Situated on the southeast of archipelago in The Red Sea, Sheybarah hotel is a 73 keys hyper luxury resort located on Sheybarah Island using a design which is highly reflective stainless steel skin polished to get a mirror finish.

These floating orbs reflects the colors and surface patterns of the ocean and the colors of the sky changing throughout the day. The approach highlights the visual impact of the architecture on the surroundings and harnesses solar energy with reflective mirror surface.

TRSDC appointed Killa Design (a Dubai based leading architecture firm) to design overwater and inland villas on Sheybarah Island.

The designs of the overwater villas are inspired by the natural surroundings, specifically the corals in their purest form making up the circle effect representing unity, integration and wholeness giving guests the sense of completion, confidence and harmony.

These orbs are being executed by Grankraft Industries which is a partner of TRSDC creating over 70 futuristic “floating bubble” overwater villas with seamless polished stainless steel reflecting the surroundings.

The entire project is designed to be powered by a centralized solar farm, and freshwater is supplied from a solar powered desalination plant. Recycling the waste materials will take place on the island itself minimizing the need to bring or remove the materials from site. This approach well aligns with the self-sustained human development.

At OneClick BIM (brand by Vee 7 Information Technology LLC, Dubai, UAE), we are working in a subcontracting capacity for BIM Services having direct interface with The Red Sea Development Company and several contractors as a BIM service provider.

We have been authoring 3D Building Information Models for construction scope of work and complying with TRSDC BIM protocols including BIM coordination and 4D Construction Simulation.

For more information, feel free to write to us at contact@oneclickbim.com

**All Images may be subject to copyright by their respective owners.

AEC companies are making profits with BIM. This statement may seems interesting to many of you and you must be curious to know how it is being executed to have BIM for increasing profit margins despite heavy investment BIM needs to start with. Well it all starts by hiring a BIM outsourcing company with less upfront cost and start delivering projects demanding BIM implementation.

Once we hired a qualified and proficient BIM team such as OneClick BIM to deliver projects using BIM process, we see better margins for projects completed in Revit. Especially in construction administration stage with less RFIs and less conflicts thus saving our designers time and cost.

says one of our client with whom we are working on long term BIM implementation in their in-house projects in Dubai, UAE.

We see there are RFPs that requires Autodesk Revit and we are more confident in moving forward with outsourcing arrangements with OneClick BIM team.

says one of our other client where we are helping them to win more tender bids involving BIM implementation in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Major contracting companies in Middle East / GCC countries are starting to see results from their investments in BIM.

Our recent in-house analysis of project labor costs compared to BIM / CAD projects is showing an increase in BIM projects over CAD projects. Many of the other benefits of a BIM workflow are not easily quantified, but the insights are real enough to give us confidence that BIM is a time saver and cost of projects are reduced.

says another client from UAE working with Vee 7 Information Technology LLC, Dubai, UAE who owns and operates OneClick BIM brand in the Middle East and India

The real benefit is how the use of 3D BIM enables collaboration, which builds more trust and teamwork. When sub-contractors are having trouble using BIM model submittal approval and material fabrication, our Manager Mr. Gaurav from OneClick BIM Dubai team gets on the ground and held workshops to educate them in these processes.

Architecture & Planning companies in UAE such as KEO, In-Site, Killa Design, RMJM, Dewan Architects + Engineers, U+A, EDGE Architects, P&T Architects and Engineers Ltd., NAGA Architects Designers & Planners, Lacasa, Arkiplan, and many more are already producing 80% of their projects on BIM process. After many years of investment, they are finally turning the corner on implementing BIM in an efficient and thoughtful manner.

Engineering and Contracting companies along with Project Management Consultants are not left behind in implementing BIM in Middle East. Project Management Consutlants such as MACE, Jacobs, Atkins, AECOM, Hill International, etc and contracting companies like ASGC, ALEC, RAQ Contracting, Airolink, AMANA, Dhabi Contracting, VOLTAS, and many others have also invested in keeping up the pace with BIM adoption. Not all contracting companies are leveraging BIM. This means the engineers have to spend more time preparing drawings in BIM than they normally would.

