Animations for Delay and Productivity Loss

Hi Aidan

I often use animations to demonstrate the difference between planned and actual sequence of construction.

Either using a simple powerpoint slide show which you can do yourself or a full blown 3d video cam film - which needs professional input.

The trick is to make it very simple - show the picture - show the text - and then read out the words using the sound track.

You can see the technique at work at www.planningacademy.org where the "try before you buy" modules use the same principles.

Best regards

Mike Testro

Thanks again mike,

We have an inexperienced client and this may be better than pages of numbers.

Aidan

Hi Aidan
I came very close to collaborating with Keith Pickavance on his first CD presentation but we could not agree terms.
The trick is to use a slide to show each part of the story - with text and dialogue for each slide.
Use the PP software to set up the slide sequence and then use auto slide transition.
Two seconds between changes is the maximum timer - less than 1 second is too quick.
Avoid fussy slide transfer techniques - fade out - fade in is acceptable but I prefer a simple on- off transition.
Try to add some concept of scale to the images by adding a matchstick man rather than written dimensions.
If it is large scale then use a local tower or monument.
You can add a timeline by either a calendar with a date change or a moving bar at the bottom.
Save the finished product as a stand alone PP show - one big advantage is that when this is being played in a court room nobody can interrupt with awkward questions.
In my current arbitration the company had commissioned a video showing the complex changes in an offshore drilling platform. I wrote the narrative and gave advice on subtle sound effects for piling and welding - that is one of the more creative aspects of my work.
Best regards
Mike Testro

Hi Aidan Kelly 

Check the below link

http://www.synchroltd.com/videos.asp

http://www.synchroltd.com/videos.asp

Cheer's 

Shahul

I assisted a company to do an animation (3D animation) to present the planned vs as-built for the claims. I used Autodesk Navisworks (can be fully integrated with P6 or P3 and else). Synchro is also good for demonstration of such.

Dear Aidan

Pickavance Consulting was aquired by Hill International in 2006, and we are still using animations regularly to assist in our delay and disruption related work. Some are PowerPoints but most are using flash software. Take a look at the link below and download the zip file for some examples:

http://www.hillintluk.com/Animations/

If you need any guidance let me know, and i will see what we can do to assist.

Regards

Toby

Thanks Toby

The animations were very helpful.

We can definately apply this to our project as the clients prrocedures for excavation have varied immensely. For example Basis of proposal incorporated 70% mechanical and 30% manual excavation. The client has altered this to 75% manual and 25% mechanical which obviously has a huge cost impact. A few new activities have alsso been added such as scanning that were not in the tender documents supplied by the client.

How are the PP slides tranferredd into a flash video, can you buy this software online?

regards

Aidan

Dear Aidan

Unfortunately you cannot really pull the animations together using off the shelf type applications. All of our animations are customised depending on the project etc.

As some background, within the broad range of animations, most fall into one of two categories:

Methodology animations demonstrate the process of construction, through a 3D computer representation of a project. They can be very effective at

comparing as-planned to as-built methods.

Database visualisations take large data sets such as progress records and turn them into a graphic representation of what happened. They are a very

effective way to deal with large amounts of data. A custom application is created that will import data from almost any digital source, in any format and

any file structure. If the information is in hundreds of individual Excel files, or one large Access database, the application can be written to accommodate this

and many other situations. Calculations are performed and the information is displayed on the screen in an interactive presentation. The application can be

customised to answer specific questions relevant to the project, or export specific reports and/or charts.

Atb

Toby