PRODIGYae: MEP BIM (Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing Building Information Modelling)

Understanding BIM

Softwares that can do BIM

ArchiCAD
Autodesk Revit
Autodesk Architectural Desktop
Bently Microstation Triforma

BIM means Building Information Modeling, (or Management).

BIM is process, not software.

To understand the basic nature of BIM is to understand the old process.

Design is done in 2D, or flat 2 Dimensional Electronic files, separately.

When I say separately I mean each of the disciplines are designed separately usually by different designers specializing in each field.

Usually the 3 fields are:

Architectural

Structural

MEP

Usually these are handled separately by law in the Philippines and even abroad, different companies with different specialties handle each area then co-ordinate later on site.

Imagine will you how this happens…the process, very slow tedious and full of errors.

Coordination is 2D, there is no real way of knowing what will clash until you are on the site.

This where BIM comes in. A modeler or 2, will develop each area based on the designs of each area. Architectural, Structural and MEP/HVAC.

Our BIM staff are versed at least in 2 fields, so depending on difficulty of building production of the model can be accomplished by a small select team.

The model is a representation of a co-ordination between all the 3 separate designs, molded together in a virtual building ,..the finished model will forcibly connect all 3 designs , errors and connections prior to actual construction. CLASHES gone. Money saved and cost avoided.

Churning out production drawings takes minutes. Faster production time. Error free real life construction.

And for an Owner/Real Estate Developer this will serve as binding document to the design as the model will expose errors of each design. All responsibility will fall on the designers, as well as potentially the cost to fix the errors. A boon for the owner.

All materials types and quantites are input into the model as design goes up. Surplus on site is saved.

Please look below:

BIM means Building Information Modeling, (or Management)

What if we don’t change to BIM constructing:

· Individuals in businesses and invidual project teams will conrinue to repeatitively create and recreate local, non reusable, non interoperable solutions to the same problems.

· Business will continue to take longer than necessary to get to the market because it will take longer than necessary for parties collaborating on a project to share their ideas.

· Information will continue to entered and re entered an average of seven times rather done entered correctly once and used many times.

· Many more resources than necessary will be consumed during a life of a facility

It differs from " traditional CAD " (eg AutoCAD) in the parametric nature of it. eg. if say you draw plans, elevations, and sections in AutoCAD, If there are any design changes, you have to goto each sheet and change MANUALLY. This could get very complicated and confusing, and errors are introduced this way.

BIM software tries to solve this problem by making user to draw OBJECTS (instead of just symbolic 2D lines) eg. walls. By doing so, the building is 'virtually constructed', (in 3D with material information and sometimes even cost of material built in) The software do all the relevant revision for you. So if say, you change the position of the window in a wall, all the plans, section, elevations, are changed accordingly and automatically by the software. That's in the simplest level.

2D - Something with 2 dimensions (flat)
3D - Something seen in 3 dimensions e.g. width, length and height.
4D - Adding the aspect of Time to a project (phasing/sequencing)
5D - Adding the aspect of Cost to a project (cost estimating)
6D - The aspect of Life Cycle Management (owner/FM) --- facilty managent, susatinability

Felix Jun Domingo's blogspot: http://jundomingo.blogspot.com/

The BIM Top Ten TRUTHS One: BIM, in conjunction with Cloud Technology enables efficient building life-cycle management Two: BIM embeds robust life-cycle management PROCESSES within technology to enable rapid implementation, scalability, transparency, collaboration and assure consistency. Three: The ‘I’ within BIM, INFORMATION, in terms of standardized definitions, data architectures, taxonomies, metrics, etc. is a core component of BIM. Four: BIM and CLOUD processes/technologies are disruptive and will alter the AEC sector significantly. Everyone’s role changes, as well as how we work and communicate with each other. Five: Owners must take the lead, they pay the bills… period. Government can play a role relative to mandates. Six: Efficient, collaborative, and integrated construction delivery methods are central to BIM – Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), Job Order Contracting (JOC).. the latter is IPD for renovation, repair and sustainability projects. Seven: BIM is NOT 3-D visualization, however 3-D visualization is a valuable component of BIM. BIM is a combination processes from multiple domains, technology, and product solutions Eight: BIM is the integration of CPMS, CMMS, CAFM, ACD (Adaptive Construction Delivery), GIS, BAS, and BPM (bulding product manufactures) methods and data. Nine: Software interoperability is a requirement. Ten: BIM will make the world of planning, architecture, design, engineering, construction, operations, and maintenance of the built environment FLAT For MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) construction companies, the BIM (building information modeling) process and CAD (computer-aided design) drawings can help coordinate key systems, eliminating conflicts before construction occurs. In addition, the data gathered during design can be shared with estimating to save time in takeoffs and reduce rework. MEP contractors can even pull takeoffs, measurements, areas, and volumes directly from the CAD drawing—minimizing data entry. While this can be a good plan, some questions still remain in the specialty market such as: What if you don’t have access to the native CAD drawings? For contractors with access to only PDF and TIF images, technology exists to pull the data from the images into the estimating system.