We have worked directly and indirectly with many of them on a BIM outsourcing arrangement and have successfully delivered projects on BIM. The key to successful BIM implementation is a project team with the experience and knowledge of what to model and how to model it. Allowing owners to better visualize the project has become an influencing factor during the presentation process.

There is no question that BIM has paid off in their respective roles. OneClick BIM support services as an outsourcing agency uses BIM to produce digital fabrication drawings, connection engineering, and erection engineering for steel contractors. The technology is constantly changing and the engineers need to stay ahead of the curve.

Aldar recently standardized on Revit BIM on all of their projects. They developed their Employer’s Information Requirements (EIR) and Asset Information Requirements (AIR) and are now delivering projects in close to same time frame as previously with 3D BIM and in come cases even faster.

We at OneClick BIM Dubai office build stronger outsourcing partnerships with design and contracting companies to help them leverage BIM and deliver construction projects requiring BIM compliance. For more information, write to us on contact@oneclickbim.com.

Key takeaways:

• How data center construction projects benefits from BIM process during space planning phase?
• Prefabrication coordination needs BIM to deliver uber fast track projects.
• Data center construction phasing management in BIM
• Raised floor / false floor coordination with MEP systems using BIM
• Coordinating services inside BIM models before actual construction
• Enabling commissioning and O&M record keeping in 3D BIM Revit models
• Air Flow Analysis & Simulation (CFD) using BIM

Generally, everyone talks about benefits of BIM for coordination and clash detection on projects but when you talk about all the complex electrical conduits lines that you are running through tight spaces, its much more complex environment with tight spaces.

The more coordination becomes important, the more application of BIM in data center construction becomes useful.

We reached out to many professionals specializing in data center projects to identify the areas of planning, design & construction and how they are getting the most value out of BIM / VDC coordination.

Space Planning

Typically, data centers are having huge mechanical and electrical capacities compared to their built up area. More than 25 times the typical commercial buildings. The equipments are typically placed near to server rooms to reduce the risk of IT equipments. together, these factors create incredibly dense equipment spaces and major ducts, pipes and conduits are required.

Application of BIM in data centers helps designers to confirm that equipments and services distribution can fit to these tight spaces allowing maintenance and service area clearances are achieved. Furthermore, it allows to analyze voltage drops and pressure drops with actual routing. Similarly, underground electrical feeders can become so dense that they could overheat (Eddy current loss appears in the form of heat) and melt if not designed properly. BIM allows precise routing which enables electrical engineers to model the heat dissipation and adjust the electrical ducts / bus bars configuration accordingly.

Prefabrication Coordination

Clients including wholesale operators, technology companies, and financial institutions are pushing the speed of new construction and retrofitting projects. Fast track is past, ultra fast track projects are the new standards which are looked by clients to get their data centers up and running sooner.

To help speed up the construction of data center projects, contracting companies are prefabricating many of the building systems and components from enclosure to mechanical and electrical systems. BIM / VDC is critical for designing and testing prefabrication concepts with respect to logistics such as material handling, path of travel and installation sequence.

We have delivered logistics planning visualization to several prefabrication contracting companies. Majority of such project requests comes from Middle East, South Asian Countries including India and Singapore.

says Marketing Manager from Vee 7 Information Technology LLC, Dubai, Middle East

To keep up with the speed, several prefabrication contractors are constantly pushing the amount and types of items they fabricate at their facilities. This allows them to minimize the amount of fit-up and welding in field environment and allows to maintain excellent quality assurance due to the majority of their work being built in a controlled, workshop environment.

A recent example of a completed data center project required 500 welds for the piping system, out of which only 30 was needed to be performed on site. The reduction of onsite welding required only one welding machine onsite. It also decreased field installation time from about 30 working days to only 8 working days.

Tip: Ensure to include system hangers in BIM models which helps to fabricate all piping supports and hangers in bulk, deliver early to site and have installation completed prior to piping and ductwork material deliverables.

Project Phasing Management

Generally Data Center construction is phased to avoid building out expensive capacity which is not required on day one. Often, the initial capacity target shifts during design development and construction activity due to leasing activity and the difficulty of projecting the need for computing power.

