Paradigm shift: adopting BIM for SPHS project representation

Abstract

Introduction: The Project Coordination Office (CProj) at FECFAU/UNICAMP, attentive to new technologies and computer systems for project development, has implemented BIM in the Building, Hydraulic and Sanitary Systems (SPHS) discipline. Objective: To show a practical case in which the use of BIM models helps to understand the content covered in SPHS projects, facilitating access to the information inherent in the environment with its pre-existing installations with the designer's intention of offering specific solutions to each situation encountered for the proposed refurbishment. Methodology: The Design Science Research (DSR) methodology was considered for the Standard Modular Building Toilet Refurbishment Project: a common reality for several campus buildings. Results: All the information was extracted from the model. And the professionals' greater involvement with the project as a whole. The use of the model provides certainty that the solution presented is appropriate to the scope, as the design is virtually tested before going into the field. All the technicians involved agreed that the implementation of BIM in the development of the projects was of great importance in understanding and getting closer to the reality of the building's operation and maintenance, including delivering material that can be used throughout the building's useful life. Conclusion: The modelling helped to visualize the interferences in advance; to make the project easier to read, leaving no doubts for the executor in the field; to reduce waste by detecting the interferences in advance, leaving no surprises on site; and to quantify the components accurately.