Modelling As-Built MEP Facilities in a BIM Environment

Abstract

BIM (Building Information Modeling) is a working methodology that centralizes all the information of a project in a single digital environment. The data are shared between all the agents of the project and contains not only the physical characteristics of the facility, but also the functional ones. BIM is also being pushed by European governments; it is already a requirement for public projects in several countries, such as the United Kingdom or Denmark among others. In Spain, BIM is required for architectural projects since 2018 and it will be compulsory for all infrastructure projects in 2019. When applying the BIM methodology to MEP (Mechanical Electrical and Plumbing) projects, it makes maintenance easier, as it is a digital model of the installation that considers the operation period. Other benefits include clash detection and easier connections. Due to all these factors, there is a demand for making BIM models for facility management in already built installations, either to comply with legal requirements or to cheapen the operational costs. Modelling the piping or finding and identifying the equipment of these installations can be a tedious process; therefore, this study aims to present a summary of the state of the art and a case study in modelling as-built MEP facilities in a BIM environment.