BIM Services: What is their necessity in construction?

As BIM has becomes the life blood of Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry today it is really important for readers to understand its significance and necessity along with the way it is applied in building process. BIM gets introduced in the construction project right from the preconstruction phase as variety of BIM services are hired by general contractors for providing high end architectural and engineering solutions to architects, structural engineers and MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) engineers.

As soon as initial building sketches are generated by architects, structural engineers and MEP engineers, they are provided to engineering service providing companies which deal with BIM services for developing high end 3D models. For the purpose of constructing high performing buildings it is imperative for general contractors to hire Revit modeling services for all the significant building disciplines such as architecture, structure and MEP. When it comes to flawless construction, they also have to hire clash detection, BIM coordination, energy modeling and 3D rendering services etc from the service providing company.

For executing all these BIM services, basic sketches developed by architects, structural engineers and MEP engineers are delivered to the company so that BIM modelers can get an explicit idea about  design of multiple building trades. Individual modeling teams are allotted by the service providing company for the development of 3D architectural, structural and MEP models, wherein the teams have to refer the sketches which are provided by the clients. Information related to dimensions is clearly contained in the sketches and specifications that are developed by architects and engineers, which make it easy for Revit modelers to construct BIM models.

Completion of Revit Modeling Services is followed by the execution of clash detection and coordination services wherein the errors in the design are pointed out through clash tests. Clash tests which are conducted in Clash Detective tool allow design and construction professionals in finding out the collisions among architectural, structural and MEP elements. Once collisions between elements discovered it is quite easy to sort them out by changing the design in the model.  In this way error-free design is delivered to clients if they hire BIM services. 

3D, 4D, 5D and 6D BIM provide exceptional results for building construction!

Meeting up clients’ (building owners) requirements in terms of building design, construction drawings and delivery is becoming highly challenges as they always demand high quality and timely construction of the buildings with minimum cost possible. Now delivering a project within deadlines with reduced project cost is certainly not that easy as it sounds until AEC professionals make best use of cutting edge tools and technology that is available in the market. Planning, design and construction are integral steps of any building process which results into the effective management of construction activities throughout project lifecycle.

Now to carry out the whole process efficiently and productively Building Information Modeling must be brought into picture by AEC professionals which allow them to successfully address all the hassles and inconveniences that come across in the process. BIM both as a process and as a technology has come a long way since its initial stages wherein only 3D models were common among design and construction professionals for executing building projects. The assistance provided by 3D BIM models was only related to building design as they contained all inclusive information about design elements and their relationships. Nothing apart from design information could be extracted from these digital models which are developed entirely in Revit. But the industry experts felt that only design related information is not enough for developing cost-effective buildings which can be delivered to facility owners as per their demands (within deadlines) and such concerns brought into picture 4D, 5D and 6D BIM.

4D, 5D and 6D BIM are nothing but the new dimensions which are added little by little to 3D models.  A highly indispensable dimension which is added to 3D and which ultimately gives birth to 4D is ‘Time.’ When time is added to 3D it helps building professionals (architects, engineers, and general contractors etc.) to create highly productive and practical construction schedules which make the entire process efficient. 4D BIM makes it possible for AEC professionals to figure out or recognize time and schedule based clashes which can eventually lead to chaotic situations which are very unproductive for construction process.

Similarly, 5D and 6D BIM also provide huge advantages to building professionals when it comes to estimating the cost of the project and describing in details about the sustainability attributes of the building. 

Flawless construction: Is it really practiced by architects and engineers?

Well, most of the people who have no clue about how construction takes place cannot even conceptualize what sort of complications are confronted by design and construction professionals during project lifecycle. Preconstruction problems are not that worrisome because no extra cost is involved for sorting out them but when it comes to complications of actual construction process high alarms are raised as their resolution may cost large amount of money.

But by applying BIM in construction, AEC professionals can resolve all kinds of problems that are faced by them throughout the process. For example BIM helps them in construction planning, creating accurate construction schedules, developing high end 4D simulations and generating bill of materials apart from developing error-free building design.

