Importance of BIM for Architectural, Structural & MEP Engineers

The designs prepared by architects have to be approved by the project owners and then make the necessary changes as required. Thus the design keeps on going back and forth from the architects to the project owners and back again to architects. The alterations became a norm and the conceptual sketches have to be changed all over again and maybe redrawn from scratch. Sometimes the changes which surface during the construction phase, which costs heavily to both the contractors and the facility owners in terms of time and money respectively. 

BIM has the credibility to make this easier through 3D rendered models, 360◦ landscaping, virtual walkthrough videos, and a panoramic view of the as-built structures using software like Autodesk Revit Architecture, V-Ray, and Photoshop. So if there are any changes, they are just a few clicks away and design can be modified easily.

The engineers, fabricators, contractors, and stakeholders need to know that the design conforms to the physics of the structure so that it does not stumble upon. For this, the calculation of strength,  load, vibrations analysis, steel detailing and rebar detailing needs to be done, before finalizing the design so that necessary changes can be made. Sometimes it may happen that there are changes in building designs and structural engineers are under pressure to meet this new design requirement with proper structural plans and within decided time frames.  

A British infrastructure construction firm was assisted in addressing a challenge they faced in their project of a railway depot. They already had prepared Tekla steel models, based on architectural and structural drawings, having connection details, which they’d received from their client. They were informed about the design changes when the model had already reached an advanced stage and would have caused them to delay in delivering the model and also would have incurred additional cost. However; their structural design support solution provider delivered the firm with a new Tekla model accommodating the changes with proper steel detailing. 

Coordinating the continuous mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC lines across large facilities according to their planned layout is a major challenge that engineers face. Although the professionals design the layout, it becomes necessary for the workmen on-site to understand the significance of each line. The technology converts shop floor drawings to 3D rendered models and detects MEP clashes to resolve them. This real-time data includes rooms, ceiling, floors, and other data, to accommodate the layouts, pipes, and ducts in the facility and checks for the spatial compatibilities. Navisworks and Revit – MEP are the two most prominent software that is preferred and used across the globe by leading architectural and structural design firms. 

BIM also includes a variety of attributes for MEP fixtures like dimensional data, component materials finishes, and Revit families readily available in the software. Other features encompass the complex calculations made easier by software like a change in one of these MEP lines, will automatically calculate the changes for the rest of the two associated systems.  Not only this, but BIM also helps in the installation of these products and helps the facility managers during the maintenance period.     

The changes made in the 3D BIM model by either structural engineers or MEP contractors, have to be tested for the sustainable design and analyzed for energy consumption. This is achieved by request and RELUX software. To reduce the adverse impacts on environment energy modeling solutions by transforming a 3D BIM model to an energy-efficient BIM model for buildings and help in planning the MEP and HAVC layouts so as to deploy the energy obtained from natural resources whenever possible. 

Sustainable design is the means to achieve an end goal for avoiding maintenance activities by performing Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) for buildings. Other energy efficiency elements included in sustainable designs are thermal load, heat flow through the building, the solar heat receiving capacity of the structure, seismic vibrations, wind loads, and other live and dead loads. All these attributes help an engineer in making calculations to construct a strong structure, causing minimum maintenance and renovation. Since the cooling of HVAC components can be done by less clean rainwater as against the fresh tank water, energy is saved in pumping this rainwater at heights. This is an example of energy conservation and sustainable design.

So many engineers are associated with any construction project at every level. Structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing engineers are involved in the most basic stages of commercial, residential, industrial, or any other public facility. When the drawings or plans are prepared by professionals from different disciplines they have to complement each other in coordination and collaboration, else alterations become inevitable. Owing to this, BIM helps you generate the file in IFC – Industry Foundation Classes standards for better exports and enhanced compatibility with other drawings when one needs to merge them. Another standard, COBie - Construction Operations Building Information Exchange is a spreadsheet for data of building products’ information. One can look for an exact definition of COBie in the 10th Appendix given on the 59th page of Strategy Paper for the Government Construction Client Group, published in March 2011. 

Thus, as the title goes, BIM has its start with the engineering division and it also ends with engineering dragging along all the other disciplines that come in the intermediate stages. The market trends necessitate the application of BIM in any large public projects. In fact, governments of many countries are imposing a compulsion upon the general contractors and construction firms that their engineers make use of BIM.   

Bhushan Avsatthi is an Associate Director at Hi-Tech Outsourcing Services. Bhushan imbibes the prophecy of efficient and prudent use of energy in his day to day life and advises his team to do so as well. He is also involved in green initiatives like a nonprofit tree plantation project and promotes using cycles for commuting small distances. Bhushan handles a team of architects, Structural and MEP engineers, LEED consultants, and Energy modeling experts.