Here, Duncan Reed, Trimble's Digital Construction Process Manager, shows how off-site manufacturing and Building Information Modeling (BIM) are well suited to creating more collaborative and efficient partnerships, and producing a new generation of impressive, sustainable buildings.
Off-site manufacturing, as the name suggests, is a process that can, and does, benefit from the use of technology. Whether through virtual product development, BOMs or the logistics associated with transport and delivery, many parts of the day-to-day running of an off-site manufacturing business are now seen as integral elements of the BIM revolution: product development - 3D, BOMs - 5D and logistics - 4D.
So, in many ways, off-site manufacturing and BIM are like two long-lost brothers finally reunited. The technologies and processes that the offsite manufacturing industry has been using for years can now be leveraged in a more collaborative way across the project, across the team, to reduce risk and improve project outcomes. Indeed, BIM as a process can, and does, bring efficiencies to companies' existing methods and procedures, enabling projects to be delivered faster, more competently and with greater reliability for customers.
The Baku National Stadium in Azerbaijan has taken advantage of BIM (Building Information Modeling). The Tekla model was used to create a 3D graphic animation of the complex roof installation procedure.
Thinking of BIM as a process turns what some might consider constraints in the off-site manufacturing process into advantages. For the "last minute" construction industry, the need to make decisions early to enable offsite manufacturing to start is now aligned with the positive need for the right data to be created by the right people at the right time within the team, to enable seamless integration of the offsite process with the project.
The keys to successful digital workflows using BIM are very similar to the key requirements for the successful delivery of off-site manufacturing:
Clearly defined project requirements.
Agreed project deliverables: quality, time and cost.
Validation of project against deliverables.
The open nature of BIM leads to a more collaborative working relationship with all parties involved. The 3D model is comprehensible to all, enabling higher levels of stakeholder engagement. This leads to clearly defined project objectives and requirements, as well as well-managed customer expectations, ensuring that the project actually delivers what is required.
Birmingham New Street Station, South Entrance - Fully designed and detailed "virtually" off-site - ensuring that all interfaces between trades had been considered and all issues resolved before any materials arrived on site.
With clearly defined project requirements, it is then easier to agree project deliverables, and in particular to assign roles and responsibilities. For the off-site fabricator, as part of the wider team, the scope of their services will be better defined by having BIM deliverables than by previous non-digital delivery methods.
Last but not least, having set up the project to work digitally, validating the physical asset against the digital schematic definition is not only easier, it's quicker to achieve. Projects using BIM are easier to commission, because the compliance processes required to validate the asset mean you get what you expected.
Having an accurate 3D modeling solution, supported by well-defined data requirements, will bring benefits at every stage of the design and construction process. From the initial creation of accurate 3D models, used to organize, plan, estimate and prepare, to the taking of the model on site, off-site fabricators can have complete confidence at every stage. The benefits of early project clarity and better-defined deliverables match the strengths of off-site manufacturing - an approach not previously available in the industry.
In addition, the design and construction advantages afforded to off-site manufacturers also contribute to improvements in asset maintenance. A product that has been examined in detail before being manufactured off-site will have taken into account how it needs to be maintained, whether in terms of accessible valves and switches, or the ability to remove entire components. Indeed, well-designed units - manufactured, not built on site - are easier to maintain. This adds further value to the customer in the operational phase of the asset. Ultimately, the assembly nature of off-site manufacturing makes it easier to disassemble the asset at the end of its life, further raising the industry's sustainability credentials.
A project using a well-structured, data-rich, buildable and team-shared model offers significant advantages to an off-site manufacturer and its extended supply chain for reusing this data, to reduce waste and improve project outcomes. The dataset can be expressed in whatever form suits the organization wishing to use the data, be it 2D drawings, linking to programs, creating schedules or visualizing the project as a 3D model.
Therefore, instead of companies being worried about the future of digital construction, now is the time for the rest of the industry to seize the opportunities that the offsite sector has already realized by working digitally, through improved project definition, collaboration and validation. By doing so, it will not only help offsite companies to show how they can take the lead in implementing BIM on a project, but also to the industry as a whole; the offsite sector has a golden opportunity to be at the forefront of the digital revolution.