For practicing flawless construction architects and engineers must be available with the correct design of different building systems. BIM 3D Models for architecture, structure and MEP are developed by modelers of a service providing company with the assistance of the specifications provided by architects, structural engineers and MEP engineers. Design for different building discipline is actually created by architect, structural engineers and MEP engineers but for creating 3D models involvement of BIM experts is important. Design is developed in 3D for conceptualizing its validity or effectiveness in context of its actual implementation. With the application of Virtual Design and Construction in building projects, AEC professionals can develop immaculate or faultless building design.

Development of faultless design is the greatest achievement for architects and engineers when it comes to streamlining building process. Autodesk has played a tremendously important role in construction business as it manufactured crucial software for the utilization of construction professionals. Software manufactured by Autodesk includes AutoCAD, Revit, 3ds Max and Navisworks, all of which are used best to their abilities for simplifying building process.

For example, Revit is entirely building design software and is used for creating architectural, structural and MEP design whereas Navisworks which is project review software is used for clash detection.  The point I want to make here is that, application of high end software is important for developing error free design which finally supports in seamless construction.

Application of Building Information Modeling has positive consequences in construction

When Building Information Modeling is applied by AEC professionals for the simplification of the complications of building process they got remarkably positive or favorable results. BIM can be defined both as a process or technology which is useful in both the ways for design and construction professionals. As a process it is extremely important for construction professionals because its outcomes which are multidiscipline 3D models are used throughout the lifecycle of the project. On the other hand as a technology it can be defined as the application of BIM software Revit in the development of 3D models, which contain all the essential construction data.

Production of building models after the effective accomplishment of Revit Modeling Services allow design and construction professionals in enhancing the productivity of design and construction of buildings. 3D building modeling software Revit that is used in modeling facilitates the smooth flow of construction information from one design development team to another design development team. In other words construction information related to architectural design can be swiftly communicated to structural design team with the help of Revit. This can be done by either linking architectural model in structural or by visa versa. In this way both architectural and structural design teams can get enough information about each other’s design and can take necessary precautions in terms of developing the design for avoiding interferences between elements.

So in this way application of BIM helps in the creation of productive building design which ultimately helps in streamlining further construction process. For example application of BIM technology helps in predicting or identifying serious construction problems before they could be developed into expensive rework. When construction problems such as existence of clashes between elements of different models are identified with the implementation of clash detection services, design and construction professionals can effectively control project outcomes. Negative project outcomes such as rework can be completely controlled with the assistance of BIM, as design errors can be successfully removed with the implementation of changes in 3D models in preconstruction. 

So, effective execution of modeling services as well as clash detection services can help in streamlining construction process. 

Drafting process: Benefits offered by CAD drafting

In Architectural Engineering and Construction industry drafting represents the process of developing construction drawings which are also referred as technical drawings by AEC professionals. And hence drafting is one of the most crucial phases of project life-cycle. Developing technical drawings for construction project really require technical expertise and that the reason prior to CAD technology these drawings literally used to be created by architects and engineers. 

Before the evolution of CAD technology, drafting phase used to be considered as one of the most difficult phase of construction process wherein architects and engineers had to spend days for developing drawings. And even after spending days on developing drawings there used to be huge chances of them being incorrect. 

That means chances of human errors were very high in manual drafting process. Now another disadvantage of manual drafting was that it used to be tremendously difficult to implement changes in these technical drawings.

But soon came the good time for construction professionals when CAD technology is adopted by them for execution of drafting process. CAD which is an abbreviation of computer-aided design is instrumental in revolutionizing the drafting process. 

This highly innovative technology digitized drafting process and allowed quick creation of drawings with the assistance of CAD software like AutoCAD. Now for operating AutoCAD, CAD drafters are used who posses technical knowledge of software application. 

So in modern day drafting architects and engineers are not directly accountable for developing construction drawings instead of that they prepare clear and concise specifications for CAD drafters who then generate architectural, structural and MEP drawings for the project in question.