By utilizing phasing feature that BIM offers, teams can analyze the cost, schedule and energy consumption at different phases. BIM supports phasing of projects by quickly allowing the team to modify the design drawings and documents by adding or subtracting modules of power and cooling. After day one construction is complete, BIM helps in future development with an accurate record of the as-built condition allowing teams to plan further deployments with confidence.

Integrating raised access floor layouts / false floor layouts

False floors or raised floors can be tricky, especially because most of the floor installers do not model their installations or adjustments for structural bridging and supports are typically planned onsite. By developing the BIM model of the raised flooring allows the installation teams to understand where MEP systems are located in conjunction to pedestal support system.

By coordinating and integrating this into 3D modeling process, flooring contractors can see where they need to modify their support framing early in the process and fabricate the necessary bridging and support components which spans across the MEP systems wherever required. This helps in eliminating time and efforts it would take to do this in field once MEP systems are installed thereby decreasing the field installation time.

Conflict free routings

The capacity transmission from densely packed equipments requires multiple layers of stacked conduits, ducts and piping. Using the BIM model, the detailers can pick up where the designers left off adding more information to each elements.

Tight construction schedules don’t allow field routings to solve conflicts, therefore the routing must be solved during the detailed design stage allowing for 99 percent conflict free installations.

Commissioning and O&M tasks

To ensure performance and reliability, robust commissioning processes are required for data centers. Commissioning information such as tags for each equipments and feeder are added to 3D BIM models for keeping a live database of commissioning process status.

For greenfield data centers or newly built data centers, the information is must valuable to operation staffs. Mainly submittals, O&M manuals, as-built plans and sections, balancing reports, commissioning reports which are generally never transferred to them and are often lost over the years as personnel are changed during the lifecycle of projects.

When this type of information is present in 3D BIM models, these information can be retained and viewed for each piece of equipment rather than separate volumes. Whether they are facing problem or trying to improve energy efficiency, data center operators are benefitting from such comprehensive set of information.

Air Flow analysis

Analyses such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations inside BIM models allows engineers to fine tune the server layouts based on thermal modeling approach. By incorporating that process in Revit models, clients are able to visualize how the air flows are forming inside the data center and temperature variations are happening based on air flow movements.

It is essentially helpful in being able to see how servers in a computer room receive cold air and how hot air is removed.

CFD modeling and analysis is more as a design verification of engineering calculations than as a design tool. It is really a fine tuning process.

We develop 3D models using BIM process for design and construction phases of data center projects. If you are looking to implement 3D BIM Revit models into your delivery of data center projects, get in touch with us at contact@oneclickbim.com.

Learn about what is laser scanning in construction and how it being used now a days. In this blog post, know how you can implement laser scanning in your construction projects and some tips to get you started.

Key Takeaways (Laser scanning in construction)

• It industry is growing and is expected to reach USD 10 billion by 2024.
• Laser scanning is also known as high-definition survey (HDS) and reality capture. It is a type of laser survey done for high level of accuracy.
• Collected data from laser scanning is called point cloud. Millions of points are connected in a 3D coordinate system.
• Laser scanning exists from 1960s but design and construction industry started using it since 1990s.
• It is used throughout a project lifecycle from design, construction, operations, retrofitting to renovations.
• It improves quality and accuracy and provides immediate information to help reduce rework, cut costs by 50% compared to 2D scanning. It also reduces manual labor and helps in coordination and collaboration on site.
• Laser scanning is expensive, needs training and workers on site to be familiar with area.
• Innovation is happening. To innovate your projects, implement it early, rent our laser scan equipment or laser scan service to get a feel of process and use it with other technologies that help you get started.

What is laser scanning and how it is used in construction?

Using a laser to map an area with high accuracy is called laser scanning. On a construction site, laser scanning is used to capture data in detail which provides accurate information for every corner on a site. The data is in the form of point cloud in a 3D coordinate system. Point cloud is an accurate digital record of an object or space for a project.

Laser scanning in construction started its use from industrial facilities. Today, it is used for buildings, infrastructures and much more.

Laser scanning in Design – Site information is captured by lasers before a design takes place. Many professionals are using scan-to-BIM methodology to capture detailed information of a site for kick-off meetings and are managing the process from a early stage.

