WIZARDS T
The uptake of BIM in Australia was stalling until far-sighted contractors started sharing 3D models. Andy Pearson reports on how standardised templates are transforming the way buildings are being delivered under the BIM-MEPAUS initiative
here is a BIM revolution taking place in Australia and it is being led by the country’s mechanical contractors. Under the Air Conditioning and
Mechanical Contractors Association’s BIM- MEPAUS initiative, many of the country’s leading contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and designers are contributing to the development of an integrated project delivery workflow and a national MEP template that incorporates defined content. The initiative was launched some three years
ago because contractors were failing to benefit from the potential of BIM. ‘At that time, services consultants were increasingly using BIM to design and document projects. However, the BIM models were not being released to the construction teams because of concerns over intellectual property and potential contractual liabilities,’ says Warwick Stannus, group engineering manager for specialist building services contracting firm A G Coombs. As a consequence, the BIM-MEP initiative
was introduced to encourage design teams to forward BIM models to the construction team. Once in possession of the model, the contractor is able to develop the BIM model into a construction model in a virtual-build process, in advance of construction starting on site. ‘We are now starting from the position that we will be provided with the designer’s BIM model, not a set of 3D pdf
drawings,’ explains Stannus. He says
The pre-fabricated risers recently installed at the Peter Doherty Institute in Melbourne (above and right) are the largest installation of their type in Australia. In just three days, 18 multi-services modules were installed.
46 CIBSE Journal June 2013
gains have been ‘significant’ and that stronger working relationships are being created between designers and constructors ‘that are delivering benefits all round’. Australian M&E contractors are increasingly
using BIM as their preferred means of work, and the construction model has now become the
central project platform. The model supports a range of activities including procurement, pre- fabrication, site positioning and commissioning processes. Our position has changed in the last 12 months from BIM being an extra to it now forming our base offer,’ says Stannus. With the issue of consultants failing to share
BIM models resolved, the BIM-MEP steering committee turned its attention to the supply chain. ‘It was clear that a lack of industry-based modelling standards, workflows and fit-for- purpose manufacturers’ content was a significant barrier to the adoption of BIM,’ explains Stannus. As a result, the committee set about incorporating workflow practices and disciplines found in other sectors – such as automotive manufacture and logistics – into the supply chain practices to fast-track the adoption of BIM.
Adoption of a national MEP template A key feature of the BIM-MEP initiative is its focus on supply chain integration as an enabler for construction efficiency gains. Procurement, installation and commissioning can be significantly more complicated for building services than for other construction trades, so the AMCA set out to develop a series of standards for plant and equipment that can support the BIM model at each phase of project delivery, from design to as-built and commissioned for handover to the client. ‘We want to take the one Revit model from design, through construction, to deliver a commissioned as-built model to the client,’ says Stannus. Three main principles underpin the supply
chain integration initiative: the adoption of a national MEP template tailored to Australia; the support of the needs of the construction team; and the adoption of a standard product template. While the initiative is vendor-independent, the majority of designers use Revit MEP, so
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72