What is BIM Coordination?
BIM coordination is essentially the collaboration between three major disciplines which are Architecture, Structure & MEP. Focusing on areas of concern, disparity, and unevenness in the building design, BIM Coordination involves the coordination of the BIM models created by these disciplines to ensure the final outcome of the building is an error and clash-free, with the crucial help of a BIM Manager and BIM Coordinators.
BIM Coordination Within & Across Disciplines
BIM coordination can occur within disciplines and across disciplines. Typically, there are several BIM modellers working in one discipline to prepare the BIM model. It is vital for each discipline to ensure that the BIM models within their discipline are well-coordinated prior to sharing with other disciplines or services. The various disciplines then share the BIM models with one another to coordinate the various services together, ensuring clash-free models.
BIM coordination through the use of software such as Revit and Navisworks is needed to identify the clashes of the building design and produce clash reports. These generated clash reports are used as a reference in BIM coordination meetings to highlight the clashes or design errors between the various disciplines. All the parties involved can resolve these issues collectively during the BIM collaboration meeting and update the BIM models accordingly.
Design changes and updates may also occur during the BIM collaboration meeting. As the coordination process occurs, the team may realise that design changes would have to be made due to the clashes or errors found in the initial design reflected in the BIM models.
Information Exchange Platform
Adoption of information exchange platforms, such as BIM 360, is important for seamless BIM model coordination. The various disciplines working within the same or different offices are able to share and access each other’s BIM models or any other information through a centralised platform, to ensure one true source of information. A BIM Manager role is very crucial in ensuring that this platform and all the information uploaded are managed accordingly.
BIM Progress Updates
Other than clash detection, BIM model progress update is another type of information that needs to be shared across the disciplines, which is very important in ensuring that each discipline provides each other with the BIM models in a timely manner for coordination purposes. The schedule for sharing of BIM models is typically set out in the BIM Execution Plan to ensure that each discipline is aware of their timeline and schedule for better planning.
What are the benefits of BIM Coordination?
BIM model coordination between the various disciplines is required as problems in the design can be identified earlier which allows the design conflicts between the services to be collectively resolved upfront and creates a clash-free visualization of the building design. Since the clashes and design errors have been identified during the coordination process, it reduces cost for abortive works and materials wastage during the construction stage. BIM coordination enhances the purpose and operability of the BIM modelling software and ensures that projects do not get delayed or incur unnecessary expenses for all parties involved.