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(Source enr.com - Date 3/23/03)

By Judy Schriener

	Model of view at front gate of Charleston Coast Guard Facility. Models for the project created by AEC Infosystems Inc., Baltimore, Md.

The U.S. Coast Guard has begun to manage its existing and future facilities through the use of intelligent 3D models. The Coast Guard hopes its focus on melding technology and process will better help it anticipate needs and manage facilities in light of its prominent role in the U.S. government's homeland security efforts.

Using Graphisoft's ArchiCAD 3D modeling software, the Coast Guard's pilot project will be to create intelligent 3D models of existing shore facilities at its Charleston, S.C.-based operations. They include 218,000 sq. feet of building space in five geographical locations--three in the Charleston area, one in Georgetown S.C., and one in Tybee, Ga.

After assessments of the buildings are completed, the Coast Guard will enhance the models with specific data that should be valuable for planners, designers, builders and facility managers, says Lt. Commander James J. "Jack" Dempsey of the Coast Guard's office of civil engineering in the shore facilities capital asset management division at the Coast Guard's headquarters in Washington, D.C. Specifics include building systems, mechanical systems, roofs, walls and architectural finishes. Assessments also will focus on environmental compliance, codes, risk management, mission dependency and environmental compliance.

The resulting data should make decision-making easier for space planning, prioritizing improvements and new construction projects, and lowering operating and maintenance costs, says Dempsey.

Many of the Coast Guard's facilities fall into the category of what Dempsey calls a "multi-mission asset." At any given time, a cutter could be under way enforcing fishery laws, conducting law enforcement boardings or facilitating a search and rescue. "Same people, same asset, but the needs are different," he says. "The idea is to have the right asset there at the right time and the right cost."

In order to assess what facilities are needed, the Coast Guard has to compare requirements to capabilities, says Dempsey. If x number of patrol boats are needed in a location, that translates into y number of linear feet of pier, z number of hotel services for boats, etc. "Slight adjustments in those operational orders [mean] big dollar differences," he says.

The assessment of two existing buildings at the Charleston facility are completed, says Chris Barron, vice president of architecture for Graphisoft U.S., Newton, Mass. Next on deck are Seattle and then Portland, Maine. "We've developed libraries of infrastructure elements that are used in ports: cranes, boring equipiment, bulkhead objects..." and so on, he says. Then they will conduct what-if scenarios using the software to determine various alternatives and related costs to build and maintain them.

Building simulations include how a building would behave under certain circumstances, such as if it is hit by a bomb or inundated by harmful substances. Says Barron, "Part of [the assessment] is financial, part of it is strategic."

The Coast Guard chose Graphisoft's ArchiCAD software because "no other tool does this for us," says Dempsey. Coast Guard officials were looking for a tool, says Dempsey, that would enable their data to be interoperable with "standards that are robust and stable and universally accepted" and that were economically viable. "We're not Frank Gehry & Associates," he says jokingly. "We're very excited about Graphisoft's tools and recognize that their tools make a lot of what we're doing possible," he adds.

The issue of interoperability was key. Graphisoft's commitment to support Industry Foundation Class (ICF) standards for interoperable software impressed Dempsey. Graphisoft is the vendor of choice for now but there are no guarantees for the future. "We're not necessarily married to any vendor," says Dempsey. "We're married to the interoperability of data."

"Our mantra is 'Semper Paratus'--'Always Ready,'" says Dempsey. He is hoping that beginning the process to smarten up the facilities will help the Coast Guard be just that. He says his measure of success will be if the Coast Guard accepts the idea, "recognizes it as a superior means of integrating data" and uses interoperability in the decision-making process. Dempsey, who is a year and a half into his four-year tour, says, "In two years, I'd want them to make the paradigm shift. The use of interoperability in the decision-making process--I'd consider that a paradigm shift."

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