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October 29, 2024
To plan and implement a building design, it has to take up various aspects of trade compliance and structural coordination. No construction project can do without a thorough ideation and implementation of clash-free designs across the building layout and structural framework. This is the reason, clash detection and conflict resolution are considered as one of the vital practices in the process of construction in any type of project.
As the process of construction starts, project planners and service engineers focus on systematically planning every action aligned with the clash detection rules. This requires creating a detailed workflow map and putting every element and component in a clearly visualized and well-defined model through BIM clash detection and coordination.
This is done by engaging multiple stakeholders across different tradeworks and implementation phases, with the help of clash detection and analysis in a common data environment. A BIM clash coordination services company with applicable experience in the domain can deliver reliable and resourceful output to best serve the specific construction project requirements.
There are various types of clashes that can occur in architectural, structural, and MEP engineering layouts and designs. BIM (Building Information Modeling) plays a crucial role in identifying and resolving these clashes, ultimately leading to error-free construction and improved project outcomes. By utilizing BIM technology, project teams can proactively detect issues before they arise on-site. Clashes in BIM can be largely categorized as hard clashes, soft clashes, and workflow clashes, each requiring specific attention for resolution.
BIM models are created following a holistic approach to build a complete design with all the systems and components placed together to provide a full-framework structural plan with detailed specifications of the building. The first visual model of a building offers a complete overview of the building structure and layout plan. This includes different trade elements and process workflows shown in a relative physical capacity and functional coordination to deliver as one unified system for the construction project.
Here, different construction disciplines like mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, structural, and architectural are put in a collaborative sync enabling an integrated workflow to make the structure function cohesively and competently. In this process of creating a consolidated model with all the trades and functions put together, there are chances that the different components, elements, and members placed in the system may have physical or application-based conflicts and clashes.
During the planning phase of the design process, all the elements are planned to be placed at a certain functional position and in a certain modular sequence following a defined construction blueprint.
In this practice, many building components may resist to adapt to the plan or face material delivery clashes. Quite possibly, wrongly interpreted workflows and functional inaccuracy in the design may result in equipment or workflow clashes. These interdisciplinary differences are taken care of by the BIM clash detection experts who have specialized software knowledge and practicing skills to use software like Revit and Navisworks to handle the entire clash detection process for detecting and resolving planning or production-level clashes.
Some of the main reasons why clashes occur in building models:
Also Read: Mastering Clash Detection in BIM: Streamlining Efficiency
It is important for the project planners and engineers to get a comprehensive and clear picture of a project to successfully drive it to completion. 3D BIM modeling provides accurate projection of the building layout and structural components including the material and dimensions across disciplines and phases, allowing the project stakeholders to visualize and estimate outputs with high precision and accuracy.
In this process clash detection and conflict resolution plays a pivotal role in ensuring coordination, coherence, and compliance in design execution and implementation to produce error-free building systems and structures.
Clash detection and coordination helps the project teams in finding any conflicts between various construction elements and procedural workflows and resolve those to avoid any fatal functional gaps and expensive reworks. Through BIM clash coordination project teams are able to resolve any conflicts and clashes that are present in the design or may possibly appear in future.
BIM clash detection and coordination further aids in having more authority and control in scaling and maintaining the project. It helps different trade operations align and fall in a cohesive and seamless functional arrangement to be acted upon to achieve higher cost efficiency and service compliance across the phases of construction. This ultimately leads to achieving a higher procedural TAT while allowing the project team to commit to a higher sustainable value in the process of execution.
BIM clash detection process involves BIM coordination experts and various techniques and practices that aim at identifying clashes, correcting erroneous workflows, performing clash analysis for optimum cross-trade coordination, rectifying conflicting building elements, doing clash-free generative designing, and performing project-wide clash detection and resolution.
The process of clash detection requires rigorous planning and execution to create an integrated course correction and value coordination framework for construction models. This involves experts who have good knowledge of system compliances and building codes, with extensive experience in clash detection and resolution. The process involves using the master 3D model with the help of clash detection software and process modules offered by tools like Navisworks or similar platforms to detect clashes and conflicts and find a resolution and perform a corrective action on it.
Let's see how the clash detection process in Autodesk Navisworks looks like:
STEP 1: For clash detection in BIM with Navisworks a clash report is generated for 3D models from different construction disciplines and functional segments.
STEP 2: Another 3D model is uploaded into the tool to perform coordination with the prior trade model placed in the system independently for the same space.
STEP 3: The process of clash detection is started by selecting the two models to be coordinated for existing or probable clashes. The report is named suitably to identify specific results.
STEP 4: Clash test is run in Navisworks. This provides a list of clashes between the two separate models with all the clash related data and details.
STEP 5: Users can select from various report options to include the details of their choice. Clicking on the "Write report" option provides a detailed report of soft and hard clashes within the two individual 3D BIM models.
This is how the clash detection reports for structural elements and process workflows across multidisciplinary trades and construction phases are produced. With this approach BIM coordinators are able to cover the entire construction process to find out the deviations in design and conflicts between different trades like electrical, plumbing, or structural engineering. This gives them a complete account of how different systems within the building structure are placed and positioned to suggest if everything is perfectly in coordination and represent a clash-free workflow to offer a seamless, efficient, and secure design for the building.
BIM-based clash detection is gaining high importance with time, as it has delivered to be a great tool for saving time and cost of a construction project and ensuring security and compliance in a building structure.
With time, this is even more required as the building requirements are getting more complex requiring a higher level of compliance across building standards and codes. This further gets highly important with greater need to integrate technology and automate processes to ensure performance-driven and cost-efficient results.
