MEP to Set Modeling Standards

• If you say that you are using BIM because you care about sustainability, you could end up misleading people, including yourself.
• If you say that you are using BIM so you can conduct Building Performance Analysis, this could be an accurate statement but only if you know exactly where you are going with it.
• Do you know exactly where you are going with it?

Architects are mostly lost when it comes to understanding an energy model, while MEP engineers get lost trying to wrap their head around BIM. The use of the MEP or any consultant's model for 3D design coordination has only seceded (in my experience) when the model is used to generate drawings and therefore remains up-to-date. An up-to date model is a rare occurrences with today's MEP engineers, where they may produce design coordination models but these are one-offs that don't really assist in the coordination. The fabrication models which comes along later follow much clearer standards, which is what you would expect for information that is used to directly build off of.

Until the MEP engineers can become disciplined in their modeling habits and finally shed the tradition of drafting their deliverables, they risk loosing their design coordination responsibilities and fees to fabricators who are becoming more sophisticated about spatial design. This might not be so bad when you think about it. If the MEP engineer lightens it's design coordination load they can then invest more efforts into energy and environmental expertise, where the industry needs them to lead anyway. So how can they start to position themselves as BIM energy leaders?

One way is by teaching themselves how to use Revit for energy calculations.

Earth Rangers Centre, MCW Consultants

In the example shown here MCW Consultants chose to build their energy model first in Revit to then export into IES. At a time when other engineering firms are gaining experience by simply modelling within IES, MCW has gone a step further to understand just how a revit model needs to be built in order for a successful gbxml export...knowledge that can also be applied to Ecotect, Green Building Studio, Loadsoft or any software able to import a gbxml file format.

This level of experience should not merely be shared with the architect, but the combined Architect/MEP team should go so far as to agree upon modelling protocol before any modelling commences (day one is often the point of no return to change modelling habits).

If you find yourself saying that you are using Revit to create high performance buildings, first you must make sure that your MEP engineers are using your model, but in addition they must tell you ahead of time how you need to give it to them.

Next the contractor will shake everything up with modelling standards focused on scheduling, phasing, and clash detection. For now let's get this one worked out.