Justin Furness, Technical Director for the Council for Aluminium in Building outlines how the sector is faring in terms of BIM adoption for their products…
Back in the early 1990s and with a broad interest in engineering materials, I attended several meetings concerned with the development of STEP, the “Standard for the Exchange of Product model data”. The objective of STEP is to provide a mechanism that can describe product data throughout the life cycle of a product, independent from any particular system. That probably sounds familiar. STEP can be used to exchange data between computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing, computer-aided engineering, product data management/enterprise data modelling and other CAx systems. If you had asked me at the time, I would have said that this was something destined for the “too difficult” pile. Even in an automotive or aerospace context where supply chains were well defined and products were relatively standardised, it seemed far too ambitious. That probably also sounds familiar. And yet in 1994/95, ISO published the initial release of STEP as a family of international standards; today STEP is the biggest standard within ISO.
I think we are at a similar watershed moment with BIM in the aluminium in building sector, with increasing realisation of the importance of BIM in key markets. Our products are complex assemblies and our supply chain is similarly complex and fragmented, so we have our challenges, but we are seeing examples of companies in our sector that understand the transformation being wrought by BIM in their markets and the benefits from embracing BIM.
A quick survey of the websites for our systems company members shows that almost all provide guidance on BIM and have BIM objects available for download. The larger specialist fabricators in particular are also moving on from tried and tested 2D tools and using BIM to gain competitive advantage, taking on more complex projects, and they are starting to see projects being completed faster. Our message from the start has been that our members should appoint their internal BIM Champion, talk to their supply chain about BIM, understand what the implications for their people and internal processes might be, weigh up the benefits and then make any necessary investment, but that the technology should be last on the list.
Our Guidance Note for members which highlighted this message was released in October 2014. For the SME fabricator, this transition step presents many challenges, not least being able to properly identify those benefits. When your customers are not yet making enquiries of you related to BIM, can you identify the reasons behind this and also develop your BIM strategy?
We have been actively involved with BIM4M2 from the start and have directed our members to the support and advice available in The Curve in particular, supporting those either considering BIM or who have recently started out on their BIM journey. Recognising the critical importance of data, we have been working with our members to develop Product Data Templates (PDTs) for their products, notably windows, doors and curtain walling. We hope that the recent announcement that BIM4M2, the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), NBS and the Construction Products Association have agreed to work together to provide standardised templates will help accelerate our progress with PDTs.
As noted above, our members’ products are complex assemblies with millions of possible combinations. Not only that, but the final product is made to measure. Hence the onus will be on the specialist fabricator to provide the necessary product information on a project-by-project basis, which will entail new ways of working. This also flags up the risks of using data sheets to compare fenestration products, when the performance will depend on the size of the window, for example, so are you comparing like for like for your application? In any event and as an example, thermal performance will not only depend on the precise size of the installation so that a reference or standard size is not really relevant, but it will also depend on the local climate and orientation of the glazing, which means the performance of these products can only be properly assessed in the context of the building.
Justin Furness
Technical Director
Council for Aluminium in Building
Tel: 01453 828851
enquiries@c-a-b.org.uk