The concept of building information
modelling (BIM) has received universal acceptance from the building services,
structural engineering and architectural fraternity mainly due to its need for
lean construction and also its cross-disciplinary usability. 3D
BIM modeling
has existed for a number of years now
and the industry is aggressively adapting itself to embrace the new workflows
of the BIM process; however, there is still a lack of clarity amongst the
owners (the clients) as to what exactly they can achieve from these models,
what they need to achieve and how they can make optimum use of this concept.
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| 3D BIM Modeling |
This article seeks to explore some
beliefs related to the use of BIM and sheds light on when it should be used and
to what extent. For the sake of clarity, it is important to know the difference
between non-BIM 3D CAD models and a parametric BIM models.
3D CAD models are virtual
representations of a facility that provide only visual details. Applications
such as AutoCAD Architecture and AutoCAD MEP are used to create 3D CAD models
that can be used for design, development, construction and pre-fabrication. On
the other hand, BIM models are intelligent models embedded with parametric
details that are extremely important for design, development, construction,
pre-fabrication, assembly, analysing energy performance and facility management
of the built environment. For BIM projects, the details can be effectively
shared between different project stakeholders: facility owners, designers/architects,
MEP (M&E) engineers, fabricators, consultants and contractors. Revit
Architecture and Revit MEP are applications used for BIM modelling whilst
Navisworks is employed to detect clashes between different system models.
One of the most crucial aspects that
helps decide whether BIM is actually required or not is gaining an in-depth
understanding of the model’s purpose. More often than not, there is so much difference
between client’s ‘stated’ needs and his/her ‘real’ needs. In a lot of cases, clients state that they require
a BIM model but actually what they require is a smart clash-free 3D model which
can be used to extract respective construction drawings. In such scenarios,
AutoCAD MEP or AutoCAD Architecture could easily be used to provide a 3D model
that meets this need. Alternatively, a BIM software tool could be used to
provide a 3D model without providing additional elements such as data rich
'information'.
In other cases, a BIM model may
actually be the basis to plan, design, construct, and manage a particular
facility. These scenarios require multidisciplinary project stakeholders to
access the BIM model at different stages in the project lifecycle. As a result,
the most important factor that dictates the success of any project employing
BIM is the richness of ‘information’ embedded into the models. So, depending on
the project’s scope, a full-fledged BIM model may contain valuable information,
such as dimensions of building elements, quantity take-off data, material
requirements, time scheduling, costing, prefabrication data, activity
simulation, and energy performance. Other important factors that contribute to
success of BIM include the data-sharing and interoperability standards to allow
smooth multidisciplinary collaboration between key disciplines.
Irrespective of whether the client
actually requires BIM or non-BIM CAD model, the BIM wave that has spread across
the AEC industry has forced the agenda to adopt a more progressive approach to
planning, designing and coordinating models and drawings. The industry
continues to transition from non-BIM 2D approaches to collaborative BIM
workflows and 3D CAD workflows and even that is a huge shift for the industry.
This change is more often than not influenced by the demand side i.e. the
clients.
Nevertheless, the current wave of
change in favour of adopting BIM applications and processes has helped the
entire AEC supply chain embrace intelligent virtual planning and development
techniques for architectural and building services design, spatial coordination
and collaboration.
Kuldeep Bwail is a Director at XS CAD Limited, one of the leading BIM
outsourcing providers offering BIM
Services
to architects, engineers, MEP
(M&E) consultants, and contractors across the UK, US, Australia, Canada,
Europe, India and the Middle East.
