BIM in Principle and In Practice

149 Pages·2014·2.36 MB·English

by  P.T Barnes and N. Davies

ice
Institution of Civil Engineerr
publishing
BIM in Principle and in Practice
Peter Barnes and Nigel Davies
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Contents Preface vii
Abouttheauthors ix
01 ............................ Introduction 1
02 ............................ AnoverviewofBIM 5
2.1 WhatisBIM? 5
2.2 ThebackgroundandhistoryofBIM 5
2.3 WhydoesBIMmatter? 8
2.4 WhatisFIM? 11
2.5 IstheconstructionindustryBIM/FIMready? 13
2.6 WhatwillBIMdointhefuture? 15
2.7 ToBIMornottoBIM? 17
References 18
03 ............................ HowBIMworks 19
3.1 Anexplanationofpracticaltechniques 19
3.2 ThelevelsofBIMandBIMmaturity 24
3.3 BIMmodels 25
3.4 Hardwareandsoftware 29
3.5 PAS1192-2:2012 31
3.6 ConstructionOperationsBuilding
InformationExchange(COBie) 32
References 40
04 ............................ IncorporatingBIM 43
4.1 GettingstartedwithBIM 43
4.2 TheintegrationofBIM 44
4.3 Amovefromthetraditionalapproach 50
4.4 Incorporatingtheteam 53
References 57
05 ............................ ManagingBIM 59
5.1 BIMprotocolsandstandards 59
5.2 TheroleoftheBIMinformationmanager 70
5.3 ProjectBIMcoordinator 72
5.4 BIMcoordinationprogramme 73
References 74
06 ............................ Designliabilityandownership 75
6.1 Whatisthedesign? 75
6.2 Whoarethedesigneranddelegated
designers? 76
6.3 Thedesigner’sliability 78
v
6.4 Informationownershipandpreservation 79
6.5 Datatranslation,interoperability,storage
andretrieval 81
6.6 Intellectualproperty 82
References 83
07 ............................ Contracts 85
7.1 Collaboration 85
7.2 Newcontracts 89
7.3 Integratedprojectdelivery 96
7.4 Single-purposeentities 96
7.5 Designandbuild 97
7.6 HowwillBIMbeusedindispute
avoidance/disputeresolution? 99
References 100
08 ............................ Insurance,liabilityandrisk 103
8.1 Insurance 103
8.2 Suretybondingindustry 105
09 ............................ Example1–BIMappliedtoalarge
undergroundrailwaystation 107
10 ............................ Example2–BIMappliedtoprecast
concretefabricators 111
11 ............................ Example3–AsampleCOBiespreadsheet 123
12 ............................ Conclusion 127
Reference 129
Index 131
vi
Preface Buildinginformationmodelling(BIM)isthetopicof
themoment.Alreadymanycompanieshave
experiencedthebenefits(andsomeofthepitfalls)of
BIMwhileimplementingBIMtechnologyandthe
processesthatitenables.
However,thereisstillalargeportionofthe
constructionandcivilengineeringindustriesthathas
yettotakethefirststepsintotheworldofBIM.
Furthermore,andtoverymanypeople,BIMisa
mysterythatisexpressedinaforeignlanguage.Itis
perceivedasbeinghighlytechnicalanddifficultto
graspasaconcept.
Despitethat,thosesamepeopleknowthatBIM
cannotbeignored,anditisapparentthatthe
consultants,contractorsandsubcontractorsthatget
involvedwithBIMnow,orattheleastinform
themselvesaboutwhatBIMcandofortheirpractice
orcompanyandhowaBIM-enabledcompany
mightbetterservetheindustry,willsoonbeinhigh
demand.
AsBIMbecomesmorecommonlyused,andasitis
specifiedmoreoftenincontracts,morebenefitswill
surface.BIMwillreshapetheconstructionindustry.
Itisnotaquestionofif;itisonlyaquestionof
when.
Thosewhofeelthattheboatisdoingjustfineand
shouldnotberockedmayfindthemselves
scramblingforBIMtoolsandrushingintoperhaps
ill-advisedchoicesonceBIMbecomesageneral
requirement,beitforeconomic,environmentalor
otherreasons.
