What is BIM and what is its specific application?

The word BIM is generally understood as "building information model", and you will find all kinds of things blown to the sky on the Internet. But do you really understand BIM?

BIM is the abbreviation of the English word Building Information Modeling, and the commonly used translation method of these three words in China is "building information modeling". ?

If you check online, you will generally see that BIM has several characteristics, such as visualization, collaboration, simulation, optimization and plotting. ?

But after knowing this, we still don't have a clear concept of what BIM is, how to use it and how to learn it. So today we will try to peel off the mysterious coat of BIM and tell you exactly what this BIM is. ?

As we said before, the translation of the three English words "building information modeling" in China is "building information model", but this translation is not suitable. ?

Under this explanation, we will think that the focus of BIM is "model", which is also the reason why many engineering projects have not achieved obvious results after applying BIM technology-users have spent a lot of money and invested a lot of manpower, and finally got a model in the computer, which feels intuitive and dazzling, but it is useless. This must be very uneconomical. ?

So what should be a better explanation? ?

A better explanation of BIM technology should be: an engineering information model which is composed of sufficient information and supports life cycle management and can be directly explained by computer programs. In other words, BIM is the whole life cycle management of the built environment supported by digital technology. ?

So you may still be a little dizzy. Let's further disassemble the three letters BIM.

B

First of all, the first letter B, building, should not be understood as "A building" in a narrow sense, but as the whole building field.

This field includes some conventional buildings, as well as urban planning, traffic engineering, environmental engineering, energy-saving engineering, underground space engineering, historical building protection engineering, landscape engineering, water engineering, agricultural engineering, water supply and drainage engineering, intelligent building engineering, landscape engineering, roads and bridges and river crossing engineering. ?

So BIM B can cover a specific part of a building, such as water heating, electricity, earthwork and so on. It can also be a single building, a community, a city, or even the relationship between man and nature. ?

It can be seen that BIM technology will not only be used in "architecture", but also in equipment, materials and gardens. As long as you work in the engineering field, BIM technology will have a different relationship with you.

M

Let's put the letter "I" in the middle of BIM at the end. Let's look at the third letter m, modeling. At present, the translation of this word in China is "model". We say this understanding is very wrong, because the word model is a model, it is a noun and a result. ?

As a gerund, modeling represents a process, not a result. Then we should understand this word as "modeling", or better understand it as "simulation". ?

If M is understood as "model", BIM technology is separated from actual construction, which is exactly what many domestic engineering projects do. ?

For example, some enterprises will set up a BIM team separately and arrange all the work about BIM for this team. ?

Such a BIM team has two main tasks. The first job is to "turn over" a three-dimensional model based on two-dimensional plane drawings at the beginning of construction, which is actually just a more dazzling expression. After the project starts, all construction work will be carried out in the traditional way, which has nothing to do with BIM. ?

After the project is completed, BIM team will modify the model according to the actual situation on site, hand in a complete version of the model and hand it over. ?

In this working mode, BIM is the "model" we just said. It's just a model, moving drawings or completed projects to a computer and showing them to people in a three-dimensional way. Such a BIM will naturally not generate any value. This is also the place where the first batch of people engaged in BIM work in China often vomit. They didn't spend less money staying up late and didn't create any value. They think BIM is useless. ?

And if we understand M in BIM according to "simulation", that's not the case. As we know, the project is a dynamic result of multi-participation. ?

At present, BIM technology is mostly used in the design stage, and traditional plane drawings are replaced by three-dimensional models. BIM will only be applied to the design stage, and only participants will design. As a product, a project has just begun in the design stage.

We said that BIM should participate in the whole life cycle of the project. Just before construction started, the owner called designers, constructors, material suppliers and supervisors to make a BIM model. Note that the participants here are not just designers. For example, all parties who use BIM technology often ignore the role of materials and equipment suppliers in the previous process. ?

At this stage, before the project really starts, we are actually simulating the whole project in the computer. At this time, this model is actually the "model of the work to be completed" and has been completed in the computer. ?

In the actual construction process, participants will try their best to build according to this model, and the best way to build according to this model is that in the initial "simulated construction", all parties can participate in the establishment of the "digital model", and * * * can find problems together and solve problems together. If one party does not participate in modeling, such as the construction party, then the digital model will encounter the same problems as the traditional method when it is implemented. ?

Give an example that everyone can understand. For example, we build a house with a door width of 0.9 meters and a large fish tank 3 meters square in the house. If only the designer spends the model of the fish tank in this room, there is no problem. This model is easy to draw on a computer. ?

However, without the participation of the construction party and the simulation of the process, you will find that the door is open and the fish tank cannot be carried in when the actual construction is carried out. Then you have to tear down the door again, move it into the fish tank and put it back on. This kind of disassembly is a waste in traditional construction. ?

You see, even with BIM technology, we only turned the completion of the plane building into three dimensions, but the situation that the fish tank could not be moved in did not improve. Only when all parties involved in the construction of digital model are involved, and in the process of construction, the model is dynamic and the problems are solved in advance before they appear, can this model have the value of existence. ?