Laser scanning in Construction – Construction coordination is being done using laser scanning. It helps to avoid conflicts between systems and services such as HVAC, electrical, plumbing, etc. Scan data is also shared among parties to help with coordination remotely. Laser scanning is not just performed at the beginning of project, it is done at various stages of project milestones which helps to reduce change orders and to reduce variation claims. It also helps to document errors and to look for a solution faster.

Laser scanning in Operations, retrofitting, and renovations – There has been an increase in trend for capturing permanent as-built records by project owners and facility management companies. Laser scan data helps in building operations, renovations and future building alterations such as new construction and demolitions.

How to start implementing Laser scanning in construction?

If you want to begin implementing laser scanning in construction projects, we have few tips to get you started.

Start early – The early you implement it, the better it is going to be. Introducing the method as early as possible helps you in better and informed decision making with high level of accuracy.

Choose to buy, rent or use a service provider – It is not cheap to use laser scanners. It is always a better option to hire a laser scan company and use their outsourcing services. Once your return on investment becomes clear and you are sure about the business value it generates for you, you can consider investing in this technology.

Use it with other technologies – Performing laser scanning in construction of your project alone will not help. Using it simultaneously with other technologies such as BIM will help you in creating more detailed and accurate 3D BIM models.

If you want to get more experience on the look and feel of laser scanning in construction, try looking out for some interesting demos from your nearest available laser scanning companies.

We at OneClick BIM (Brand promoted by Vee 7 Information Technology LLC, Dubai, UAE) help people and companies like you to convert point cloud to BIM models or scan to BIM models.

With our sales & project management office in Dubai, UAE and production office in India, we are able to deliver cost effective services, top notch quality and performance.

For more information on our point cloud to BIM services, get in touch with our sales representative at contact@oneclickbim.com or call us on +971 52 262 8340 | +971 50 207 8340

Front-end planning

Extensive research by the Construction Industry Institute confirmed that Front End Planning plays an important role in improving project performance. There are many approaches to enhance it but going with a tool that offers strategic planning and is also a performance aligner then BIM tops among all the options.

Research indicates that good front-end planning results in the achievement of higher levels of project performance. By facilitating collaboration among stakeholders in diverse locations with the use of workflow-enabled processes, such pressures can be reduced, and the overall process and results can be improved.

Economic development officers can also derive value from BIM by providing virtual spec industrial spaces for their communities. 3D models provide something to show to site consultants, prospects, management, and community members, at a fraction of the cost of a speculative industrial facility. Macro-BIM software not only provides a virtual spec building but also a preliminary schedule and cost, taking participants’ understanding beyond 3D and into 4D analysis.

Leveraging BIM for Front End Planning :

1. Reduces construction costs.
2. Feasibility analysis.
3. Efficient capital allocation.
4. An escape from a traditional methodology.

CONCLUSION:

It’s obvious that improving decision-making at the project outset is advantageous. But macro-BIM models created during preconstruction can be built upon and utilized as a basis of design during subsequent phases of project development, thus benefiting the design, procurement, and construction processes.

The use of macro-BIM during preconstruction also leads to lower risk and improved predictability during the construction phase. Project risk takes many forms, including the loss of profit due to cost or schedule overruns or excessive changes. If project variables have been controlled and modeled before construction commences, this reduces the number of things that can go wrong once work is underway.

Macro-BIM solutions take a holistic view of a project. Having a preliminary design that is fully represented in 3D form gives shape to a project, improves collaboration and understandings, allows cost and feasibility to be established within hours, and, most importantly, improves project success.

Therefore, by working with design-build firms or consultants who have leading interactive BIM software — and who have customized its pre-set formulas and data sets (especially historical cost data) with information that is closely tailored to specific project situations — owners can reduce risk and improve on predictability on projects, hence leading to greater predictability and use of BIM for front end planning.

The term Building Information Modelling (BIM) refers to an expansive knowledge domain within the Design, Construction, and Operation industry. The voluminous possibilities attributed to BIM represent an array of challenges that can be met through a systematic research and delivery framework spawning a set of performance assessment and improvement metrics.

