BIM

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BIM will become a hot topic throughout 2016, and it is becoming increasingly important for the construction industry to ensure it is prepared. As a premier heating products manufacturer in the provision of intelligent, Revit-compatible BIM objects, Jaga is ready – but are you?

In April 2016, the collaborative use of BIM Level 2 in all government procured buildings will become mandatory, with all asset information relating to a project becoming electronically shareable in a common environment.

Since the government revealed this as part of its BIM Strategy in 2011, many businesses within the construction sector have been scrambling to optimise their BIM capabilities. It is an issue that impacts businesses throughout the entire construction supply chain, from architects to contractors to product manufacturers.

However, as we stand here now, there is a risk that many companies will be left behind. From the latest surveys carried out by the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA), it is the smaller contracting firms that are currently most affected.

‘Not Ready at All’

The survey states that 54% of firms with a turnover of less than £1 million are ‘not ready at all’ for the April 2016 deadline. Of the businesses with earnings between £1 million and £20 million, 30% shared the same view. Of the largest firms, with turnovers of over £20 million, only 11% said they were not ready at all.

The real message that needs to be iterated is that BIM is not going away anytime soon and smaller building services businesses should be advised to accelerate their adoption of the implementation process. It is the biggest change in how we design and construct our buildings since the CAD revolution in the 1990s, and should thus be granted at least an equal level of importance.

The government’s April 2016 BIM deadline should be seen as an indication of what is to come. The commercial, industrial and residential building contracts will inevitably follow suit on a much wider scale.

When the more lucrative contracts start rolling out, who are going to be the beneficiaries? Who will architects seek to partner with? By delaying, smaller contracting firms will be overlooked for the ‘future-ready’ companies that are becoming more and more experienced with the practice.

Ready, Steady, BIM

Aside from adhering to government requirements – and the subsequent risk of lost business from government projects – the benefits of implementing BIM are hugely significant as the UK’s construction sector mobilises for a more modern approach. It will greatly improve project efficiencies that will ultimately deliver projects more quickly, competently and reliably for clients – and will generate more future business for BIM-ready contractors as a result.

It might be true that not enough information has been communicated about how small businesses can implement BIM in a way that minimises disruption to their existing and future projects. It might also be true that the costs of implementing BIM – and the potential profits to be gained – have been miscommunicated too.

It is therefore encouraging to see that as a result of its survey, the ECA has released a four-point action plan to help prevent building services SMEs from becoming frozen out. The plan includes:

+ A ‘BIM readiness checklist’ to help firms identify the necessary steps for achieving BIM Level 2
+ A ‘BIM jargon buster’ to help firms navigate the sea of BIM terminology and acronyms
+ Case study development to demonstrate first-hand how a BIM project works
+ Working with partners to develop awareness, training and deployment issues, alongside a common approach towards using BIM objects

It is not too late to get the BIM ball rolling. Just because the April 2016 deadline hits, it should not mean that building services companies cannot position themselves for future prosperity BIM will bring.

Driving the BIM Agenda

At Jaga, we have fully embraced BIM and consider ourselves the outstanding heating products manufacturer for involvement in BIM projects.

We currently work with BIMstore – one of the UK’s leading designers and hosts of BIM components in the construction industry – to provide design teams and contractors with easy access to our product range in Revit-compatible 3D format.

And the files are unique in their quality. Each Jaga BIM object offers dynamic calculations that automatically determine corrected outputs, flow rates and pressure drops. Their dimensions are fully adjustable to accommodate the intricacies of a building’s design, and automatic scheduling and detailing are selectable options too.

A building’s lifetime heating costs can be almost possible to predict without the sophistication of BIM technology. By downloading Jaga product files and incorporating them into the design, specifiers can save time, money and minimise the risk of mistakes that can be costly further down the line.

We live in an age which requires us to radicalise and modernise the way our buildings are designed, procured and managed. At Jaga, we will continue to invest in BIM as means to achieving this and we welcome anyone who would like to discuss it further to get in touch.

To find out more about Jaga’s involvement with BIM and to download Revit-compatible BIM files with fully dynamic calculations, visit out BIM page here.