Spec Finish

Feature 22 www.thefis.org Validation This cannot be done manually. We need to use computer programmes to carry out the validation; automatically checking that the required information has been provided and the links to related information actually work. That requires all of the critical information to be machine-readable – described in the Government’s golden thread guidance as ‘structured digital information’. But what does that really mean? A door manufacturer’s product data sheet may clearly state its fire rating – as long as you are a human reading it. A computer will not understand that FD60, FD-60, and 60min are all the same – or if they are not in the same place on the page and carry the same description. The properties/attributes/parameters (the values and units of measure) all need to be set out in a format that allows a machine to read them. How supply chains can help Manufacturers and most installation contractors work hard to provide all the answers their clients might need, but often complain that clients don’t set out exactly what information they need (questions) and in what format. That is what the BIM4Housing Round Tables are trying to address, bringing together owners, designers, manufacturers, installers, inspectors and maintainers who are willing to share their knowledge and expertise to determine what information is required to create and maintain the golden thread. Main contractors said that >50% of defects result from drylining so, given the importance of partitioning for fire safety, the delivery of digital information about fire walls will be particularly important – the procurement process needs to recognise the cost, and any impact on the programme will need accommodating. (BIM4Housing has produced free guidance for fire doors, fire walls, fire dampers, smoke dampers, fire stopping, cavity barriers, fire signage, emergency lighting, automatic opening vents, sprinklers, dry/wet risers and alarms and detectors.) Digital record The lessons we can learn from established regulated industries such as oil and gas, water and nuclear, is that the digital asset is as equally important as the physical asset. If you don’t have a record that something was installed or maintained properly, it will be considered a defect. Many of the newly recruited building safety regulators have come from the oil and gas industries where digital evidence is key and it is likely that the regulator will expect a fire strategy to refer to a fire plan and the fire risk assessment to reference the mitigation (or ‘treatments’ in risk-speak) such as compartmentation, along with all the asset types that protect that compartment and the evidence that they were installed, commissioned and maintained properly. Both performance and prescriptive specifications will be required to be connected, along with product data, any required test certificates and photos of the installation. The regulator will reasonably expect to be able to follow the golden thread and, not only find the information they need, but also see that it is a structured digital format so those managing the digital asset in the future are able to continue to find what they need. A pdf-based O&Mmakes that a very tricky process – which is why very few O&Ms are kept updated. The location of individual assets and products needs to be provided as x/y/z coordinates so fire stopping, for example, is properly referenced with the models/drawings of that detail where penetrations are made. If the user has to locate and cross-reference several different pdfs, mistakes will happen and risks will be overlooked. Standardised data libraries The manufacturing industry has well- established methods that achieve high quality products by standardising components, interfaces and processes. BIM4Housing is trying to learn from that by encouraging the creation of standardised, reusable data libraries that can be used freely by all members of the project – owners, designers, contractors, manufacturers and operators – within their software applications of choice to produce structured digital data. If the requirements are digital (the questions), they can be automatically related to the attributes in the submissions (the answers) and validated. Installers andmanufacturers can invest once in creating the digital information the clients andmain contractors are asking for, and then reuse this quality assured data repeatedly. Project information models This graphic from the ISO Standard, that defines BIM, illustrates that it is about much more than 3D models: There are several software firms that provide a platform to coordinate all the project data and allow it to be maintained – sometimes called a ‘digital twin’. The project information models (PIM) collates all the 3D, 2D files, schedules, documents, photos (2D and 360) and product data progressively as the building is built – making a digital record of everything that goes into that building. It will include the 3D BIMmodel but that is not the centre of everything, because many items that are installed will never be modelled in sufficient detail – such as fire walls, finishes, ironmongery and valves – but they can all be included, coordinated and validated in the PIM. Asset information models The PIM is transformed into the asset information model (AIM), which can include many PIMs as they are completed, along with information about the rest of a portfolio of properties. Its federated and coordinated data can populate maintenance management, lifecycle, energy and even digital twin solutions. However, the common (golden) thread is the structured digital information. If you have that, you can do anything. Without it, the asset manager will remain beleaguered, putting owners and contractors legally exposed, and tenants at risk. www.bim4housing.com