Thepurposeofthisbook,therefore,istoexplainin
relativelysimpletermswhatBIMisandhowitcan
beappliedinpractice.Withthisaiminmind,the
earlychaptersofthisbookdealwiththetheoryof
BIM,whilethelaterchaptersprovideexamplesof
BIMusedinpractice.
BIMisafascinatingsubjectandoffersexciting
opportunities.Apartfromtheobviousbenefitsof
vii
designefficienciesandthecontributiontowards
sustainableandgreenbuildingdesign,theareasin
whichBIMmayhaveevengreaterlong-termeffect
areasarethoseofcollaboration,partnering,contract
relationships,theresurgenceofterotechnologyinthe
modernworld,andevendisputeresolution.
Theauthorsofthisbookhaveaparticularinterestin
BIM,andrealisethat,becauseoftheimportanceof
BIMtotheconstructionandcivilengineering
industries,thebenefitsandpotentialgainsofusing
BIMneedtobewidelybroadcast,andthisisthe
purposeofthisbook.Itishopedthatthereadersof
thisbookwillfindittoinformativeandinteresting,
andthatitwilldevelopaninterestinthemto
investigateBIMfurtherandapplyBIMtechniques
inthecomingyears.
Finally,wearebothmostgratefultoallthosewho
havecontributedtoourknowledgeaboutthesubject
matterofthisbookovertheyears,andwegive
specialthankstoourfamilieswhohavebeenagreat
supporttousduringthewritingofthisbook.
viii
Chapter 1
Introduction
TherecanbelittledoubtthatBIMisheretostay,butthereiscertainlyagooddealof
confusionaboutwhatexactlyBIMis.BIMstandsfor‘buildinginformationmodelling’
or ‘building information management’; and, because of this, sometimes the acronym
BIM(M)isused,whichstandsfor‘buildinginformationmodellingandmanagement’.
Atitsmostbasiclevel,BIMisacomputerisedprocessthatisusedtodesign,understand
and demonstrate the key physical and functional characteristics of a building (or a
constructionorcivilengineeringproject)ona‘virtual’computerisedmodelbasis.BIM
thereforeprovidestheopportunitytoconcurrentlydesignandvisualisethebuildingin
3D, although it needs to be understood that the opportunity to visualise in 3D is a
productofBIM,andnottheprocessofBIMitself.
Atitsmoreadvancedlevels,BIMistheuseofacomputersoftwaremodeltosimulatethe
constructionandoperationofabuilding,anduseofBIMattheselevelsissomethingthat
isboundtohappenmoreandmoreinthefuture.Theresultingmodel,a‘buildinginfor-
mation model’, is a digital representation of the building, from which views and data
appropriate to various users’ needs can be extracted and analysed to generate infor-
mationthatcanbeusedtomakedecisionsandimproveboththeprocessofdelivering
thebuildingandtheentirelife-cycleuseofthebuilding.
WhiletheuseofBIMappearstobemostappropriatefornewbuildings,itisnotonlyfor
newbuildings,butratheritisforallbuildings,botholdandnew.Therefore,inthefuture,
theretrospectivemodellingofexistingbuildingstockrepresentsasignificantopportunity
fortheeffectiveutilisationofBIMandfor,amongotherthings,theattainmentofsignifi-
cantefficiencygains.
TheUKGovernmentConstructionStrategypublishedin2011requiredthatfullycollab-
orative3DBIMshouldbeusedonallcentrallyprocuredUKGovernmentconstruction
projectsby2016.Therefore,whileBIMis,inanyevent,organicallygrowinginuse,the
UKGovernment’sConstructionStrategywillnodoubtadvancegreatlytheuseofBIM
intheUKoverthenextfewyears,aswilltheneedtoimproveefficiencyandreducecosts
1
BIMinPrincipleandinPractice
in both the public and the private sector of the construction and civil engineering
industries.
Whenappliedcorrectly,BIMisintendedtomakesubstantialcostsavingsthroughoutthe
whole life cycle of a building, from design, through construction and maintenance, to
regenerationandeventualdisposalorrecycling.
Withrespecttothedesignandconstructionphase,theBIMprocess,whenfullyapplied,
possesses the potential to save valuable resources, including time, money and natural
materials.BIMwilldothisbyreducingtheamountofinaccurateandconflictinginfor-
mation, and this, in consequence, will reduce variations, alterations and delays. These
benefits will be achieved because the building is constructed in the ‘virtual’ world
beforeitisbuiltphysically.