As the AEC industry looks towards enhanced execution value and control through hyper-integrated models for construction, BIM simulation and engineering is turning out to be a transformative solution. By allowing different stakeholders to come together and collaborate across the design and construction phase, clash detection and coordination helps in aligning the building components, trade disciplines, and project workflows to be in seamless elemental sync and functional compliance.
By helping with accurate BOMs, BOQs and GFC drawings across disciplines, clash detection helps in avoiding construction reworks and delays with the help of clean visualization and error-free construction mapping for optimum results.
It is not just that BIM-based clash detection and coordination is changing the way processes are conducted to produce high-efficiency and high-accuracy results. It is also streamlining the processes to a level that had not been possible otherwise without such BIM-led practices in place.
One of the most trusted and used tools for MEP clash detection and coordination that allows users to seamlessly bring together different individual 3D models from different sources and identify conflicts.
Revit is primarily a BIM authoring tool that has built-in clash detection feature to identify clashes within the same or linked building models, making it a hyper-connected one-off task.
Autodesk Construction Cloud automatically detects clashes for models across different disciplines and formats on being uploaded to Model Coordination.
BIM 360 is one of the most efficient tools for automated clash detection and rectification. It also offers an excellent resource board for preventing clashes.
Yet another user-friendly tool with user-reflective interface and service panel. Includes leading-edge conflict detection, client presentations, and rendering capabilities.
A strong BIM model-checking tool available openly to users for running rules and finding hard or soft clashes in BIM models.
BIMcollab makes use of BIM to analyze digital models and detect workflow clashes and functional conflicts between different construction disciplines, systems, and components.
BIM clash detection services play a vital role in facilitating coordinated fabrication and installation of drawings that are precisely processed through clash-free design models.
Assuring this precision in fabrication, AEC stakeholders get to see high accuracy with component manufacturing. This results in lower manufacturing waste and faster component installation on site.
With this, increased operational accuracy and better workflow management can be achieved on the floor, resulting in timely project delivery.
With clash detection and resolution done in the early design phase and pre construction stage, project teams get equipped with accurate designs to help them execute the project correctly during on-site installation.
This further helps in keeping the resources aligned with the project execution plan and practices in sync with the material installation and process compliance requirements.
This leads to optimum flow of events and enhances efficiency and accuracy across the process and curtails the chances of reworks and iterations at the work floor.
If there is a lack of clarity and information in the process, it poses a certain threat to the construction workers on site. Clash-coordinated 3D visuals allow field personnel to know about the site details and avoid operational risks and hazards.
BIM clash detection services provide a clear and coordinated construction roadmap for the project stakeholders to drive the project with a great clarity knowing and evading conflicting elements in time.
This leads to efficient planning, minimized accidental threats, reduced construction rework, and lower wastage unlike traditional design processes.
BIM clash detection services lead to high-efficiency building models that offer greater accuracy and detailed data insights into the construction project. This helps in early clash detection and resolution at the design stage or pre construction stage.
The increased clarity and cohesion of the BIM models allow project teams to efficiently plan and execute fabrication and installation of building components and materials.
This leads to a better overall project management and control and drives the entire construction project toward optimum value engagement and output.
Clash detection in BIM is one of the most critical facets of construction project planning and execution. It is not just important because of the functional clarity it provides, but also because of the data-driven insights and visual roadmap that helps in better workflow management, reduced operational risk, higher process efficiency, curtailed material wastage, and lesser rework.
In this process, BIM professionals and project participants make use of BIM integration tools and clash detection software like Navisworks, ArchiCAD, and BIMcollab to ensure inter-disciplined clash-coordinated building models.
Besides enhancing the quality and cost-efficient output across the process by keeping the designs trade-coordinated, it facilitates sustainable and environment-friendly construction, which is the way to the future of AEC domain.
Clash detection is the process of identifying conflicts or clashes between various building elements in a construction project, such as structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. This is quite crucial, as errors and delays during the construction phase can result in unnecessary delays and higher costs.
BIM (Building Information Modeling) allows for the creation of a digital representation of a project, integrating all aspects and disciplines. Advanced software tools analyze these models to detect clashes before construction begins, ensuring a smoother workflow and improved collaboration among teams.
It is considered best practice in BIM clash detection to hold model review sessions with different teams at regular intervals, to make use of clash detection tools alongside Revit and finalizing clashes in the early construction phases. This constructive measure allows for the effective avoidance of clashes in a construction project.
Effective clash resolution not only minimizes project delays but also enhances collaboration among project teams. If the conflicts are resolved before the construction phase of the project takes place, the project is likely to finish on schedule and within budget, which enables the turnaround of positive results from even the most intricate projects.
It may occur at early stages and thus save the cost and expense of rework or change orders. Coordination models involving a buffer zone allow the design teams to find potential conflicts in time, thereby avoiding costly changes during construction.
Clash avoidance is a strategic practice followed by clash coordinators to mitigate potential conflicts before they arise in the construction phase. The use of coordinated BIM models during pre-construction clash avoidance phase allows project teams to keep a check on all the models, identify potential hard clashes, and implement solutions to ensure smoother workflows and reduce the risk of project delays.
In complex projects, collaboration among multiple teams is essential for effective clash detection. The use of coordinated models lets different disciplines be checked for their relative placements and positions across the system to find clashes early on in a project. Regular meetings and the use of clash reports from BIM software facilitate communication and ensure that all stakeholders are aligned on resolving clashes before construction begins.
Also Read:
Transforming Construction Projects with MEP Coordination
BIM Clash Detection and Clash Removal Services
Scan to BIM Services
Merlin Park CNU Our MEP BIM Projects
A Comprehensive Guide to Architectural Services
The Importance of Detailed Architectural Drawings in Modern Construction
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