CC1705

TECHNOLOGYfocus
BIM with DFMA
Usha B Trivedi explains why
DFMA is a natural ally for BIM,
helping to change the way
buildings will be put together in
the future
Design for Manufacturing and
Assembly (DFMA) has already
become prominent within the
fabrication industry through optimising
the design and cost output on the factory
floor. Lately, however, its application has
gained a significant momentum in the
construction industry. This is because
general contractors have started to
incorporate prefabrication of construction
elements, to speed up the construction
time and minimise construction waste.
But by combining DFMA with Building
Information Modeling (BIM), it can add to
the value of construction projects and
also bring profitability to EPC firms and
general contractors, and improve their
coordination with building product
manufacturers.
DEVELOPING EFFICIENT
STRUCTURAL PERFORMANCE
BIM and DFMA, together, facilitate
greater onsite efficiency by completing a
major chunk of construction offsite,
leaving only the need to assemble the
various building elements onsite. The
biggest advantage of combining the two
work processes, however, is that it
doesn't compromise at all on quality, nor
does it impede creative designs with
limitations of assembly.
And there is still more to be gained in
sharing information between BIM and
DFMA. When all the details pertaining to
building elements are embedded in 3D
as-built models, the relevance of hybrid
structures and all the connections across
the structure become transparent. It is
therefore necessary to design and plan
the construction with BIM to create and
maintain the relationship between
building elements and their assets.
Adopting an offsite construction
approach with BIM supported by DFMA,
entails a simple rationalisation of designs
and an optimisation of profits for
contractors. Connecting BIM to DFMA
benefits both manufacturing and
construction teams because of the much
lauded discipline inherent in BIM and its
collaborative work approach, which is
geared towards prefabrication.
BIM's comprehensive handling of every
aspect of 3D information modeling and
its ability to promote early design
coordination even facilitates the
prefabrication of core structural elements.
The final federated, BIM-ready, as-built
model can be directly imported to
fabrication software to generate
fabrication drawings, which will
dramatically reduce construction
timescales. It also reduces the risks of
design glitches or mismatches between
BIM models and fabrication drawings of
building products - the need to verify
design information against fabrication
drawings is essentially eliminated.
Conception to fabrication and
construction is thereby completed with
significant reductions in time, risk and of
course cost.
TIMES OF NEED FOR BIM AND DFMA
At a time when the AEC industry is facing
a skills and labour shortage, taking the
prefabrication approach is an efficient
alternative. BIM with DFMA will essentially
reduce the high level of skill required and
eliminate resource problems onsite, as
most onsite construction processes are
avoided by the building elements being
'assembled' rather than 'constructed'.
Investment in BIM will fetch savings in
the long term. There might be significant
initial investment involved, but most EPC
firms have seen positive and quick ROIs
with BIM workflows. The combined use of
BIM and DFMA will require fewer people
on site, leading to minimised risk factors.
In addition to BIM and DFMA, when
contractors, architects, and engineers
work together on tracts in the future they
will have a plethora of opportunities to
enhance construction processes and
improve efficiency.
A CHANGE OF MINDSET
The DFMA plan demonstrates how
design teams can collaborate with
contractors and building product
manufacturers to contribute efficiency to
the construction process. Fundamentally,
all that is needed for BIM and DFMA's
collaborative implementation is a shift in
the way of thinking about construction
and designs.
AEC industry professionals and building
product manufacturers should embrace
scenarios where building elements are
assembled instead of constructed. This
should not only maximise the profitability
of contractors, but also open new
avenues for building product
manufacturers for efficient collaboration.
About the Author:
Usha B. Trivedi, is a Technical Writer at
TrueCADD. She is a qualified engineer
and contributes in-depth articles for
building construction and infrastructure
development. Her contributions are
primarily focused on coordination
between engineering design
professionals, fabricators, and building
contractors to accelerate designs and
improve project efficiencies through BIM
and CAD tools.
34
May/June 2017