BIM files are a model fit
Andrews Water Heaters is offering construction professionals a tailored solution to working with BIM Level 2, with the launch of multi-level BIM files designed to meet requirements at critical stages of a project.
Responding to feedback from building services engineers, the brand has announced plans to create two Autodesk Revit families for each of its products, providing different levels of detail (LOD) to specifiers and contractors.
Research has shown that those working at the initial design stage could find large volumes of highly detailed BIM files problematic, as they cause models to become clunky and make them difficult to work with.
As a result, Andrews has devised a basic option (LOD 3) to be used while the design is still being finalised, with a more intricate file (LOD 5) offering detailed information such as energy savings and service and maintenance schedules at handover.
BIM Level 2 became a mandated requirement for all centrally procured public sector projects in April this year, meaning that professionals at every part of the design and construction supply chain will need to adopt the new ways of working in order to tender for work.
Chris Meir, sales director at Andrews Water Heaters, said: "Many manufacturers have made the assumption that bigger is better - that the more detail they build into their files, the more useful they will be.
"However, through talking to our client base we have found that a different LOD is needed at different stages of a project, leading to our new multi-level offering which we hope will help to make life easier for professionals across the construction chain.”
Both versions are being developed in line with the CIBSE Product Data Template (PDT) standards as they are released, with a set of files for storage water heaters available from the Andrews website and area sales managers now.
