In shortBefore a modelling partner starts on a UK project, agree five things in writing: the BIM execution plan and the information requirements it answers, how files are named and classified, the level of detail and information for each element, the standards your engineer designs the services to, and how models and sheets are exchanged and checked. Most delays come from a gap in one of these, not from the modelling itself.
What should the BIM execution plan cover?
On a project run to ISO 19650, the appointing party sets out its exchange information requirements and each supplier answers with a BIM execution plan (BEP). The pre-appointment BEP shows how the team intends to meet the requirements; the post-appointment BEP is the working document. For a modelling partner the useful parts are who is responsible for which model, the dates in the master information delivery plan (MIDP), the common data environment (CDE) and its status codes, the project origin and levels, and the clash and issue process.
Ask for the current version before the first model, and ask how changes to it will be notified.
How are files named and classified?
ISO 19650 sets out a file naming pattern built from fields such as project, originator, volume or system, level or location, document type, role and number. The project's BEP fixes the exact fields and codes. Inside the model, elements are usually classified with Uniclass 2015. Agree which tables apply (Systems and Products are the common ones) and who fills in the codes, because adding classification parameters after the model is built is slow, repetitive work.
What level of detail do you need?
ISO 19650 talks about the level of information need, which covers geometry, data and documentation. In practice most UK briefs still treat level of detail and level of information separately, and it helps to agree both for each stage. A coordination model needs accurate sizes, positions and service clearances. An asset-data model needs the parameters the client will load into its own systems.
For electrical work that usually means distribution boards, containment, luminaires and equipment with the right dimensions, circuit and board references, and manufacturer data where the client asks for it.
Which standards does the engineer design to?
The modelling partner follows the design, so the engineer's standards belong on the brief: BS 7671 for wiring, BS 5266-1 for emergency lighting, BS 5839-1 for fire detection and alarm, and the lighting recommendations the project uses, for example the CIBSE/SLL Code for Lighting and BS EN 12464-1 for workplaces.
Energy rules differ across the UK. Part L applies in England, Wales has its own version, Scotland uses Section 6 of the Technical Handbooks and Northern Ireland uses Technical Booklet F. Say which one applies so that the lighting and controls documentation is prepared to the right one.
How should models and sheets be exchanged?
Agree the formats and the rhythm at the start: linked Revit models or worksets, IFC for the federated model, Navisworks for coordination, PDF and DWG for sheets, and BCF or the CDE's own tracker for coordination comments. A weekly model drop with a short change note works better than occasional large drops, and a model that opens cleanly in the federated view should be the first test.
What about handover?
Clients increasingly ask for structured asset data at handover, often as COBie or a similar spreadsheet. If the project needs it, agree the required fields at the start so the parameters are filled in as the model is built and not retrofitted at the end.
Frequently asked questions
Can you work to our BIM execution plan and CDE?
Yes. Send the BEP, the naming and classification rules, the templates and families and access to the CDE, and we follow them from the first model.
Do you classify elements with Uniclass 2015?
Yes, where the BEP asks for it. We agree which tables and codes apply and fill them in as the model is built.
Can you produce lighting calculations as well as the model?
Yes. We model the luminaires in Revit and calculate illuminance and uniformity in DIALux or AGi32 to the levels your engineer specifies.
Does your working day overlap the UK?
Yes. Our working day overlaps the UK afternoon, so queries are answered live and updates can be turned around within your working day.
SYMATEQ provides Revit MEP modelling, lighting and photometric analysis, electrical design support and drafting for projects in the United Kingdom, in your templates and to the standards you specify.
See design assist and modelling for the United Kingdom, BIM and Revit modeling, or send us a job.