Do you want to learn what BIM is? It’s the revolution in design!

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Building Information Modelling (BIM) revolutionized traditional building design. In the 1990s and early 2000s drawing boards were replaced by digital CAD-type tools. We are now looking at a similar breakthrough as we enter the BIM era.
Autor
Łukasz Pilch

Project Department – SMAY

BIM creates a digital representation of technical, physical and functional structure characteristics. They can be used at early conceptual stages, for managing buildings and all throughout their lifecycle. BIM helps every party involved in design, contracting and proper use.

Control over construction projects

Sending and receiving data, i.e. free up-to-date information exchange (using cloud, for instance) ensures full control over projects. Who currently uses BIM and who knows it best? According to studies conducted by Autodesk the technology is adopted by more and more people every year.

Project documentation and 3D models

Designers are responsible for creating project documentation according to construction standards, applicable building codes and specific investor guidelines. Naturally, it needs to be ready within a set deadline. Meeting all of the above goals poses major challenges, especially when working on bigger projects. That is why designers seek tools and solutions that would support their work.

The BIM technology represents a modern approach and a solution to ever increasing demands set by the market

By creating 3D models and assigning data to all elements, a specific structure and information exchange platform is created for every party involved in a given project. Communication is transparent, results in fewer faults and ultimately saves costs and time through process automation.

Who knows BIM best:
50% building and system designers
65% architects
25% contractors
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Implementing BIM in your company automates design processes

Implementing BIM within company structures often seems like an strenuous task. The initial investment costs are high while the expected profits are not quite clear. In the first software implementation stage we can experience a loss of efficiency. However, it is followed by a change in design approach, which in turn creates new opportunities that are unique to this very technology.

Today, BIM exceeds the design process – creating a model with all relevant information provides seemingly endless possibilities. Computer Aided Design (CAD) was meant to improve design and document creation, whereas BIM focuses on design and investment process automation. Its upgraded post-completion model may be used as a building database.

Revit® libraries offered by SMAY contain multi-industry information that proves to be useful when working on industry projects. Using the database of available manufacturer elements considerably facilitates the design process and provides involved parties with a full digital information model. Additional features introduced within Revit® families from SMAY allow designers to configure accessories and devices according to their preferences, which generates a product code with every incorrect selection being signalled by visual and text messages.

Consequently, initial verification of projects based on Revit® libraries offered by SMAY is conducted by artificial intelligence introduced within the families.

 

BIM for investors – entire project overview at every stage

It is worth considering the benefits of creating projects within BIM for investors. In most cases, the investor does not have to learn the secrets of BIM. They rather need to know, what it offers. Although the model itself only presents external features, the information within provides the investors with full overview of the project at every stage. By using BIM, the investor can access the project in the cloud and easily communicate with all the parties of the process. The investor can add comments, view changes and track statements, which gives them the opportunity to assess costs and completion times.

Models provide investors with information about all of their elements. The investor can rest assured that the use of modern design solutions increases construction documentation quality, which in turn improves project completion. Complex investment projects involve more parties, more difficult communication and a higher risk of delays and design faults.

Is it thus worth to decrease project costs, increasing the risk of failure? Wouldn’t it be better to implement such modern solutions as BIM to ensure that projects are well thought-out and profitable?

 

Revit® families from SMAY

BIM is inextricably linked with investment costs. Having that in mind, SMAY, a leading innovation company, offers advanced (in terms of LOD and LOI) Revit® libraries that constitute an excellent tool for everyday work of designers and can quickly generate lists of elements needed to create commercial estimates.

SMAY offers digital objects that can be used to create industry projects encompassing ventilation and fire protection. Both architects and sanitary system designers can use these families in their projects. Parties from different industries can make use of the model information to compile their own documentation. Below, you will find some of the more interesting features of our families that can be used for creating projects.

Inserting families to a project

It is recommended not to insert too many families into a project in order to ensure its good condition. At the same time, if we are working on a very detailed project, it would be advisable to only load the types of products that will in fact be used. By loading a family into a project we can select the right model type with a specific size and materials from a type catalogue. This way, we can meet two seemingly contradictory requirements.

Element visibility control

Depending on their preferences, users can at any time control such element visibility settings within families as service areas, buffer zones, logos and messages. The service areas allow you to continually control the correctness of your technical solutions while the messages send signals whether the selected system elements are correct or not. Designers can use this feature when creating their projects. They can then quickly turn off elements and enhance printout readability when they need to issue documents and generate drawings in paper and electronic versions.

Product code

Every element parameter change results in a dynamic product code modification. The families use overview tables registered in the memory along with all possible product codes. The number of variants depends on the type of product.

Correct selection control

In order to meet designers’ needs, we offer smart libraries that use the same logic as the families and alert users of irregularities and suggest specific solutions. Depending on the selected elements and parameters the Revit® families from SMAY signal different errors, e.g. an incorrect accessory/device selection or configuration. This feature eliminates the risk of design faults at an early project stage.

In order to keep up with the times and develop state-of-the-art technology, SMAY also offers BIM design support. SMAY has more than 30 years of industry experience. We offer premium products and Revit® libraries, i.e. advanced objects that support design. We make every effort to facilitate everyday design processes, reduce the number of design faults and increase overall design quality when developing BIM models for most of the products in our portfolio.

Information flow within construction projects
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Do you want to know more? Visit our DESIGNER ZONE. Our experts will provide you with a full knowledge base on BIM.
Do you need advice? Contact our advisor department.
Are you interested in our solutions?

We look forward to talking to you about ventilation.