The words Building Information Modeling, commonly known as BIM in engineering is a modern technique of representing the functional and physical attributes of building structures digitally. As commonly known in engineering, construction of any facility starts with designs, and follow life-cycles. BIM provides a platform which forms the foundation of knowledge and information sharing about a service. A primary premise of BIM is one in which different stakeholders support and reflect their roles by obtaining, inserting, and modifying information at various phases of the facility’s life cycle. Over many years, architects and contractors have found BIM useful in reducing the conflicts and providing a solid commencement and delivery of 3-dimensional rendering for better putting up of buildings. However, the MEP engineers have not moved from the traditional 2-dimensional designs, until recently when they saw it wise to train in relevant software programs.
Some days ago, many firms associated with MEP believed in BIM such that they have resorted to embracing and undertake investment with the designs related to 3D+ architecture. The systems are provided by the trade contractors and design firms which are independent in operation. The coordination of the BIM systems into MEP firms involves equipment location and routing of HVAC pipes to satisfy the need to avert the various types of constraints that are likely to occur. In the past, MEP coordination was only based on a subsequent and overlaying architectural works, derived from different trades to identify and remove the interference from the other MEP systems, and this was indeed not economical in terms of time. However, with the inclusion of BIM, the process is now able to evolve with technology. Recent research studies have shown that BIM can make the coordination process in buildings much better.
Finally, a major advantage of MEP is its capability to perform the task of automatically scheduling of the modelled equipment and its components or elements. However, the same instance here also remains to be another challenge towards MEP engineers because of the unavailability of global specifications for similar parameters. Meanwhile, style guide used by the Revit software gives the acknowledgment for both standards and efforts applicable in giving directions to the users when it comes to proper identification and utilization despite the lack of convention that is agreed on as at present.
