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Advertising: 01622 699116


BIM is the future for the Building and Construction industry, but it is only as good and accurate as the BIM library of products supplied by the manufacturer. Collaboration between Saint‐ Gobain PAM and Hoare Lea has revealed the realities of what is needed and also what is surplus to requirements


libraries that actually work in the real world for both designers and installation contractors. As Matt Hassall, BIM


H


Implementation Manager for Saint- Gobain PAM points out:


“Manufacturers need to realise the limitation of the software that they use to create BIM libraries and ensure that they produce accurate data. So for example it’s all very well producing a 3D drawing showing a 54.3º drainage bend in it, but you try and purchase one from a manufacturer or any builders merchant.


“Ultimately any drawing has to have a basis in products and systems that actually exist in real life. The problem with too many BIM libraries is that the software can allow you to design whatever you like, but the practical delivery of the designed system on site may not be possible.” Bogdan Pop, Principal Public Health Engineer for Hoare Lea has been instrumental in developing Hoare Lea’s BIM development for drainage systems agrees: “We have had several instances where we have designed a system based on a library of products only to discover that some do not exist in reality.


Site visit


“Such situations are frustrating for both the designer and also the installation contractor. This is compounded by the fact that we have a well publicised lack of skills within the construction industry, so while in theory the diagrams can be altered on site, what can happen in practice is that we need to visit to make sure the installation can be adapted.


“Naturally this would be avoided if the data that we get was right first time. In fairness it is often a software problem, rather than an issue with manufacturers. Platforms will allow you to enter data and drawings, but you need to put constraints on the diagrams – so in our example above a 45º bend cannot become a 54.3º bend.


BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING BSEE


BIM – when what you see is not what you get ‘


indsight is a


wonderful thing and lessons need to be learnt if


manufacturers are to produce BIM


“This problem is compounded if you use a generic library, where in theory anything is possible, but in practice when this reaches the project on the ground, the installation contractor will be pulling their hair out trying to conform. The only way to get BIM right is to use a manufacturer’s library and ensure that the data is right. Sadly many manufacturers have not invested the time and effort to get it right and many still rely on generic libraries.”


Continues Hassall: “Since putting together our own library at Saint- Gobain PAM we have learnt what has worked and equally as importantly what could be improved. The main lesson is to collaborate with the supply chain to make sure that the library will fulfil the designer’s, installer’s and of course the end user’s needs.


Supply chain


“The software platform used by many if not most BIM libraries allows you to enter your product data, but unless you constrain that data within certain tolerances it can be altered, leading to problems down the supply chain.


“Working closely with Hoare Lea has also identified another pitfall that can only be resolved by close collaboration. The temptation with BIM is to provide as much detail about your products as possible, which on the face of it may seem sensible; it does however lead to very practical problems.


“A 3D drawing that contains too much information can take too long to download and actually place in a design. Bearing in mind that a single product, let’s say a push fit branch tee for an above ground drainage system, is only one component of what could be an extensive system. “It is not necessary to show the rubber gaskets in the detail of the drawing. What is needed are the dimensions for the drawing, a lot of the time other details are superfluous.”


Pop agrees: “Too much detail in a 3D drawing is often unnecessary, we have had examples from other manufacturers that have included the threads on a joint. It just slows up the design process. The trick is to provide just enough data.”


Since putting together our own library at Saint‐ Gobain PAM we have learnt what has worked and equally as importantly what could be improved. The main lesson is to collaborate with the supply chain to make sure that the library will fulfil the designer’s, installer’s and of course the end user’s needs.





Says Hassall: ‘Which is why a manufacturer needs to work closely right through the supply chain to get their BIM library correct. Trying to judge how much data is required, but not overloading a drawing to make it too cumbersome to use in practice is a judgement that can only be reached by working together.”


Continues Pop: “It is in our interest to work with manufacturers like Saint Gobain PAM to ensure that we get the data that we want and in a form that is practical to use. While this information starts with the manufacturer we also need to understand the requirements of the installers and the end users so that the data can be translated into a real life installation. Otherwise what is the point?”


Collaboration


Concludes Hassall: “The construction industry is moving forwards and we are genuinely seeing collaboration on projects that benefit all. BIM in a number of ways is the ultimate manifestation of this new era helping to ensure that what was intended from the outset is delivered on site to the benefit of all. “After all costs should now be measured over the lifetime of a building, so systems that ensure specs are not broken have to be good. From a manufacturer’s point of view it also means that we will invest time and effort into helping


get a project that meets all the requirements of the customer and supply chain, whether that is lowest cost over a project’s lifetime through life cycle analysis or reducing the embedded carbon in products. “True innovation often comes from collaboration with the supply chain all contributing their expertise. Nowhere is this more apparent than in delivering BIM that is easily translated into real life projects. Inaccurate data is of limited or no use but equally too much unnecessary data can be counter productive. It is up to the supply chain to talk to each other to shape BIM into a tool that we can all be proud off.


“The initial data has to come from the manufacturer, generic libraries are of no use to anyone, but equally the manufacturer has to work closely with the organisations that will use the information.


“Next time you use a BIM library ask the manufacturer whether the drawings they provide are constrained so that you can’t design something that doesn’t exist when it gets onto site. Also check the size of the drawings provided and if they are large ask whether there is actually too much detail included.


“Above all provide feedback and work together, in that way as an industry we will overcome what are just teething problems and make BIM a tool that works hard for everybody in the supply chain.”


www.saint-gobain-pam.co.uk www.hoarelea.com


VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.bsee.co.uk


BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER APRIL 2017 9


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