Let's talk about our fish tank, which involves designers, constructors and equipment manufacturers. This problem can be solved as follows: either in this process, we should consider leaving a three-meter hole in the wall, then moving the fish tank into the house, and then sealing the hole to make a door. This is possible. ?

Or we need an aquarium manufacturer to design a detachable aquarium, and the size of each component can be moved into the door, which is also possible. ?

In the actual project, we face not only a door, but also a fish tank. We will encounter all kinds of strange problems, such as space size, construction process, insufficient lighting caused by an unexpected object blocking a window, unreasonable arrival time of materials, waiting for the other party to delay the construction period and so on. ?

BIM is the process of finding these problems in the computer simulation model before they happen in reality, proposing solutions, simulating them again after solving them, and constantly solving the problems in advance. ?

Therefore, the translation of this M into simulation is not only the crossover operation between the design stage and the final completion stage, but also runs through the whole construction process. ?

As we said just now, the problems that a project may encounter are not only the collision between the door and the fish tank, but also various other problems. Then we know that it is not enough to solve the problem of size, which will go back to the letter I in the middle of our BIM, which is the soul of BIM technology. ?

I

Finally, let's look at the letter I, I is information, which means information. This information can be divided into geometric information and non-geometric information. Let's talk about geometric information first. ?

In the example we just gave, the size of the door and the size of the fish tank are geometric information. One of the major uses of BIM model is to solve collision problems with geometric information. It can check whether the fish tank collides with the table next to it. That is to say, if these two things collide in the model, then in the actual construction process, we either move the fish tank or the table, and once we move, it may collide with other things. Collision detection is to automatically calculate whether objects fight with each other in space by computer, and solve such problems in advance. ?

Except the size information of this model, all information is called non-geometric information. Let's return to our example. We have just discussed two solutions. The first is to move the fish tank first and fill the hole before opening the door. Then the order of moving the fish tank first and then opening the door is a message. The second option is to ask the manufacturer to produce a detachable fish tank. How many parts should this fish tank be disassembled and installed in what order? Did the buyer install it himself or did someone install it? The time, place and telephone number of door-to-door installation are also a message. ?

For example, what is the material of this wall with holes drilled in advance? Can you bear enough internal force to prevent the building from collapsing? This is a message. Does the installed fish tank need to be bolted? What is the size and model of the bolt? This is still information. ?

These information, which can not be expressed by geometric information, are put into BIM model by all participants in order to find problems in advance and facilitate management. ?

Of course, the example we gave is just a simple example for everyone to understand that the number of non-geometric information successfully used in a project often determines the depth of application of BIM technology in this project. ?

Let's see what information is needed in the project. ?

Project concept stage: project site selection simulation analysis, visual display, etc. ?

Surveying and mapping stage: topographic mapping and visual simulation, geological parameter analysis and drawing design. ?

Project design stage: parametric design, sunshine energy consumption analysis, traffic line planning, pipeline optimization, structural analysis, wind direction analysis, environmental analysis, etc. ?

Bidding stage: cost analysis, green energy saving, scheme display, roaming simulation, etc. ?

Construction stage: construction simulation, scheme optimization, construction safety, schedule control, real-time feedback, engineering automation, supply chain management, site layout planning, construction waste treatment, etc. ?

Project operation stage: intelligent building facilities, big data analysis, logistics management, smart city, cloud platform storage, etc. ?

Project maintenance stage: 3D point cloud, maintenance inspection, cleaning and pruning, fire escape simulation, etc. ?

Project update stage: scheme optimization, structure analysis, finished product display, etc. ?

Demolition stage of the project: blasting simulation, waste treatment, environmental greening, abandoned transportation treatment, etc.

This information has always existed in traditional design and construction methods. They are generally recorded in the form of words or tables in engineering projects, and it is difficult to sort out and correspond when using them. ?

Our BIM technology is to put this information into our real-time simulation. ?

BIM technology has been widely used in integrated project delivery (IPD), which is a popular construction project delivery mode in recent years. BIM unifies and cooperates all the information delivered by the project, including architectural design, civil engineering design, structural design, mechanical design, construction, price estimation, schedule and project life cycle management. Simply put, BIM enables the construction industry to achieve information and efficient production like general industrial products.

Information is dead, informatization is alive, and only informatization can truly reflect the value of BIM. Informatization means using computer, artificial intelligence, internet, robot and other information technologies and means to realize intelligence in the field of architecture. The information applied by these means needs to be sorted and arranged before it can be reused. ?

So speaking of this, let's review the correct understanding of BIM. B should be understood as a broad field of architectural engineering, not a single building. I should understand it as informationization rather than simple informationization, and M should be understood as simulation rather than model. ?

Therefore, a more accurate understanding of the word BIM should be: information simulation in the construction industry. ?

Then BIM, which is often advertised in the market, is modeling, that is, learning a software. This statement is self-defeating.