The BIM approach to Design Coordination in MEP Projects

 The BIM approach to Design Coordination in MEP Projects

MEP BIM modelling services include services for mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems and caters to MEP contractors, fabricators and general contractors who would require accurate  and detailed BIM models to develop these systems for a particular zone in their building model. The process usually involves creating informative 3D models related to the mechanical, electrical and plumbing components of the building while ensuring that each of these components are compliant of all the applicable HVAC, Electrical and Plumbing building codes which is possible with the detailed and precise BIM models that can be generated. 

Approaches to Design Coordination

Fig 1: Comparison between traditional design process and BIM-based design process (Wang et al.2014)

Design is the process of creating a solution to a project brief and then preparing instructions allowing that solution to be constructed. Building design is typically a multi-disciplinary process, involving a number of different designers, such as architects, engineers and so on, working together to create a single, holistic solution. 

With modern architecture and technical complexities in building, the coordination issues of earlier including poor communication, issues arising from documentation errors or decision-making errors have increased in incidence. This increase in issues at the onset and completion of design projects required that there need to be a well integrated and overarching system to embrace the multiple facets of the design process of a building project and this is where the MEP BIM coordination services takes shape.

Going back to the fully manual beginnings of design - the process of design was conducted in several stages, most of which were functional specializations hence catered to by different specialists and the design was then compared at various checkpoints to understand irregularities and make improvements and this was obviously a costly, time-consuming process. With the digital innovation and CAD revolution of architectural design, this process was done by the computer, only drawback being the incapability of the software to automatically detect clashes in the MEP system which again meant that this task to be carried out by the human input managing the project. 

Then with advancement came the MEP BIM coordination service which provided for 3D modeling and accurate overlay of design prior to physical construction. It brought in multiple improvements of convenience which included easy alteration of the model for design optimization and the most awaited clash detection. 

As mentioned above design is a coordinated process having several key regulators and the MEP Bim modeling service provided MEP coordination that could enable mechanical, electrical, plumbing and structural engineers with other stakeholders to work collaboratively and share comparative data with each other which saved both parties time and money and avoided any conflict during the design process of each specialization. With multiple levels of details (LOD) offered by the MEP BIM approach MEP coordination has reached new heights of precise modeling, convenience and reliability. 

MEP BIM coordination services

MEP BIM coordination service is a multidisciplinary collaboration and coordination practice based on BIM combining all the MEP (Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) data, BIM file and other related information in order to ensure that it can be used to support a design project. It is also known as a project coordination service. It is designed for those companies who want to use BIM for their construction projects.

The main goal of this service is to ensure that the data created in MEP BIM can be managed properly throughout the entire process of design and construction. In addition, it also ensures that there is a synchronization of all files created in MEP BIM to ensure consistency between them.

Furthermore, it also helps to ensure that all files are accessible from both the designers and the builders so that they can use them at any time during construction.

In short, MEP BIM coordination service aims to reduce the costs and time of construction while ensuring that all data created in MEP BIM are easily accessible at any time during the construction process.

It is used to coordinate building design and construction plans. It allows designers and builders to communicate more effectively, which can reduce costs, delays, and errors. It also helps to improve communication between different stakeholders such as architects, contractors, and subcontractors.

MEP BIM coordination service software can be integrated into many different types of systems. These systems include project management software, BIM collaboration software, scheduling software and many other software packages of BIM and through these tools it is possible to share information such as 3D models and drawings with different team members. This way they can stay on the same page throughout the entire project.

We can also see that with various aspects of management, design and maintenance of mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems coming under it, MEP BIM outsourcing has been on the rise with experience and expertise combined with the advanced skill sets in BIM tools required for this task.