Owning a building is expensive in New York City, involving a significant initial investment followed by ongoing operation and maintenance costs. However, smart decisions during the design process can help reduce all these expenses. When the concept of Building Information Modeling (BIM) is applied to mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) installations you can achieve a truly intelligent building project.
BIM is a modern engineering design approach that goes beyond using conventional construction plans to represent and specify a project. Instead, BIM uses three-dimensional building models with detailed information about system components, effectively creating a virtual reality version of the building before actual construction. BIM can be applied to all technical disciplines, including not only MEP systems but also architectural and structural aspects.
Given the complexity of BIM and the large amounts of data involved, specialized software is required . One of the best-known BIM design packages is Revit from Autodesk, and includes a specialized version for mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering – Revit MEP.
BIM makes the MEP engineering design process faster
Specifying the layout of multiple building systems requires a high degree of coordination between engineering design teams . One of the main challenges is to avoid overlapping locations for equipment belonging to different construction systems:
- This can be very difficult to visualize with conventional 2D construction plans. Equipment location conflicts often reach the construction phase, resulting in change orders.
- On the other hand, when all design engineers are working on a virtual reality model of the building, location conflicts are immediately detected by the software. If two building systems have overlapping components, the corresponding design teams will be notified immediately.
Using BIM significantly speeds up the design process, reducing repetition and the time required for design review. Additionally, BIM software is typically capable of calculating bills of materials on its own, saving valuable man hours. This way, engineers can focus on designing the best solution without dedicating time to tedious, repetitive tasks.
Consider that projects in New York also involve an approval process with the Department of Buildings, which can be time-consuming. BIM software also speeds up project approval thanks to its ability to detect design errors immediately.
BIM reduces change orders during the construction process
Change orders are a major cause of project cost increases , and can also lead to missed deadlines, delaying building commissioning. Using BIM for MEP engineering helps detect the need for change orders during the design phase, when modifications are made to a virtual model rather than a physical building. Editing a building model is faster and considerably cheaper than dismantling and reassembling actual facilities; editing the design only costs engineering time, while design modifications incur material and labor costs.
Change orders cause unforeseen expenses for one or more parties involved in a construction project. Depending on how the contract is structured, the extra cost could affect the owner, the contractor, or both.
BIM is a powerful project tracking tool during the construction process, helping supervising engineers keep the project within budget and on time . Because BIM software can simulate the scheduled construction process along with cash flow, finding discrepancies is simple.
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BIM simplifies maintenance and reduces your costs
The use of BIM does not end with project commissioning. A virtual reality building model is extremely useful in property management and scheduling maintenance operations. In particular, it allows for a preventative maintenance approach rather than a reactive approach – solving problems before they occur is much simpler than repairing damage when building system components break down.
Because BIM includes data about MEP components, it can be updated with routine inspections or with modifications to the construction system. A virtual building model can be used to monitor the condition of key components and schedule their replacements well in advance.
Even if a building was not originally designed with BIM software, the tool is applicable to existing properties. Engineering work is required to inspect the current condition of the property and create a corresponding virtual model, but once this step is completed, the building becomes much simpler to manage.
Conclusion
Advanced MEP Engineering with tools like BIM software can be considered an investment as it helps achieve a long-term reduction in construction ownership costs. A high-quality design simplifies construction, operation and maintenance.
