{"id":32730,"date":"2017-04-24T15:48:15","date_gmt":"2017-04-24T14:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=32730"},"modified":"2022-10-19T16:03:32","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T15:03:32","slug":"product-manufacturers-bim-importance-standardised-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/digital-construction-news\/bim-news\/product-manufacturers-bim-importance-standardised-data\/32730\/","title":{"rendered":"Product manufacturers and BIM: the importance of standardised data"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alex Small, BIM and Digital Platforms Manager at Tata Steel outlines the challenges construction product manufacturers face on their route to BIM<\/h2>\n

Adopting BIM is a multifaceted undertaking for a company of any size, requiring significant investment for the smallest of construction product manufacturers and demanding copious amounts of time from larger manufacturers.<\/p>\n

For manufacturers starting out on their BIM journey, one of the most pressing issues can be deciding whether or not to use a BIM data hosting company and, if so, which one to appoint. Part of the reason why this is a daunting task is that the hosting company can also determine the data that needs to be created.<\/p>\n

For example, some hosting companies will require a 3D object with all the data attached; others will want to just host the data, not a drawn object. The format in which the information is supplied also needs to be considered, with the options including Revit, ArchiCAD, IFC or XML.<\/p>\n

Understandably, for those merely entering the BIM arena, this can be an extremely confusing and time-consuming decision-making process.<\/p>\n

Within the UK there are a number of established BIM data-hosting companies; BIMobject, BIMstore, coBuilder and the NBS Library to name but a few.<\/p>\n

However, each hosting company requires differing levels of information supplied in varying formats. For example, BIMobject believes that a manufacturer\u2019s data must be linked to the 3D object and to also be provided by the manufacturer to avoid error. Alternatively, coBuilder champions that the data is the key and allowing it to be linked to a generic object or one drawn by the specifier is the ideal process.<\/p>\n

BIMstore and the NBS Library also require 3D objects, but both have (historically) different data requirements to both coBuilder and BIMobject.<\/p>\n

This is due to the current variation in Product Data Templates (PDTs) from manufacturer to manufacturer, with few common naming conventions. This makes it complicated for BIM hosting companies to define what data they require and for those throughout the construction supply chain to easily compare products.<\/p>\n

For example, the length of a steel beam could be under a field entitled \u2018length\u2019 from one supplier and \u2018total length\u2019 from another. This discrepancy in parameter naming may mean that a computer is unable to compare like with like or to automatically identify certain product characteristics.<\/p>\n

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Slough bus station<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Product data<\/h3>\n

Standardised product data is therefore of paramount importance, especially when PDTs include a product\u2019s legislative compliance. Within the UK, several layers of information are required, these include:<\/p>\n