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BIM Engineering: How BIM Helps Engineering Consultants in Construction

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What is BIM (Building Information Modeling)

BIM or building information modelling is technology that helps engineers, architects and other professionals in construction to plan, design, build, and manage the development and building of infrastructure. It integrates information, people, policies, technology, and processes to enhance overall efficiency and combine to enable intelligent modeling.

Importance of BIM in the construction industry

BIM involves the analysis of spatial relationships, geo-information, and light analysis, and helps in the identification of the structure, modules, and amounts of the necessary materials that play important developmental roles. Asset management, predictive maintenance, and facility management, are some of the functions it can be used for. Infrastructure has become more sophisticated and complicated thanks to globalization. BIM modeling empowers AEC professionals to design and develop better infrastructure by streamlining workflows and enhancing efficiency and effectiveness. Basically, BIM allows construction professionals to use accurate data in the planning, designing, coordination and construction, making the project more economical and feasible, and ensures standardized flow of data through the project.

Benefits of BIM for Engineering Consultants

  • Improves Coordination and enhanced productivity

BIM facilitates improved coordination and enhanced design decisions thanks to the data-driven business model. This allows engineering professionals to deliver innovative solutions for various problems. Due to the enhanced coordination between different disciplines, it allows the final design to be more wide-ranging and accurate, eliminating problems during construction. BIM also enables the creation of a virtual model to help visualize the process of building, and detect any possible problems in physical coordination.

  • Effective communication and team building

Poor communication leads to errors, expenses, and delays in construction projects. Without BIM, the different partners work independently, to achieve their individual goals; BIM unifies everyone – engineers, architects, operations management, project management, and systems management – to collaborate. It also motivates them to work towards the attainment of common goals from the outset. Ergo, these teams are aligned right from the initial stages, and function as one big team.

  • Better Results

While the advantages of BIM are most visible in design and construction, they can also be seen in the finished product, as the structure built is of superior quality – thanks to the accurate calculations and precise models made possible by BIM. As the BIM process utilizes several visualization tools, it can render the construction with better aesthetic appeal. It is possible to not only visualize the final look of the building, but also how natural and artificial lights play inside it.

  • Predictive modeling

BIM engineering services help in resolving potential issues before they become big, thus enabling a proactive approach. This helps to save time, money, and effort in the long run; you only need to make sure that you have comprehensive data, design, and material. This helps in proactive measuring and prediction of degradation, and in fixing problems at the early stage. 

  • Greater possibilities for Prefabrication and Modular Building

Due to BIM software, it is now possible to create complex models that can be prefabricated off-site; also, engineers can build modular parts that fit together seamlessly. This eliminates the need to build innumerable elements from scratch, saving time and money.

BIM Tools and Software for Engineering Consultants

There are plenty of tools available today, and here we will look at some of the best ones:

  • Autodesk Revit

This software is popular among BIM consulting services, designers, project managers, construction managers, and architects, and is flexible enough to allow users to create and modify content. It’s robust graphics programming engine allows even newbies to create complex geometries and execute parametric modeling, import, export, and other data-based functions.

  • Autodesk BIM 360

BIM 360 is cloud-based, and functions as the central database for all documents related to design and construction. It is ideal for large companies that need superior performance, where users can access critical docs to get thorough visibility into any part of the project. The software goes beyond the usual standard features one sees like 3D drawing and 2D modeling.

  •  Vectorworks Architect

This software has excellent modeling, outlining and documentation capabilities, making it stand out in a sea of similar tools. It enables advanced 3D modeling, empowering architects and designers to deliver innovative solutions, making it the perfect choice for them. Its powerful capabilities help them give life to their ideas and concepts. Vectorworks has other tools that can be seamlessly integrated with Architect for site mapping, industrial lighting and so on.

  • Tekla Structures BIM Software

Tekla from Trimble is excellent for civil engineering and structural engineering, as it has steel and architectural design at its core. It also incorporates other building materials like concrete, wood, and glass. It is highly suitable for large industrial projects that require BIM services for managing resources and materials. Contractors, fabricators, and structural engineers can depict and supervise projects including stadiums, airports, bridges, and huge shopping malls using this software.

  • Graphisoft ARCHICAD

This is a versatile software popular with BIM modeling services, urban planners, architects, engineers, and designers, as it enables comprehensive designing of a project. It has a user-friendly interface capable of rendering 3D models of minor and mega projects. It is capable of reading and writing BIM data in a vendor agnostic format, enabling seamless exchange of data with other partners regardless of tools they use.

BIM Implementation for Engineering Consultants

Let’s take a look at the important steps in BIM implementation:

  • Publishing the plan of implementation for BIM for internal evaluation – this includes evaluating team capability, legal contracts and deliverables, and ensuring the support of top management.
  • Preparing for the transition is essential; ensure uniformity for implementation by creating an information exchange process flow, and archiving and updating data in real-time. Training must be provided to the internal team so that they can use the new software confidently. It’s only with training that teams will be able to trust the software and feel comfortable with it.
  • Executing the plan and construction – the plan execution must be decided after discussions with all project stakeholders. This stage defines the team’s social interactions across the BIM lifecycle; the execution plan involves restructuring the team, managing portfolios, using test-cases to plan and implement, handing over information, spatial plans, performance measurement, etc.
  • The digital model constructed can help operations and maintenance too; the model serves as the basis, where its data is used to incorporate these functions for the building.

Challenges in BIM implementation 

Despite its advantages, the following challenges exist:

  • There is no client demand especially in smaller organizations
  • It is not always feasible for everyone, and the cost factor sometimes deters customers
  • BIM is not always relevant or applicable for every type of project 
  • Lack of expertise by in-house staff is often a cause
  • Small-scale projects can be executed without BIM as per some engineers and designers

Future of BIM in Engineering Consulting

While innumerable BIM users swear by its benefits like increased ROI, decreased rework and costs, better design insight etc., the truth is that BIM is under-utilized outside of design. BIM essentially is a great tool of communication, and the future is going to be about using the rendered model at every stage to further enhance collaboration. This is what will allow the industry as a whole to get maximum value out of it. VR and AR, IoT, drones, cloud collaboration and 3D printing are the emerging trends in BIM that will redefine it in the future.

BIM is here for the long run, and will keep evolving till it becomes a globally accepted industry standard. It has played a crucial role in enabling firms to become more efficient, and bring down the expenses of managing projects over time. Hence, it is expected that more and more trends will emerge, making it an indispensable tool in the AEC industry.

Conclusion

Are you hesitant about using BIM? Do you have multiple queries about its benefits? If you’re searching for the best BIM consultants in UAE, look no further. 

Contact DSI Engineering consultants today!

FAQs

1. What is BIM in Engineering?

BIM refers to building information modeling – a process that helps to build and manage information relating to a construction project across its lifecycle.

2. Is BIM a software?

Yes, BIM is a software tool used in the AEC industry.

3. How do engineers use BIM?

Engineers use BIM to make data-driven design decisions, automate documentation with regard to the project, and render accurate designs.

4. Why is BIM important in engineering?

With infra projects becoming more complicated, BIM helps improve collaboration so that errors are minimized, clearer understanding is facilitated, and there is better prediction of expenses.

5. How is BIM used in green building?

BIM can be used to accurately simulate energy consumption, enabling engineers to design in a way that helps reduce energy waste. BIM integrates and evaluates information during construction to measure thermal environment to facilitate this.

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