Heat-tracing Solutions With BIM: Optimizing efficiency and reducing costs

Clash avoidance and documentation generation
Clash detection also plays an important role. By verifying the regulations, parameters, and geometric properties of a product, this function signals any conflicts that may arise between components and systems in the building. Identifying clashes ahead of time enables constructability issues to be resolved and onsite remedial work kept to a minimum. This results in a smooth installation once the project is underway, with costs saved and unnecessary delays avoided.

The concept of working with multiple teams and trades underpins BIM and encourages collaboration in capturing, managing, and sharing data. The technology embeds information from a number of diverse disciplines, each of which has a different perspective and priorities that must be reflected in the finished building. Effective and coordinated communication between users throughout the specification chain is essential at all stages of the project to ensure an efficient and successful process. BIM makes this possible as the technology works best when teams interact at the earliest opportunity. Plus, models being housed in a ‘cloud’ provides immediate and simultaneous access to all users.

In the last few years, there have been attempts to get all the information for a project into one place accessible by all parties. Before BIM, traditional 2D or 3D drawing could become insufficient as they lack some of the necessary information for effective design evaluation and construction, such as:

• bid and contract documents;
• Bills of Materials (BOMs);
• timelines;
• specifications;
• price lists;
• installation and maintenance guides;
• cable lists; and
• labels.

BIM, on the other hand, provides its users all of the above in one central and common location. This facilitates the use of data and creates a more efficient construction process at every stage of the project.

BIM and heat-tracing solutions
BIM is a game-changer in how buildings are designed, procured, built, delivered, and maintained. To ensure quicker and more efficient design, project teams in the heat-tracing sector need innovative tools to enable them to save time and optimize building performance. Some manufacturers offer proprietary comprehensive suites of tools for graphical placement of controls and connectors for visual space planning or help in selecting optimal products for an application. They can offer a more accurate bill of materials for a wider and more complex range of pipe networks, further simplifying project planning and installations.

In an effort to tailor the software to each user, software packages can allows users to open customized specifications, create a Revit schedule, or place critical Revit families into their project. In addition to the add-in, groups of families for ramp heating and surface snow melting, and roof and gutter de-icing, have been developed. Each includes design guides and product information to assist with the design of the heat-tracing system. With this content, architects, engineers, contractors, and building owners can easily incorporate heat-tracing solutions into their building models to optimize efficiencies and performance.

Working with a heat-tracing solution supplier that can provide a fully integrated, connected system will deliver benefits at all phases of a construction project. By being involved in the early decision making and BIM design stage, engineers and architects can work with the wider team to ensure the most appropriate systems are selected for optimal efficiency of the building, its occupants, and contents.

From cost savings, more efficient processes, and ease of generating specification to less remedial work onsite, BIM brings various benefits at many stages of a build project. From one country to another, BIM’s adoption may vary; however, the construction sector is embracing a new era with BIM. Although its adoption for the heat-tracing sector might still be at an early stage, the innovative software brings an array of exciting opportunities.

Lowie Van Rymenant joined the Raychem Corporation (now part of Pentair Thermal Building Solutions) in 1985, working with the team that made the single-pipe hot-water system successful in Europe. Now the global marketing director, he is responsible for further growth and expansion of the Raychem brand in heat tracing.

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