"We are BIM live" was the theme of the 2016 SUM, the largest BIM event for the MEP industry in the Netherlands, organized by Stabiplan and MEPcontent. Over 600 participants were present at the Rotterdam Van Nelle Factory: both consultants, electrical and mechanical engineers, wholesalers, suppliers and manufacturers were inspired and learned from sharing experiences with BIM.
A large number of interesting projects were discussed during the sub-sessions of among other Deerns, Unica, Hoffman Elektro, DWT-groep, Van Aalst Elektro and ABT. Also the newest Stabiplan developments were discussed: the new support portal was launched and there was a preview of StabiCAD 11.
Opening: BIM LIVE as a learning process
During the opening, Gijs Willem Sloof, CEO of Stabiplan immediately raised the stakes: Netherlands is leading in Europe when it comes to BIM. The MEP industry is very innovative, and we can be proud of this. "We're all working very hard to implement BIM", Gijs Willem Sloof said. He stressed that BIM is a process of working together, learning from each other and growing together. This was also the core message of the event: "Share your experience: your disappointments and your successes," said Edwin Schalk, business development director. "We're going to do this today, but hopefully you will go home today knowing that you can just pick up the phone and can call each other. Learn from each other, then we all move forward. "
Panel discussion
An interesting panel discussion took place with different players in the industry. It appeared that a major challenge of BIM is in managing expectations, as there are different interpretations of BIM. Michiel van Wijk, international BIM manager at Deerns, said that they use a book with examples to tackle this. This way, they determine at the start of the project to what level the project will be developed based on the chosen example that was selected together with the building partners. .
Arjan van Haperen, director at Unica Projects South, also sees the value of good examples when getting started with BIM "good examples lead to followers." He adds that the I of BIM lies not only in the model, but also the information for the next party’s in the chain. It is important to understand into each other's processes and to align them with each other.
In addition to the challenges, also the advantages of BIM were discussed. So Johan Mes, commercial director of Barcol-Air said that as manufacturers, they benefit from the popularity of BIM by enriching their BIM objects with trade data. This way, engineers can order directly and calculate the model. Martijn Visscher, draftsman / engineer at Breman also sees the benefits of integrated calculations in Revit: "When the calculations meet the right standards, other calculation programs are no longer needed."
Preview Stabicad 11
Stabicad 11 will be released in the first quarter of 2017. During the SUM, visitors got a preview of what to expect. The focus in the development of Stabicad is on saving time through smart productivity tools. This means that in Stabicad 11, for example support for flexible drawing will be widely available. Integrated calculations will also play a major role. In addition to the further development of the existing calculation modules, modules for gas pipes and cable calculation will be added. This way, Stabicad offers functionality to calculate and control all types of piping systems in a building, based on local norms and standards. Finally, Stabiplan is also going to offer E-learning. With a subscription on E-learning, customers can follow online trainings whenever and wherever they want.
BIM is (mixed) reality
The fact that Virtual and Mixed Reality are no longer science fiction, but that they can actually make construction processes more efficient, became clear during the impressive presentation of Johan Schlingmann, manager of product management at Stabiplan. With the Microsoft HoloLens Schlingmann inspected a Remeha boiler and a DP Pressure unit. He also ‘casually’ placed a 3D installation in the room. Participants saw live how technical data and maintenance data from the BIM model were retrieved with the HoloLens. This way, engineers or mechanics on construction sites can cleverly benefit from information that has been added earlier in the BIM process.
BIMme: support community
The new support portal was launched with community functionality: BIMme! This is thé platform to share knowledge with thousands of active peers. Here, Stabicad users can pose questions, share knowledge and experiences with each other, and help each other to get ahead.
Check out the pictures of the event here.
