Pre-Fab for MEPF Subs

Prefabrication in the construction industry is on a hot growth trajectory, expected to surpass $200B in market cap over the next 16 months.

MEPF subs get to work with highly modular components on their projects but often suffer from having to assemble them in suboptimal conditions (such as 50 stories in the air before the windows are installed on a Chicago skyscraper!)

There's Nothing More Beautiful That a Well Laid Pipe {spool}

MEP prefabrication promises to ability to fabricate off site and save on labor and materials in the field. This promise is built on a foundation laid by BIM (Building Information Modeling). LOD400 BIM can deliver precise, fabrication quality models that are coordinated during pre-construction so that they can be turned into spool drawings and prefabricated in your highly controlled facility before being shipped to the work site for installation.

A.) The contract 2D design documents are converted to a 3D model.

B.) The equipment, parts and fittings are placed in the model. We have access to the largest library of fabrication quality BIM models.

C.) The model is coordinated with trades during pre-construction & signed-off as clash free.

D.) We then split the model into spools and produce simple, visual shop drawings that have all parts labeled to size and orientation. We also produce a comprehensive Quantity Take-Off (QTO) at this stage.

E.) You can now procure parts and use our shop drawings to assemble spools in your facility.

F.) Finally you can deliver spools and equipment to the job site and use our provided installation drawings to lift spools into place, precisely where they need to be without issue!

Sure I know what 3D is, but what on Earth is 7D?

The BIM industry can get a little ahead of itself when it comes to inventing new ideas. We're here to sift through the obfuscation and deliver the knowledge you need to simply understand your contract requirements and deliver a cost-effective and highly integrated product.

Let's be honest, this can be intimidating so let's get to defining the different dimensions of BIM:

3D: Pure geometry. This is a static model and a prerequisite to all higher dimensions.

4D: This adds the dimension of time. A model adds in a construction (or deconstruction) schedule and produces a simulation showing the construction process in order. Sometimes equipment or materials staging can be added for visualization purposes.

5D: This adds the dimension of cost. A 4D simulation plus the budget data can be integrated into a single video to simulate the burn rate of project activities.

6D: This is a stage where the a 5D simulation can be broken into constituent parts by Value Engineers (VE) and allows for the cost and schedule comparison of different design options.

7D: I added this one for clickbait!

A Pretty Chart with too Small Text

Don't be intimidated! Give us a call for a free consultation to review your scope and help decide what the best and most cost effective approach is to invest in future proofing your project needs now and for the future!

Understanding LOD

Like any industry, Building Information Modeling (BIM) is filled with acronyms. But like any industry, you shouldn't feel intimidated by the jargon!

LOD stands for Level of Development as defined by the BIM Forum and comes in several flavors:

LOD100: Very basic, conceptual modeling. General blocky shapes including rough overall dimensions.

LOD200: Models with visually approximate sizes, shapes, and orientations.

LOD300: Accurate models suitable for producing scaled shop drawings. Sometime models at this stage include data inputs.

LOD400: Models at this stage are precise detailed assemblies ready for pre-fabrication. Models have data inputs.

LOD500: Refers to as-built conditions so that they can be used for record drawings and facility maintenance purposes.

Spotted! A Spreadsheet Matrix Heatmap in the Wild!

For some projects, a low LOD such as LOD100 or LOD200 will suffice as the most cost effective approach. But for other projects, a higher level of development is required. For these projects the LOD often increases at each stage of the design, from LOD100 at the conceptual planning stage, progressing gradually all the way up to LOD400 during pre-construction.

Don't feel lost! Contact us today for a free consultation to understand your scope as it fits into the LOD framework.