Deschacht’s BIM in practice

You are one of the first users of Deschacht's BIM library and template. How did you come into contact with this software? We continuously ask our partners to deliver things in BIM. At Dethier, we strongly believe in this working method. Because that is actually what it is—rather than just software, it is a true working method. The more parties that work according to that method, the better the result should be. You can work out all sorts of things in BIM for a building and draw complete technical installations, but if a single link is missing—something that hasn't been worked out in BIM, like a drainage system, for instance, and that needs to go into those shafts—you can still be in for surprises. So, the more complete the overall picture is, the better.

Could you elaborate on BIM as a working methodology? BIM is also about examining how partnerships can run more smoothly. In the past, a whole raft of plans was often sent to subcontractors or suppliers, for instance, with the implicit message of “figure it out yourself,” so to speak, whereas now we look much more specifically at “What does the other party need exactly to be able to do their job?” Not too much information, nor too little. We can now send information much more selectively to another party. Also to avoid ‘rework’, such as when things have to be redrawn. We also try to seriously reduce the number of revisions.

Deschacht is not a manufacturer, but a distributor. Nevertheless, Deschacht provides a BIM library for its entire range of sewerage products. What is your view on this? The advantage of the template that Deschacht has built is that it is quite comprehensive. It covers just about everything involved in a drainage system. It is not limited to specific products from a particular manufacturer. Manufacturers limit themselves to creating a library for their products. This means that for each manufacturer, you have to figure out how those objects work. In the long run, you have to use a hodgepodge of things you source from everywhere, which also makes the files enormously heavy. With the DS template, we can in many cases design the complete drainage system all at once. The elements are coordinated, a number of things have been prepared, such as plan views, how you can extract things from it—the intention is that once the model is drawn and checked on a number of things, you can extract all kinds of information from it: plans, order lists, etc. I understand that Deschacht is working on an integration that will allow us to automatically generate a file that we can load into the DS webshop and thus automatically order products. The fewer manual actions there are in the process, the fewer mistakes can be made. Which is not to say that things can never go wrong with a computer, but still. Take product numbers, for example. If you have to type those in manually, you can make mistakes; if that all comes directly from a generated file, that is ruled out. We perform a number of automated model checks ourselves, e.g., whether pipes intersect with each other, or whether the drainage system intersects with certain structural elements. Once that is completely refined, and possibly also revised by the architect, such a product list is generated and can be uploaded just like that. The production drawings for custom-made drainage chambers also flow automatically from that model.

The DS BIM consists not only of a library, but also of a template. What are your experiences with it? It is a template for Revit containing all kinds of library elements, as well as a number of views, plans that are ready, with certain things color-coded so that we can always generate very clear plans, also for on-site use. But also for the custom production of prefab inspection chambers. A number of things are simply already prepared. Once the model is ready, it is, so to speak, a matter of pushing a button to generate the plans. Maybe we still need to add some dimensioning here and there, but the DS template is quite complete. We also generate BIM models from site surveys, for example also machine control for excavators. We therefore combine a number of things to arrive at a coordinated production design. Once that is ready, all plans are generated. E.g., a floor plan or a section. Or points that the surveyor needs to set out and that we deliver digitally in this way. That can be in 2D, but the 3D model is also a major added value for on-site use. During a meeting with the contractor who will install the sewerage, we go over everything. Quite a few of the objects in the model are directly clickable, e.g., a level relative to a zero datum or TAW level. Once the model has been created, we are very flexible in generating the plans. E.g., which levels do they want? We can choose all of that.

How did the training go? Filip Roels came to give us a half-day training and helped us take our first steps in Deschacht's BIM. There is a good line of communication with them. If something is not right or missing, they respond very quickly. That is of course important if you get stuck on something while drawing. That direct, short line makes it very pleasant to work.