BIM assessments have been developed to help professionals create feedback on their BIM implementation and identify areas of strengths and weaknesses. Such feedback loops will assist construction industry professionals to better understand how they are doing, develop a road map for BIM strategies, and identify goals for future directions.

WHY MEASURE BIM?

The BIM-MM (Maturity Measure) has been seen to move beyond ‘evaluation’. Through analysis of the collected data, it has been possible to demonstrate how BIM is applied in different teams, groups, projects, and geographies. This is of significant value to transfer knowledge and skills across projects, groups, and regions. BIM is continuously helping us generate dialogue across our regions about what ‘good’ looks like, how to better deliver projects, and how to deliver better projects.

WHAT SHOULD YOU MEASURE?

Choosing what to measure when evaluating BIM is one of the most challenging tasks in the BIM maturity research field. It is widely known that ‘what gets measured gets attention’ and that ‘what gets measured gets managed’. Therefore, selecting the appropriate BIM elements to assess effectively means putting these elements on the map of BIM implementation. The top five common measures are data richness (the level of detail in model elements), visions and goals for implementing BIM, technology (the applied tools and applications), data exchange (the ways data is shared across different projects’ stakeholders), and model use. Some of the discipline criteria question whether 3D, 4D (time scheduling) or 5D (cost) are applied in the project and whether analysis tools are linked to the main model. In general, these measures reflect two types of forces: internal forces, which include the criteria largely under the control of design and construction companies; and external forces, which are shaped and influenced by client demands and needs. Together, these forces affect the BIM process in the project.

CONCLUSION

The BIM is attracting significant interest internally and is moving beyond evaluation. The tool has been used by project managers to communicate BIM with project members and stakeholders. But it is also gaining attraction from external audiences, including other construction firms, which are applying the tool in their businesses, as well as researchers who expressed their interest in the Global BIM Maturity Initiative. The research agenda of BIM maturity is expected to grow in different directions. New models will emerge to reflect BIM’s evolving nature, more studies will be needed to focus on applying these models to real case-study projects, and new types of analysis will be generated when measuring BIM.

FINAL WORDS: This analysis might answer some of the typical questions surrounding BIM:  how to transfer knowledge and skills from high maturity projects and regions to other ones with lower maturity levels; why BIM is applied differently in different geographies; and how performance measurement data could influence the future direction of BIM innovations. However, BIM has the answer to it all as it can bridge the information loss associated with handling a project from the design team, to the construction team and to building owner/operator, by allowing each group to add to and reference back to all information they acquire during their period of contribution to the BIM model. This can yield benefits to the facility owner or operator.

BIM is a concept that uses digitalize and parametric form design to build an integrated module. On the other hand, ERP is a concept which integrates all business operations into one place.  Thus, at the design stage, BIM is capable of creating sustainable design while in the operational phase ERP is capable of carrying out the operation properly. Therefore, the combination of this BIM and ERP provides the best practices for construction organizations.

It can be recognized that ERP and BIM integration will be a novel experience for construction companies.  While  BIM allows constructing a building virtually inside a computer, ERP will help in understanding how much it will cost and how to account for it. A BIM model includes every element along with geometric and parametric information, provides an accurate quantity of materials, and takes the guesswork out of cost estimating.  It will generate a bill of quantities (BOQ) automatically and produce accurate material quantities. On the other hand, ERP takes it from there and handles operations in inventory, invoices, and financial reporting efficiently with lower cost and lower resources.

Top 7 Reasons to Integrate ERP with BIM:

1. Reduced redundancy of data
2. Single source of truth
3. Complete project perspective
4. Lower overhead costs
5. Increased IT ROI
6. Speedier decision making
7. Minimized Risk

CONCLUSION

Both BIM and ERP are essentially Information Systems and derive most of their value from data integration. Also, both systems are part of a network of integrated applications. BIM creates full size, three-dimensional building projects inside a computer. ERP allows users to determine the final cost, the time frames involved, and where the equipment and subcontractors are going to come from.BIM accounts for every system, duct, structural column, and pipe. ERP schedules the productions and ensures the project needs are met. By ERP I don’t mean simply a back-office solution for Finance and Human Resources. True ERP is a fully-integrated process covering all the business processes and functions involved in building or maintaining assets.

