United States site instead?Next generation system now in practice
BUDAPEST/TOKYO, May 24, 2001 – One of Japan’s largest construction companies, Kajima is undergoing a major shift in the way it plans and coordinates projects. At the core of this transformation is DB CAD, developed in collaboration with Graphisoft and based on the Virtual Building™ concept of an integrated building database.
DB CAD manages the CAD information and attributes of architectural design (Archicad®), HVAC and structural engineering. In order to utilize CAD information throughout the different phases of the building project, it was necessary for Kajima to move away from their traditional 2D drawing CAD to a solution based on 3D modeling and intelligent objects.
“Archicad was an obvious choice, as the only suitable solution for our new integrated system,” says Yukio Sano, senior managing director and general manager of Kajima’s Architectural and Engineering Design Division.
The 3D object data generated in Archicad accurately describes all the building elements with an extensive number of attributes, and can be utilized throughout the design phase, for estimation, and during construction.
“Our designers find working with Archicad’s architectural objects and 3D building model both easy and productive, as all the necessary drawings and schedules are automatically generated for them,” explains Toru Takagaki, senior manager of the division. Adds technical leader Hiroshi Tamai, “Other CAD software require many complicated operations to achieve the same results.”
Kajima also cited Archicad’s ability to communicate seamlessly and flexibly with all major CAD formats, with no loss of information. As a large firm using multiple CAD products, Kajima can safely import legacy data using Archicad’s sophisticated DWG merge engine. Graphisoft’s role in the forefront of IFC adoption efforts underlines its commitment to industry-wide collaboration.
The DB CAD system has been launched by Kajima’s Tokyo-based Production Center and they expect to complete approximately 30 projects, or one-third of the total main projects of the Tokyo branch, with it this fiscal year. Currently, there are about 50 people involved in the group, which will expand to 250-300 in the next few years.
The Production Center seeks to increase their productivity by handling all tasks related to the building in a single organization. “With this new system, we expect to cut our outsourcing cost by approximately 25 percent, in addition to the cost reduction effect in other processes of construction projects,” says Manabu Takagi, leader of the Production Center.
“We are honored that Kajima considers Archicad to be the best solution for its designers,” says Nobuhiro Hara, president of Graphisoft Japan. “Kajima is a pioneer of the new paradigm and other construction companies must follow it to strengthen their competitiveness.”
Kajima plans to implement DB CAD throughout its branch offices in Japan in 2003.
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For more information, see a related article published in the March 19 issue of Nikkei Architecture at www.graphisoft.com/nikkei_article.html –>