contractors starting to mobilize suddenly wanted things like a materials storage area and a parking area outside of their site,” McDonald says. He says they often discovered that “limits of disturbance” lines for projects overlapped, meaning “the same piece of land had been promised to two different contractors.” It was a good problem to catch.

Fort Belvoir officials use the model to stay abreast of construction demands that could impact base operations, such as road closures. Communications also go the other way, so commanders can tell contractors when they need work paused.

“If there are events happening in the field near a construction site, we can get that information into the model early and make sure contractors can plan well in advance to stop work during that time,” McDonald adds.

Moffatt says the model platform has been studied with interest by other Army garrisons and may see widespread use in the coming years. “This tool could carry on well beyond any one construction program,” Moffatt says.