Hence, By combining BIM data directly with business processes (ERP) we provide an unprecedented level of integration for construction companies. When combined these create a powerful Project Management system that revolutionizes construction projects.

Following is a brief discussion on how BIM can help small entrepreneurs grow:

1. Helps you build credibility

BIM facilitates cooperation and collaboration among various stakeholders, improving project efficiency. Smaller organizations can work more efficiently and effectively to build credibility with their customers, and can eventually focus on getting more projects to grow rapidly.

2. Effective communication with clients

Construction involves huge investments in terms of time, money and resources. Hence, clients ideally want to have complete control over a project, be it the cost, material choices, schedules or the deadlines. BIM facilitates effective communication, thus reducing the need for feedback and smaller companies can thus ensure cost-efficiency.

3. Interactive and dynamic

BIM is interactive, dynamic, and responsive. The process is far superior to 3D CAD programs that are just a little more than an efficient drafting software. Unlike CAD, you don’t need to go through each individual drawing to make alterations when you make corrections. BIM identifies the changes and incorporates them across all sets of drawings simultaneously.

CONCLUSION

The system adopted by the vendors offering BIM Outsourcing Services is very beneficial for small organizations as it saves them time and resources. It improves their efficiency and helps them grow. The system allows you to generate precise and accurate construction documents, material, and cost estimations. This allows you to sort out most of the challenges before starting the construction process.

Outsourcing BIM services are basically witnessing an upward trend, offshoring companies are
queuing up with the enticing offers on the BIM services. The only dilemma for the construction companies today is – how do you identify the best BIM service provider?

When choosing the right outsourcing partner, you should remember to check a few things:

1. Their experience: If they have worked on the projects that are similar to yours. If they
managed to create X MVPs for some startups, they will probably manage to build yours
as well.
2. Their references: Note that not all of the companies let the outsourcing providers
publish their references! So if you don’t see many references on the website, don’t
hesitate to ask for them.
3. Their technology stack and procedures: It is good when they have automated
Continuous Integration and Deployment include Quality Assurance every step of the
way, and when they set high code quality requirements.
4. The framework for managing product development: Key-words to remember: Agile,
SCRUM.
5. Understanding your business needs: Even the best developers can fail if they don’t
understand what you need from them. In order to deliver software that brings profit, they
should be able to plan how to spend your money effectively without needless expenses
and deliver the product on time. If you are a startup, you will probably need them to
understand the lean-approach.
6. Business transparency: It is hardly visible at first glance, but crucial to building a stable
and trusted relationship. Here you can find some advice on how to verify it before signing
an agreement. The best customer experience you can get is The overall experience. What
is the communication like? You should have the impression that every meeting (through
call or in-person) should be planned meticulously. They should verify beforehand what
the leitmotif of the conversation with you would be – would it be more technical, or
rather organizational? If it’s technical, the tech people should be invited for a call too.
7. The estimated cost of a whole project: The price for a man-hour can not be a quantifiable
indicator as the final cost depends also on the length of a project. If one company can
deliver your product faster with a higher price for a man-hour, the final cost may be
quite similar to the cheaper provider who needs more time to deliver your product. And
you need to remember that the time he is working on the MVP, you are not earning
money – so as a long-time strategy it is better to choose the one who delivers your product
faster.

The other 5 criteria’s to choose BIM partner are:

1. To check the BIM company’s details.
2. Believing only seeing.
3. Reference checks.
4. Low costs are not always the best deal.
5. Say no to freelancers.

Therefore, before finalizing on a BIM outsourcing partner make sure your expectations align
with what the partner offers. What is the end goal you are seeking and retrace the path so that it
leads you to an ideal, trustworthy, and reliable partner? Both should be on the same page.
Make sure you define your own expectations, milestones, and deliverables concisely. There
should be no ambiguity. Furthermore, it is vital to ensure that the BIM outsourcing partner is up
to date with the latest technology trends and software. So while evaluating a company for your BIM modeling needs, follow the checklist to ensure cost benefits, save time, and guarantee that the project is in able hands!

