BIM

BIM: UNLOCKING THE GOLDEN THREAD

Paul Thompson, BIM Manager for ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions, explains how BIM software holds the key to unlocking the golden thread between door design, construction and compliance.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is revolutionising the way we build, providing those involved in public sector construction with the tools they need for more efficient planning, design and building processes.

The uptake of the technology has been rapid, with awareness and usage of BIM rising from 13% in 2011 to 73% in 2020. As adoption has increased, the technology has also developed to support the evolving needs of the construction industry, with platforms now more sophisticated than ever before.

The evolution of BIM technology has coincided with the tightening of Building Regulations within the industry, with emphasis currently placed on the ‘golden thread’ approach outlined by Dame Judith Hackett in her report, ‘Building a safer future’.

She recommends the introduction of a ‘golden thread’ as a tool to manage buildings as holistic systems, and allow people to use information to safely and effectively design, construct and operate their buildings.

Essentially, the ‘golden thread’ is both the information that allows you to understand a building, and the steps needed to keep both the building and people safe, now and in the future. So how can BIM technology help to create a ‘golden thread’ and ultimately make public sector buildings safer?

BIM in practice

BIM has paved the way for compliant construction and safe buildings by allowing architects and designers to visualise aspects of a construction project to ensure safety ahead of erection.

For example, ASSA ABLOY’s Openings Studio software application is an add-on to the commonly-used design platforms. This enables seamless extraction of door design intent and all relevant interfaces to assist project design teams to seamlessly develop complete door requirements that meet Building Regulations.

Product information, performance data and budget information are captured within the BIM design environment, and through real-time, collaborative working, these designs can be validated for compliance, functional performance and aesthetics plus presented as 3D views that can be fully re-integrated into the overall project design.

This provides a unique, collaborative tool for all project stakeholders, helping to minimise costs and streamline the data sharing process throughout the entire project lifecycle – from the initial design, right through to construction, delivery, asset management and beyond.

An extension to Openings Studio has recently been developed, which offers a mobile solution that directly accesses this data for use during the door installation process, ensuring full validity of the finished product prior to project completion – but more importantly, the application enables detailed onsite inspection of doors in service using the same data, thereby verifying continued compliancy. Detailed and summary reports are automatically produced and logged. This unique application provides the essential ‘golden thread’ between the design intent and the door in service.

The golden thread

The complete data associated with the door and hardware can be developed in partnership with the architect through collaborative 3D capabilities, seamlessly extracting and inputting all the door information from and to the building model or uploading the data in 2D format from developed schedules.

With linked internal systems, ASSA ABLOY uses this final schedule of information to manufacture the complete doorset solution including the leaf, frame and all specified hardware. The mobile app is then used by engineers on site to install, check and verify the compliant and completed products in line with the specification and schedule during construction. Finally, the app offers an easy-to-use ‘checkbox’ system to carry out and capture detailed inspections based on the specific details of each door included in the schedule.

The future of BIM

This solution is where the future of BIM lies, offering reports to validate if a door has remained compliant or identify what elements of the door need to be corrected or replaced to return the product to the standard required. The software also provides full traceability and ownership of all changes at all stages, including the detailed inspection and service records.

This allows the doorset to be managed as a holistic compliant solution, and meets the expectations outlined by Dame Judith Hackett. Most importantly, it connects all elements of the doorset through a single source.

This eliminates the risk that doors are pieced together as an assembly of parts from various sources by a joiner or builder on site, and maintained and repaired as a collection of individual door components by a building maintenance engineer.

To enable BIM’s full potential, the industry needs effective tools and software, and when it comes to doorsets and ironmongery, using applications such as Openings Studio can truly unlock the potential of BIM and create the ‘golden thread’ for safer buildings now and in the future.  www.assaabloyopeningsolutions. co.uk/specification