CAD drafters do confront with any difficulties related to implementation of changes as AutoCAD is accommodated with effective tools which eases the complications of drafting and makes the implementation of changes quite easy.

The speed at which drawings are now generated is the biggest advantages of CAD drafting. Drafters can now generate even the most complicated drawings in very short time. They don’t have to be worried about the quality as everything is automated now; they just need to have correct specifications for developing accurate drawings.

CAD drawings are considered as the best source of communicating technical information as they can be delivered anywhere in the world within a mouse click. So there is no denying the fact that CAD drafting is the best way of developing construction drawings. 

Later BIM Drafting Services since its emergence has transformed how drafting of building in digital world today is done. It helps in many ways such as reduction in cost, improved business decisions and more.

How to develop a BIM coordination model?

Well BIM coordination model is indispensable for architects and engineers as it provides them with the most accurate information about building design. For developing BIM Coordination Services model design and construction professionals first develop individual 3D models for architecture, structure and MEP. For developing individual models for different building disciplines design and construction professionals have to make use of Revit Architecture, Revit Structure and Revit MEP.

With the help of different Revit disciplines, AEC professionals develop high end 3D models which are full of concrete information concerning the design. For developing each model an entire team of proficient BIM modelers is required who always work together and keep sharing their work with the help of Revit. Revit work sharing feature is very important for the design development teams of each discipline as it allows them to collaborate with the team properly. 

Though, the team members work independently on their individual computers but they are connected with each other through Revit Server as well as with through a central model. Generally a central model is located in a shared place by the team members and they work on its copy in their individual computer. And with the assistance of Revit server team members stay connected with central model. So whenever they want to apply changes in the central model they have an option called ‘Save to Center’ which should be selected by them for applying changes in the main model.

In this way relevant Revit disciplines help AEC professionals to develop efficient design for different disciplines. After the completion of individual model they are needed to be coordinated into composite master model. But BIM models belonging to different disciplines cannot be coordinated until and unless design errors between them are sorted out.

For doing so it is required to execute clash detection services for them. In clash detection process, clashes that can affect the project badly are identified and solutions are provided for them. Once design congestion and clashes are successfully resolved individual models can be coordinated into a composite master model which remains free from all kinds of design inconsistencies.

BIM coordination model helps AEC professionals in seamless construction. 

In what way Navisworks reinforces clash detection process?

Navisworks, which is used for accomplishing many important construction related services, is developed by Autodesk which has also designed other building design software for AEC professionals. Navisworks is designed for complimenting the services that are accomplished by Revit and AutoCAD etc. A wide range of files that are generated by other Autodesk applications are fully supported by Navisworks and that is the reason it stands out among other software.

A better control is gained by architects, engineers and construction professionals over project outcomes with its assistance. So far Navisworks is the best software for resolving clashes much before the actual construction starts.

Clash Detection Services  is quite necessary for every construction project as it helps in resolving potential clashes mush before they become the reason for expensive rework. Rework is the major problem that is faced by design and construction professionals when potential clashes are not detected on right time. There are huge benefits of determining clashes much ahead in time as a lot of money and time can be saved by doing so.  On the other hand when clashes are detected on the proposed construction location then architects and engineers have to provide extra time for resolving them which is generally quite expensive. And due to this project deliveries are always delayed.

That is the reason clash detection services have sort of become mandatory part of project execution. Files belonging to different 3D models such as architectural, structural and MEP are imported in Navisworks and they are then converted to effective file formats which are supported by Navisworks. That means the clash detection process starts after all the files are converted to Navisworks file formats.

Once files are converted design and construction professionals are required to assess clash detective tool of Navisworks so that clash tests can be conducted between model elements of 3D models. When clash tests are conducted in clash detective, Navisworks users have to fill the names of different elements in two different columns for detecting clashes between them. That means elements belonging to different models are filled in each column so that design errors between them can be detected by the software.

Thousand of clashes are detected by Navisworks which are resolved by the design members by appropriately adjusting the positions of the elements. In this way seamless design is developed for the building in question which helps in seamless construction.