Kevin riley, metsa Wood uK’s vicepresident construction industry, has a vision of homeownership in the future.
"There’ll come a time when a homeowner won’t just be given a handbook on his new house, he’ll be given a tablet that will allow him to ‘understand’ it; how it’s put together and how it should ‘work’. They’ll be able to put it against the wall and see exactly where studs, pipes and the cables are so they can hang a shelf, or be able to check the boiler installed is operating properly," he said.
With the advent of Building Information Modelling (BIM), he maintained, that kind of "future" is already dawning. In a nutshell, BIM utilises software systems that can be accessed by all the parties within a construction supply chain – architects, structural engineers, manufacturers, contractors and so on. The overall design of a building is carried out in a software package – such as Revit – that embraces BIM, resulting in a 3D model into which project partners feed their own product and design information in BIM-compatible formats.
As the project progresses, modifications are flagged so different players can make tweaks and/or advise on how to manage changes. Working in this way means avoiding the ‘clashes’ between disciplines, trades and products that can result in costly remedial work if not caught before work gets under way. The potential for improving efficiencies within construction is obvious and there are many examples where this is clearly proven. BIM also allows information such as life cycle analysis and energy performance to be embedded in the 3D model.
In the UK, BIM is a government-driven initiative and all public sector construction has to be BIM compliant by 2016.
Metsä Wood has also been to the fore of adapting systems’ data for BIM in the private commercial sector and now private residential sector.
The company launched its first BIM compatible product families in 2013, working with the market leading BIM Store. Products covered now are Finnjoist and the Finnframe floor system, FinnSor Roof Panel System, Kerto-Q and Kerto-S, Leno CLT floor, roof and wall systems, the Low-E wall system, Kerto-Ripa panels, the Soundbar floor system and Thermowood cladding. This pre-prepared data can be exported into the Revit BIM platform and, to date, Metsä Wood has seen more than 5,000 data downloads from its website or www.bimstore.co.uk
Last 2014 saw another new development when Metsä Wood adapted its Finnframe flooring system for BIM for Avant Homes, which had decided to create all its standard house types – 70-80 of them – in Revit. "We had already made the decision to go with BIM compatibility for Finnframe so the timing was perfect," said Frank Werling, head of technical engineering and design.
The hard part for Metsä Wood was how to adapt its ready BIM adapted software, for this other BIM-enabled system.
The company worked with its long term partner, Finnish software house Vertex, to allow designs to be incorporated into Revit. "Now we design a floor as normal, but also have a model that is migrated into Revit," said Mr Werling. "Everything that is delivered by Metsä Wood and our distributor network is then in this model."
This adaptation, he added, means that Finnframe, for example, is also compatible with other BIM software such as Graphisoft, Bentley, Vectorworks and ArchiCAD.
"Housebuilding underpins our business at King’s Lynn so it makes sense to take BIM to the next step to be embraced by developers for standard housing projects," said Mr Riley. "We can deliver Revit files quickly and efficiently and really unlock the benefits of BIM for housebuilders."
Clash deTeCTion is a huge benefiT "With Avant Homes we saw from the 3D model that some of the downlighters in the kitchen clashed with the position of the joists," said Mr Werling. "If that hadn’t been detected at that point then the electrician would have cut straight into the joist because he wouldn’t have been able to see it was there above the ceiling Mr Riley believes other builders will now follow Avant’s example and move to BIM to drive standardisation and efficiency. And that, he added, that can only be good for the timber sector.
"There is now a greater interest in using timber in all manner of more complicated structures and by making these BIM objects more available – by putting Kerto out there, for instance, as a post, a beam, a plate, a bracing element – it actually demystifies timber to a degree. There are now products and systems with all the values behind them so that architects, who might otherwise have been wary of wood, can detail in it with confidence. BIM models are making engineered timber and engineered timber solutions and the opportunity to build with them more accessible
