BIM AUSTRALIAN STRATEGY
improve consistency of modelling practices. In order to achieve this, the BIM-MEP initiative
Construction coordination of the Revit MEP services and ductwork fabrication models
has established what Stannus terms ‘Best of Breed’ national product specification guidelines and a series of naming conventions and nomenclature standards. This ensures consistent product information, whichever manufacturers’ equipment is used on a project. ‘Increasingly manufacturers understand that this is essential if they want to remain relevant in the future,’ Stannus explains. The data templates are finalised by industry groups comprising consultants, contractors and suppliers to ensure the data sets meet their requirements. This also helps share the development cost. Software vendors then turn the produced data templates into generic design models. ‘Because the generic models have all the functionality
It was clear that a lack of industry- based modelling standards, workflows and fit-for-purpose manufacturers’ content was a
i0522-56 Condair GS Gas-Fired AW_CIBSE Magazine 190x66 14/02/2013 11:44 Page 1
significant barrier to the adoption of BIM Warwick Stannus
and specification fields that designers need, consultants can use these generic models in their designs,’ says Stannus. As the design is progressed and equipment selection finalised, the generic models can then be substituted for manufacturers’ certified models. For example, if a contractor places an order for, say, a pump, in addition to supplying the actual pump, the manufacturer will also provide a BIM model of the pump with Revit functionality and its actual geometry, along with product specific data sets for construction and commissioning – all in accordance with the pump template. This enables the contractor to accurately create the pump in the BIM model. With the manufacturer’s data incorporated
into the BIM model, it is then a simple operation to run a filter to pull out data needed by the commissioning engineer, such as water flow rates. Similarly, once the project has been commissioned, data can be added to the as-built model, prior to the model’s handover.
The template standard was launched over
a year ago. Recently there has been a drive by AMCA to fast-track the development of content. This is relatively easy because manufacturers generally recognise that it is better for everyone if BIM works well using defined standards. With a standard format for the specification, the focus now is on finalising the schedules, which can be achieved relatively quickly. ‘It is a democratic process, which enables us to write a BIM standard in four to six weeks,’ Stannus explains. The product data sets are not intended to
be fully COBie compliant. COBie is a spread- sheet of data, which can be extracted from the BIM model to enable the FM team to manage the building effectively on handover. The UK government expects building information to be delivered in COBie format on all of its buildings completed after 2016. There is currently no such COBie requirement in Australia, which is a good thing from Stannus’ perspective: ‘We reviewed COBie and believed it would be very difficult to implement; our drive has been to keep things as simple and efficient as possible,’ he says. Nevertheless, even without formal COBie compliance, Stannus says he is confident that the data sets developed under the BIM-MEP initiative will support a building’s FM team. ‘From a design and construction perspective we’ve been pragmatic; we cover a lot of bases but not things such as maintenance plans, performance curves and embodied energy because, in our view, there are better places for this type of information to reside than in the model,’ Stannus asserts. Following its launch of three years ago, BIM-MEP has grown quickly to gain the support of a number of government authorities and has been endorsed by many of Australia’s main contractors, designers, specialist trade contractors and suppliers. Viva la revolucion!
l For further information visit the BIM- MEPAUS website at
www.bimmepaus.com.au
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48
CIBSE Journal June 2013
www.cibsejournal.com
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