Overview
MEP Engineers faces many difficulties in coordination, fabrication, and installation of MEP Components and arrangement of components while looking schedule and cost constraints. It is the quality of MEP Coordination Drawings that get affected by cost constraints if not made accurately. MEP Contractors and Engineers encounter problems in fixing interferences to coordinate the fabrication and installation process properly.
The design process and installation of MEP systems face problems in coordination with the structural and architectural elements. MEP team consists of many individuals involved in the construction processes such as MEP contractors, consultants, fabricators and more that have different specifications of requirement which needs to be addressed in facility designs.
Role of BIM in MEP Design and Installation Process
Major Key players in MEP design team gets updated design data with BIM Services and Coordination to know how the design is conceptualized, fabricated and installed. MEP Consultants and Contractors operate to the design development process of creating a 3D model in interoperability formats like COBie to facilitate the exchange of data among other disciplines. MEP Consultants prepares schematic representational design and plan which is passed on to the contractor to make final MEP coordination drawings and Installation drawings.
In today’s time, implementing and coordinating MEP objects in BIM is critical and challenging. The design intent is measured before developing a well-coordinated 3D BIM Model so that changes in its geometry shapes can be made accordingly and prevents in solving the challenges to prepare fabrication, assembly and installation drawings effectively. Communication among the fabricators is done in precision and imports for collaboration in CDE are to attain accuracy for maintaining design intents.
BIM allows solving inter-disciplinary clashes and serves as a key element in modeling Architectural, Structural and MEP components so that changes can be done easily in the as-built models and facilitates effective visualizations among all disciplines.
BIM helps to control the design process by creating 3D Models that are compatible with VR technology that provides a walkthrough for perceiving design in the model. With BIM, load calculations and equipment is used that can handle the loads. Space can then be allocated to mechanical and electric systems. Schematic documents of MEP systems such as plumbing, air, hydraulic and power systems is to be sized and distributed within the building model along with citing coordination and developments.
MEP data comes in O&M and facility management phases where BIM is not implemented and hence creates chaos in getting relevant data and efficiently manage a facility. However, using BIM helps in visualizing design details and MEP documentation in a precise manner.
With BIM, engineers can access design plans and MEP components arrangement at the same time. Project delivery is faster due to centralized BIM model and coordinated drawings. With the advent of Revit software, MEP engineers can control the whole design process and helps them to detect Clashes before the commencement of construction work.
Conclusion
Using BIM Modeling Services in MEP Design and Installation Challenges not only helps to streamline the process but also brings effective communication flow among various MEP team members and resolves design coordination and modeling issues. It even gets facilitates with different technologies to prevent a better outcome of the projects.