BIM for Industrial Design Gaining Momentum

TopBIM Company
4 min readMar 31, 2023

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BIM For Industrial Design

Imagine a tried-and-true technique that lowers failure costs, gets rid of unexpected design modifications, and accelerates construction. You don’t need to imagine, in actuality. It’s about time that businesses in industry benefited from the significant advantages of Building Information Modeling (BIM).

BIM for industrial design is relatively new to the building industry. However, BIM modeling has demonstrated its value in other industries like residential and utility building for quite some time. Industry leaders have embraced technologies like 3D printing, cloud computing, and Big Data in due course of time. Similarly, AEC stakeholders would adopt Building Information Modeling for industrial design.

PIM (Plant Information Model): It is a digital mock-up that helps coordinate the numerous trades involved in BIM For Industrial Design and operation of a plant. It is based on the BIM model used in the building industry. Like the automobile and aviation industries, process industries are embracing the idea. Plant Information Model (PIM) technology, a better alternative to 2D drawings, compiles all the physical, technical, and functional features of an industrial site in a digital format.

What is BIM?

Building Information Modeling life cycle approach considers design, construction, and facility operation as a whole. We gather a lot of data on a project, but we choose it carefully, and we utilize it to build models. With these models, clients can get a general idea of what to anticipate from their new assets. As a result, they are able to make key design decisions at a very early stage and can have tremendous financial stability. Conventional construction shares information through printed reports and 2D drawings. The dimensions using BIM modeling now increase to 6, 7, 8, 9, and even 10. It gives design, communication, and strategic planning.

BIM Modeling Dimensions — 3D — 10D

  • 3D — More so than any flat image can, 3D digital models of a building or plant enable clients and project teams to perceive a design as if it has actually been created.
  • 4D — It is 4D due to the aspect ratio. The construction process may therefore be shown as a digital movie, which is extremely helpful for logistics, procurement, and construction planning as well as for spotting and avoiding conflicts between sub schedules or design aspects.
  • 5D — It becomes 5D BIM model when the cost component is included; the financial information about the building components and the effects of a design modification may be seen in a matter of hours.
  • 6D — By including maintenance data to the project, which makes it 6D, strategic maintenance decisions can be made.
  • 7D — 7D is related to building lifecycle from design, construction to facility operation and maintenance.
  • 8D — 8D BIM model encompasses human safety in construction.
  • 9D — 9D deals with waste management in lean construction, optimizing project management process.
  • 10 D — 10 D is the ultimate goal of BIM related to asset management and industrial construction, striving to industrialize and improve construction productivity.

PIM provides the same level of information to all trades

This means that everyone involved in the project, including the architect, civil engineer, operator, and integrator, have the same perspective on the facility from its conception to its use. All trades operate at the same level of information. Even the smallest adjustment to an asset will be visible to everyone involved. This collaborative approach helps to get rid of a lot of things that lead to mistakes and misunderstandings.

  • Acts as a living memory: A PIM acts as a plant’s “living memory,” recording all the changes made since the design phase and assisting asset lifecycle management. Version tracking can clarify the rationale behind the design of a factory floor or workshop. For delicate businesses like pharmacy, healthcare, food, and defense, this traceability is especially helpful.
  • More than online platform: A methodology and associated processes are also included. Visual representation of anomaly detection at the precise location of the pertinent sensor makes it easier to take further action. This decision-support tool can also be used to construct asset maintenance and upgrade scenarios, such as the alteration of a production line, and to assess their impact on existing infrastructure.
  • Increases productivity: It is seen as the first stage in the roll-out of a digital twin. This complete estimate helps reduce technical, budgetary, and planning implications. The usage of a single, shared tool by the several divisions (engineering, maintenance, operation, etc.) helps PIM increase productivity.

Using a Digital Twin to Train Staff

PIM is getting more popular as a result of the benefits it provides. The manufacturing industry particularly that of automobiles and aviation was among the first to show interest in the idea, but it has gained support from the chemical, energy, and water-treatment process sectors.

Real-life Project Examples of BIM in Industrial Plants:

  • Municipal Garbage Incineration Plant in Ivry-sur-Seine, Greater Paris — The project involves building a new energy-from-waste facility in Ivry-sur-Seine, Paris. It has been digitalized with Plant Information Model for the new site.
  • Romanche-Gavet French hydropower facility: This project involves the Rhône valley’s Romanche-Gavet French hydropower facility, which is close to Grenoble. To run the facility and prepare its personnel for on-site work, a plant information model is used. Here, PIM facilitated project stakeholders to visualize a plant’s digital counterpart to remotely oversee its operations.

Certain elements of the operational and maintenance stages are available at the beginning of each project. As you go forward with building and operation, add data to the model as you go along, and you’ll have an unmatched foundation for successful and economical maintenance planning. It is literally possible to anticipate how long assets will last.

Ensure you and the people you choose to collaborate with are current on BIM. Include the advancement of technology when evaluating ideas. Remember that the cheapest won’t wind up surviving in the end. It’ll be the most intelligent.

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