A better future

JUST OVER a year ago, speakers at the 2015 Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) AGM provided its members with an overview of the building information modelling (BIM) process and its impact on passive fire protection manufacturers and contractors. 

 

Peter Caplehorn, deputy chief executive and policy director of the Construction Products Association (CPA) urged ASFP members to get involved in the developing process, declaring that BIM was about getting the construction industry to work collaboratively.

 

‘Building information modelling is an industry game changer. It is not about 3D graphics, it is about data. It is about de-risking construction and is therefore about efficiency. BIM is about capturing 

and using data from the very start of the project to “in use” and beyond,’ he declared.

 

Anthony Burd, head of sector – construction at the British Standards Institution (BSI) continued the theme, offering practical advice on how to get started in using BIM. He stated that BIM was an opportunity to improve construction:

 

‘BIM is about getting the right information, to the right people at the right time and in the right form. The operational benefits are that you get what you designed, using products as specified, 

and understand how they should be maintained.’

 

But what are the processes involved; how can specialist industry sectors such as passive fire protection get involved; and why should they?

 

Benefits of BIM

 

The benefits are thought to be wide ranging since BIM will result in collaborative working throughout the construction process, and on through building occupation and throughout a building’s lifetime. Structured information will flow through the construction process, from initial design brief through to management of the facility throughout a building’s lifetime.

 

For the construction industry as a whole, it will result in improved information and better design decisions. During the construction phase, BIM will lead to reduced costs – with estimated capital expenditure savings of 20%, reduced build times, better sequencing, improved control of materials and improved health and safety on site. 

 

However, it is the specification, installation and maintenance improvements that are likely to be of most interest to the passive fire protection industry. BIM will help ensure that products are correctly specified and cannot be substituted for inappropriate or substandard products at later stages in the construction process. 

 

With better sequencing of construction works, the breaching of fire compartments by follow-on contractors should become less common, and all contractors will be aware of the location of compartment walls, making it much more difficult to claim ignorance.

 

Once a building is in use, the use of BIM should result in building occupiers receiving at handover all the information they need about the installed products and systems within their building. This should ensure that they too will be aware of compartment lines, resulting again in less breaches of compartmentation without correct reinstatement, and improved maintenance of installed systems. 

 

BIM should result in knowledge at every stage of what has actually been built, with geometries and specifications clearly detailed and showing actual dimensions and details. By bringing together all this information, the construction team will be able to hand over to the occupier all of the necessary information required for the health and safety (H&S) file and the operation and maintenance (O&M) manual, meeting all the requirements of Regulation 38 of the Building Regulations.

 

As BIM develops, it should contain all of the necessary information to enable the occupier to operate the building. This should include warranties and guarantees, installation and maintenance instructions, and details of third party certification as well as its operational or application limits.

 

BIM process

 

According to the government’s Industrial strategy: government and industry in partnership: Building Information Modellling report, published in 2012: ‘Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a collaborative way of working, underpinned by the digital technologies, which unlock more efficient methods of designing, creating and maintaining our assets. BIM embeds key product and asset data and a three dimensional computer model that can be used for effective management of information throughout a project lifecycle – from earliest concept through to operation.’

 

This process is explained by the BIM Industry Working Task Group in a report for the Government Construction Client Group Building Information Modelling (BIM) Working Party Strategy Paper, which contained a BIM maturity model, in which four levels of development were defined:

 

BIM Level 2 compliance is required for all government projects dating from April 2016. This relates to a data collection process, rather than a design led 3D modelling approach, although the individual components/objects will need to ‘fit’ with the greater modelled picture. Level 3 compliance is thought to be at least eight or nine years away, providing time for Level 2 compliance to be perfected.

 

Current developments

 

Being able to provide structured data on building products is key to the implementation of BIM and is the area in which much work is currently being undertaken. Manufacturers are required to provide product data in a standard electronic format via the Construction Operations Buildings information exchange (COBie), with files of product data generally supplied in the form of tabular electronic worksheets.

 

Integration on the basis of proprietary interfaces for BIM is a complex issue with a number of differing product data templates (PDT) from various sources such as National Building Specifications (NBS) and Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE). However, these templates do not serve all sectors of the construction industry, with many templates for similar products containing differing information. 

 

The ASFP is working alongside the CPA, BIM4M2 and the Finishes and Interior Sector (FIS) to become a ‘Relevant Authority’ for the passive fire protection sector. A relevant authority is an organisation or association with an expertise relevant to a product, process or discipline involved in the design, delivery and operation of physical built assets. 

 

It is the role of a relevant authority to approve proposed unique parameters, information sets, product data templates and sources, and each will be set up to advise on material and process parameters.

 

ASFP is currently attending a series of meetings for bodies and trade associations that want to become a relevant authority. The first meeting was held at the end of June at Interface in London. A new platform called LEXiCON was launched, which will be used to define data relevant to each industry, so that specific data can be requested using ‘Obtainable Information Sheets’ and exported in XML/Excel, and mapped to core properties or COBie. The LEXiCON tool template developed by BRE is designed to enable manufacturers to communicate their product data to building designers, installers and end users.

 

As a relevant authority, the ASFP will develop a template that displays data/information in a unified way, allowing for structured information, and that gives a clear request and response of data flow to assist all parties involved with the building. 

 

The BIM Industry Working Task Group launched a product data specification (PDS) document last April, which outlines how consistent, accurate information can be shared to enable specification, assembly/building, ongoing maintenance of passive fire protection and replacement through a building’s lifecycle.

 

The main purpose of this technical specification is to provide a framework to support the transfer of information using plain language terms. The PDS will lead the ASFP BIM task group to develop a PDT to suit/meet its members’ needs. The ASFP PDT will be a standard questionnaire for each product type, with each PDT aiming to anticipate the information sought by every member and party within the building phases – from specification through operations to decommissioning and replacement.

 

The ASFP is currently writing a series of PDTs with the aid of its members in the passive fire protection sector, which should be completed at 

the end of 2016. 

 

For the manufacturers of passive fire protection, this presents a real opportunity. By offering BIM objects, manufacturing members will have improved access to specifiers, architects and main contractors. Working with ASFP will also provide access to marketing support from leading names in BIM, enabling them to reach new customers. ASFP specialist subcontractor members can also benefit, with those involved at an early stage gaining significant competitive advantage as more main contractors start to demand BIM 

 

Carl Atkinson is chairman of the ASFP