With the increase of complex MEP systems now-a-days, contracting companies are required to validate design received from design consultants and value engineer the design through spatial coordination and procurement of components to meet design requirements.

The coordination of MEP systems within themselves and with other disciplines including architecture, façade, structure, etc is a challenging and time consuming task. Especially in complex projects with high density of MEP systems. MEP systems shall comply with design requirements and operations criteria avoiding any interference and clashes amongst building systems.

Today almost all construction projects require MEP coordination without which the installation of MEP systems at site would be a difficult task using only the design drawings.

Let’s compare the 2 different methods by which MEP coordination is done.

2D MEP Coordination Process

In this 2D MEP Coordination process, the following process is followed:

• Designing of MEP services is done by design consultants,
• Subcontractor then develops design stage drawings received as tender package into shop drawings or develops own set of shop drawings in 2D drawings format,
• 2D drawings includes individual floor plans, combined services drawings (CSDs), sections showing ceiling void spaces, etc,
• Annotations of MEP services within 2D drawings including dimensions, tags and types,
• Main contractor or General contractor ensures that each sub-contractor is creating their drawings based on ceiling void spaces,
• All stakeholders involved in project try to visualize potential clashes manually from individual 2D drawings,
• MEP coordination effectively happens on site and modifications are done to avoid clashes occurring at the time of construction.

2D MEP Coordination Challenges

2D MEP Coordination has its own challenges which are as follows:

• No semi-automated or automated system to identify clashes in MEP systems and design which results in high degree of reliance on the intuition, imagination, technical experience and knowledge of team members involved without experiencing the clashes,
• Visualizing clashes is difficult due to changes in ceiling heights,
• Difficulty in understanding the impact of building services and structural and architectural elements that affects the routing of the MEP systems,
• Appointing third party does not necessarily resolves the issues,
• Designs cannot be easily reviewed or communicated with project team,
• If any design changes are there or procurement changes are there, it becomes very difficult to repeat the 2D MEP Coordination,
• 2D CAD software allows humans to tag differently to a service as the software is not intelligent to detect these types of errors,
• There is no guarantee that 2D MEP Coordination will result in clash free drawings,
• On complex projects, 2D MEP Coordination process requires multiple sections to be viewed which is a time taking task that incurs more expense to contractors.

3D MEP Coordination

This process is more collaborative and provides the ability to communicate effectively as the project progresses by involving 3D visuals that allows everyone to be on same page as compared to everyone trying to visualize on their own using 2D drawings.

The process and benefits of 3D MEP Coordination is as follows:

• Design intent is created which is used as basis to create 3D MEP BIM models,
• Architecture and Structure forms a part of 3D BIM models with which 3D MEP BIM models are superimposed and clashes are checked.
• Once all BIM models are superimposed, it becomes easier to detect clashes using the model geometry intersection method on computers,
• Using the advanced software capability, one can pan and orbit the clash locations into the 3D BIM model to gain in-depth understanding of clashes
• Once clashes are identified, with inputs from design consultants, clashes are then resolved keeping intact the design intent and technical functionality of MEP systems,
• Upon making the clash free BIM models, drawings are then created and extracted from 3D BIM models,
• Drawings involve floor plans and sections which are dynamically linked to each other. That is, if anything is updated in plan, it automatically reflects in section views. This avoids duplicating efforts.
• Drawing annotations are truly a reflection of 3D properties which eliminated error of annotating as compared to 2D processes.

Above we discussed only 3D MEP Coordination process with benefits. However, 3D BIM allows more endless possibilities if used on a project.

At OneClick BIM, we are experts in 2D MEP Coordination and 3D MEP Coordination. However, we always recommend clients and customers towards using 3D MEP Coordination as it is better in all aspects and costs less in terms of efforts and time thereby increasing the overall quality of the building project.

We helped dozens of companies since 2015 in visualizing their BIM / VDC processes utilizing BIM models in regions such as Singapore, UAE, US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, India, and many more. If you are looking for having support in your BIM processes and or BIM manpower requirements, we will listen to your needs and provide you with end to end BIM Solutions. We are there for you to support in your BIM journey.