TheadoptionoftheBIMprocessduringthedesignandconstructionphaseofabuilding
by those parties interested in the successful completion and outcome of the building,
from initial design to practical completion of the property, offers the opportunity to
achievethesystematiccoordinationanduseofalldataavailable.
Overrecentyears,adigitalrevolutionhasoccurredacrossmanyindustries,changingthe
waywelive.Nomorethan20yearsagoorsopeoplecouldgenerallyonlybuymusicand
filmsfromashopandtheycouldonlybuybooksfromabookshop.Now,ofcourse,this
isno longerthe case. iPods,MP3 players,Kindles, iPads, personalcomputers andthe
internethavechangedthewayweliveourlives.
Informationtechnology(IT)haslongsincebecomepartofoureverydaylives,bothat
home and in the workplace, and the BIM process is another, construction-specific
chapterinthetailoringofITtothespecificneedsoftheconstructionandcivilengineer-
ingindustries.
Whereas, previously, documents such as drawings, schedules and specifications were
written and stored in hard copy form, this information is now digitally generated and
storedfromandwithinBIMmodels.Withintheconstructionandcivilengineeringindus-
tries we are now on the threshold of seeing digital information flows from inception
through to demolition of projects, which is bound to result in large efficiencies being
achievedinmanyareas.
AnothermajoraspectofBIMisthepotentialfullcollaborationoftheentireprojectteam
– the employer, the architect, the engineers, the consultants, the contractor and the
specialist contractors – in developing the project design. This full collaboration not
onlyallowsforincreasedspeedofprojectdelivery,enhancedeconomicsfortheproject
2
Introduction
andtrueleanconstructionallatlevelsbutalsohasthepotentialtochangetherelation-
ships between the participants in the construction industry, from the more traditional
contracts based on obligations and rights to the more modern partnering associations
basedonafairallocationandsharingofrisksandliabilities.
ThisbookisintendedtoassistintheunderstandingofBIM–howBIMcanbeusednow,
andhowitmaybedevelopedfurtherinthefuture–andalsoprovidesanswerstomanyof
thecommonquestionsaskedaboutBIM.WhileitisthecasethatBIMisstillverymuch
initsinfancyinmanyrespects,andthereareveryfewfullyBIM-compliantprojectsatthe
moment, case studies and templates are provided in this book to show how the BIM
process (or elements of the BIM process), as described in principle, may actually be
appliedinpractice.
3
Chapter 2
An overview of BIM
2.1 What is BIM?
Most people consider that BIM stands for ‘building information modelling’ (although
some consider that it stands for ‘building information management’). Because of this,
sometimestheacronymBIM(M)isused,whichstandsfor‘buildinginformationmodel-
lingandmanagement’.However,itdoesnotreallymatterthatmuchwhattheacronym
BIMactuallystandsforintermsofthewordsused,theimportantthingtounderstandis
‘WhatisBIM’?
With that in mind, and particularly in the context of the construction and civil
engineeringindustries,BIMisaprocessthatreliesonacomputerisedvirtual3Dmodel
ofabuilding (or a construction or civil engineering project or some other facility, but
which, for the ease of future reference, will simply be referred to as a ‘building’)
which reacts to changes in the same way that the actually constructed building
would.
This reaction is achieved by applying to a computer model software applications that
are used to design, understand and demonstrate the key physical and functional
characteristics of the building throughout its entire life cycle (i.e. from its conception
to its final demolition and/or disposal). The BIM process is underpinned by the
creation, collation and exchange of shared 3D submodels (i.e. models of a part of the
building or of part of the works) with reactive and structured data attached to them.
Because this process is one of design and construction being carried out in the virtual
world,BIMissometimesalsoreferredtoas‘virtualdesignandconstruction’(VDC).
2.2 Thebackground and history of BIM
ToconsiderthebackgroundandhistoryofBIMweneedtostartwithcomputeraided
design (CAD), which emerged in the 1950s and 1960s within academia and some very
large manufacturing industries that were able to afford mainframe computing, some-
thing that was a relatively rare occurrence at that time. Each of those organisations
normally produced their own software to produce 2D drawings by computer, and the
commercialreturnofthoseCADsystemsforthoseorganisationslayinthetimesaved
5