How Can Manufacturers Get Into BIM? | The B1M

As a product manufacturer, you’ve no doubt heard of building information modelling (BIM). You might be considering how it is going to change your business and what action you may need to take. Here CoBuilder UK’s Nick Tune explains what BIM actually is, why project teams need the data about your products and how sharing it can directly benefit your bottom line. WHAT IS BIM? Nick opens with a simple explanation of what BIM itself actually is. The acronym stands for “building information modelling”; the process of developing ‘information models’ about a built asset by linking graphical and non-graphical data in a shared digital space that everybody can access (a ‘common data environment’ or CDE). “Ultimately BIM helps with designing, constructing and managing assets in an improved way, providing real-time savings and cost benefits” explains Nick. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO MANUFACTURERS? When it comes down to it, buildings and infrastructure are made-up of construction products. The project teams developing the information models mentioned above require accurate data about these products to include with their data sets. Nick explains: “As a product manufacturer you need to provide the data, about your products to the whole supply chain so that the designers and contractors can select the properties they need. By doing so, you have a far higher chance of actually being procured”. WHAT DO I NEED TO DO? Good news: all the data and information that people require, you already have. The trouble is it may currently sit within PDFs, spreadsheets or printed product catalogues. You need to set this data free and make it interoperable so that people can use it in different languages and data formats to suit their needs. Nick acknowledges that you may want to consider creating 3D representations of your products – often termed ‘BIM objects’ – for use in marketing or for designers, but is quick to reiterate the importance of your data and making it freely available. He goes on to introduce ‘Product Data Templates’ or PDTs. Essentially these are standardised lists of a product’s properties and values. Once you have completed a PDT with the data about your particular product, it becomes known as a ‘Product Data Sheet’ or PDS. HOW DO I SHARE MY DATA? Platforms such as CoBuilder’s goBIM offer an easy way to create PDSs about your products, making them readily available to your clients so that they can select the properties and data they need. Such an approach makes your products highly attractive to those wanting to specify them. It also allows you to see who is using your data and to understand the specific elements of the data that are important to them. Where you wish to create 3D representations of your products, a number of online product libraries exist hosting objects that specifiers can download. Nick ends with a simple but very powerful point: “Don’t be scared of BIM. You just need to make your data available. You already have all of this information!” Learn more about CoBuilder and their goBIM solution here: http://www.theb1m.com/advert/cobuilder Nick Tune is CEO of CoBuilder UK, a Board Member of BuildingSMART UK and a Management Executive for BuildingSMART International. Follow him on Twitter: @Nick_Tune (https://twitter.com/nick_tune). For more BIM videos subscribe now - http://ow.ly/GxW7y The B1M is the definitive video channel for building information modelling (BIM). We want to inspire a million people through our videos to help mobilise BIM adoption around the world. View this video and more at http://www.TheB1M.com Follow us on Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/TheB1M Like us on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/TheB1M Follow us on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-... B1M pictures on - http://instagram.com/theb1m/ We welcome you sharing our content to inspire others, but please be nice and play by our rules: http://www.theb1m.com/guidelines-for-sharing Our content may only be embedded onto third party websites by arrangement. We have established partnerships with domains to share our content and help it reach a wider audience. If you are interested in partnering with us please contact Enquiries@TheB1M.com. Ripping and/or editing this video is illegal and will result in legal action. © 2016 The B1M Limited | Share + Inspire