Manufacturers increasingly recognize the need to make their products BIM-ready, allowing MEP engineers to easily and quickly add up-to-date product information to their BIM model. The results are increased effectiveness in the design phase, reduced failure costs in the execution phase and more accurate forecasting in the maintenance and management phase. Especially when the product information of all systems can be easily integrated. Here, MEPcontent comes in. The largest BIM library for MEP engineers offers up-to-date BIM files from more than 300 well-known manufacturers, which can be placed directly into the Revit and/or AutoCAD project. One of these manufacturers is Ubbink, a specialist in gas flue and ventilation systems and solutions for airtight and watertight construction.
‘A few years ago, we started preparing our products for BIM in order to be able to meet the demand from the market.’
For many years, Ubbink has been developing solutions for optimal energy efficiency and a healthy indoor climate in buildings, with the customer as the starting point. "We are constantly looking for smart innovations, in which not only ease of processing but also ease of design is paramount," Mark Bloem, project manager sales at Ubbink, says. "We started preparing our products for BIM a few years ago, in order to meet the demand from the market. This has led to several advantages. First of all, failure costs can already be eliminated in the BIM model by performing clash detections. And more importantly, since our products are often included in the model in the design phase, they are also purchased more often. It’s a win-win situation.”
Ease of design
All of the popular Ubbink products are now available on MEPcontent, Mark tells. "We started with our single products, but we also publish a variety of complete systems in the BIM library. Such as our Air Excellent distribution system, in which all components are already included. As a result, the engineer no longer needs to look for separate components, which increases the effectiveness in the design phase. This is what we call ease of design as well.” In addition to the Air Excellent distribution system, the Rolux Exterior Wall System, UbiFit concentric fluegas exhaust system, the Compact 2.0 series, the 5 series roof terminals and the Ubbink HR-WTW system are also available on MEPcontent.
Collaboration with Stabiplan
"Because we don't have BIM specialists and software in-house to create the BIM content ourselves, we looked for a partner to take care of this for us," Bloem says. "That partner is Stabiplan. Not surprisingly, because approximately 85 percent of the MEP market in which Ubbink operates, makes use of Stabicad software. Stabiplan has converted our product information into BIM files, to which all graphical and parametric product information has been added. In compliance with the EMCS standard, for an optimal integration in Revit and/or AutoCAD. All relevant product information is provided through MEPcontent, an initiative of Stabiplan. In addition, the additional product and system information of all individual components can be downloaded from our own website.”
From design tool to BIM configurator
Bloem expects that in the future, BIM will evolve from a design tool to a large configurator, which offers advantages for the entire construction industry. "In addition to designing buildings and performing clash detections, bills of materials can be easily generated in BIM projects, which offers advantages in the ordering phase," he explains. "The material lists can be linked to the customer’s ordering system, from which each orders can be placed per EDI at the relevant wholesaler, who in turn places an order at the manufacturer per EDI. This increases efficiency throughout the construction chain. In addition, BIM offers great advantages during the implementation, maintenance and management phase.”
A next step, according to Bloem, is using BIM not only as a configurator for drawings, but also for calculations, to account for example for air velocities and resistance. "This is a development that is still in its infancy stages for us, but it’s a trend we are watching closely. Our ambition for the coming years is to make our complete product and system range BIM ready, in which updates and changes can also be processed easily. The first steps in this direction have already been taken.”
‘A few years ago, we started preparing our products for BIM in order to be able to meet the demand from the market.’
For many years, Ubbink has been developing solutions for optimal energy efficiency and a healthy indoor climate in buildings, with the customer as the starting point. "We are constantly looking for smart innovations, in which not only ease of processing but also ease of design is paramount," Mark Bloem, project manager sales at Ubbink, says. "We started preparing our products for BIM a few years ago, in order to meet the demand from the market. This has led to several advantages. First of all, failure costs can already be eliminated in the BIM model by performing clash detections. And more importantly, since our products are often included in the model in the design phase, they are also purchased more often. It’s a win-win situation.”
Ease of design
All of the popular Ubbink products are now available on MEPcontent, Mark tells. "We started with our single products, but we also publish a variety of complete systems in the BIM library. Such as our Air Excellent distribution system, in which all components are already included. As a result, the engineer no longer needs to look for separate components, which increases the effectiveness in the design phase. This is what we call ease of design as well.” In addition to the Air Excellent distribution system, the Rolux Exterior Wall System, UbiFit concentric fluegas exhaust system, the Compact 2.0 series, the 5 series roof terminals and the Ubbink HR-WTW system are also available on MEPcontent.
Collaboration with Stabiplan
"Because we don't have BIM specialists and software in-house to create the BIM content ourselves, we looked for a partner to take care of this for us," Bloem says. "That partner is Stabiplan. Not surprisingly, because approximately 85 percent of the MEP market in which Ubbink operates, makes use of Stabicad software. Stabiplan has converted our product information into BIM files, to which all graphical and parametric product information has been added. In compliance with the EMCS standard, for an optimal integration in Revit and/or AutoCAD. All relevant product information is provided through MEPcontent, an initiative of Stabiplan. In addition, the additional product and system information of all individual components can be downloaded from our own website.”
From design tool to BIM configurator
Bloem expects that in the future, BIM will evolve from a design tool to a large configurator, which offers advantages for the entire construction industry. "In addition to designing buildings and performing clash detections, bills of materials can be easily generated in BIM projects, which offers advantages in the ordering phase," he explains. "The material lists can be linked to the customer’s ordering system, from which each orders can be placed per EDI at the relevant wholesaler, who in turn places an order at the manufacturer per EDI. This increases efficiency throughout the construction chain. In addition, BIM offers great advantages during the implementation, maintenance and management phase.”
A next step, according to Bloem, is using BIM not only as a configurator for drawings, but also for calculations, to account for example for air velocities and resistance. "This is a development that is still in its infancy stages for us, but it’s a trend we are watching closely. Our ambition for the coming years is to make our complete product and system range BIM ready, in which updates and changes can also be processed easily. The first steps in this direction have already been taken.”