Now, most of the companies we speak to have a good understanding of what ‘BIM’ means, how it can benefit their business, and, most importantly, prevent them from losing existing or new project where BIM is a requirement.

Why BIM - An office design approach

During this year’s Clerkenwell Design Week, we presented ‘#whyBIM; an office furniture approach’ each day; we demonstrated a range of services using BIM families recently created for Arrow Group’s Formetiq brand.

We undertook some detective work throughout these presentations to see how well BIM is affecting you. A huge 44% felt they knew what BIM was but wanted some more guidance, whereas 50% had either never heard of BIM or had minimal knowledge.

Sales Team

Shockingly, 57% of sales attendees rely on themselves or co-workers to count each item of furniture to produce a quotation. Not only is this open to human error, but what if amendments are made to the drawing? The amount of time spent completing this task once, twice, maybe three times, per project can equate to a high cost to the business. Plus, I imagine it to be quite a laborious task!

Jump to 01:20 on the link below for a demonstration on how Revit Architecture can generate your quotes instantly…no more counting! https://youtu.be/4EgZRHlksNY

Design Team

It is fantastic to see that a third of our visitors were already using Revit Architecture. This ranged from 7 years of experience to just a few days.

It would be difficult to ignore that having access to BIM families makes space planning a dream! Especially those files that follow the UK standards provided by both the National Building Specification (https://www.thenbs.com/services/our-tools/nbs-bim-object-standard) and Building Smart (http://www.buildingsmart-tech.org/ifc/IFC4/Add2/html/). Files named in the same manner no matter the author, parametric models reducing the number of ‘blocks’ required, and predefined component finishes allowing for 3D views to be created instantly.

Facility managers

One of the key goals of converting to this new way of working is to manage the life cycle of a building better. This is the digital age, yet many facility managers will still be storing lever arch folders itemising the building’s contents. 2D floor plans and contact details for repairs and replacements are likely to be outdated. A Revit file would now be handed over to the building’s owner, not on a disk or USB, as a digital cloud file; stored for decades to come, accessible anywhere and with no software requirements.

Your Client

It doesn’t need to be all technical drawings and data sheets, especially when 53% of customers expect a little extra.

By taking advantage of the time saved and the efficient process that can be adopted when using Revit, offering 3D renders, walkthroughs, and even VR panoramas can become standard. We provide these for 70% of our projects, and they are quick to create and help secure the contract.

Here is a walkthrough of Arrow Group’s Design Hub in Clerkenwell that was modelled and rendered within Revit. https://youtu.be/lmT9PR6byBw

Summary

BIM is the evolution of CAD that improves accuracy, increases project speed and promote collaboration. Together we can eliminate errors in our digital building before installation by collaborating via a central model, preventing product waste, and reducing project delays. Within one singular business, teams can share the information, which decreases the need for duplicated files in multiple software formats, ultimately forming the ideal streamlined process.

Furniture manufacturers are following the construction industry into the next generation of digital modelling. Generic models are becoming a thing of the past, allowing real-life manufacturer products to be specified at the very early stages of a project. Customers can now take a true glimpse into their new environments with the help of parametric CAD models, linked true architecture, and super-fast rendering.