BIM is a government driven shared knowledge resource, providing all of the information about every component of a building, in one easy to access place. It enables construction professionals to digitally model a building and examine its entire life-cycle, from inception and design to demolition and materials reuse. Using BIM data reduces the risk of mistakes or discrepancies at an early stage, making for more cost-effective, safe construction.
The Polypipe Ventilation BIM Library features an extensive array of products, including energy saving, whole house Silavent HRX Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) appliances and Silavent CMX Mechanical Extract Ventilation (MEV) units, as well as award winning Domus Radial semi-rigid duct systems and its full range of Domus rigid ducting and accessories, which incorporates Domus Thermal duct insulation and duct sound attenuators.
BIM ‘Object’ data on Polypipe Ventilation products includes detailed information such as product properties, geometry, visualisation data and functional data that enables the ‘object’ to be positioned and behave in the same manner as the product would in-situ. Airflow rates, for example, can be set at each grille or air valve, allowing engineers to easily and more accurately estimate pressure losses and velocities within the ductwork, which isn’t possible using other design packages, such as AutoCAD. Product dimensions are automatically calculated to ensure it fits into the desired design space and even the correct amount of product required is calculated within BIM to prevent product wastage. In addition, BIM enables parts to be automatically scheduled during the design process, for speed and maximum convenience.
UK BIM processes range from Maturity Level Zero to Level Three. Typically, a Level One project will use a mixture of 3D CAD and 2D work and is the level at which most private-sector companies now find themselves. Now required by law for centrally procured public sector projects, Level Two denotes projects where all parties use their own 3D CAD models (although these will not, necessarily, be working on a single, shared model) and design information is shared through a common file format, enabling any organisation within the project to combine the data with their own. It is considered only a matter of time before deadlines are put into place for the rest of the construction industry and beyond to meet Level Two.
