BIM components library manager

Customer

PIK – a large real estate developer with over $5 billion revenue

BIM components libraries

2,500 experts at PIK work with BIM models. Each member of the design team creates and maintains their own BIM model as a part of the larger “central model” in accordance with the corporate standard. 

BIM libraries contain virtual models of real construction elements, such as walls, doors, windows, columns, and other building parts. Users can find information about the sizes, materials, structure, and functional properties of these objects. BIM library is used throughout the entire lifecycle of the project, from design to residential maintenance. 

The problem of managing BIM component libraries in large companies

It is hard to coordinate the work of 2,500 experts without the BIM library or BIM standard. The PIK team was spending up to 15% of their work time checking and synchronizing BIM components. 

• Design engineers: there is no efficient search function, limited capabilities for fixing and creating components; low quality components; discrepancies in properties; outdated information on the components’ usage.
• Component developers and subcontractors: numerous inquiries for new components; lack of version control system, and not enough information about orders, component requirements, and their use.  
• BIM managers and product specialists: complexity of sharing and updating new requirements on time. 
• Budget managers: incorrect classification of project component data and the use of different measurement units made budget estimates and the purchasing process complicated and time-consuming.
• Suppliers: there is no effective way to inform design engineers about the available items and their properties. It was hard to track the use of products and materials. 
• Builders and technical supervision specialists: lack of a common system for giving feedback on the applied technical solutions.
• Managers: lack of a brief, current information about the component library and inquiries. 

Solution: Service for the collaborative work with BIM component libraries

The Rubius team developed Family Manager in partnership with the PIK team. Family Manager is a web application for the collaborative work of all the project participants. The service efficiently manages both standard and BIM components libraries while controlling their usage in 3D models.  

With the application users can: 

• Check if the components in projects meet the company standards
• Provide access to components based on the specific project requirements  
• Quickly find components suitable for the project
• Place orders and manage the transfer of components in the library 
• Link components to the list of items, materials, and works
• Use the latest version of components in plugins and systems
• Record working hours for development and improvements

We created a BIM library based on a small application previously used by one of PIK’s teams. Our specialists expanded the app’s functionality, added new databases, and scaled it across the entire company. We rebuilt the backend and optimized the code, created automated tests to find errors in the service’s operation, and redesigned the user interface.

Software developers can also integrate the app with other services using API. They can make changes to the list of offices from the CRM system, display ratings of active BIM masters on the corporate portal, and integrate the app with Autodesk Revit and Civil 3D plugins to utilize up-to-date versions of component families.

Result

Results of working with BIM components libraries in Family Manager:

• Design engineers use only correct components and materials for their projects. Additionally, they can update the entire project with new versions of components.
• Developers of components and subcontractors contribute to the libraries and process orders for new components’ development. To facilitate this, the app has a service for uploading families into the database. All component properties can be configured within the app. 
• BIM managers and product specialists configure the available families for specific projects and populate the service guides. These guides can be maintained in several standards simultaneously. Moreover, managers can create roles with permissions for various functions. Together with technical specialists, managers can participate in processing requests that require decisions on standard changes.
• Equipment suppliers mark in the family catalog which products and materials are still up-to-date and which are no longer produced. They also control the accurate values of components’ properties. Furthermore, suppliers can access information on the products’ usage. 
• Builders and technical control specialists provide feedback on the applied technical solutions directly within the system. 
• Managers have access to relevant information on the condition of the component library and inquiries.

Implementation effect of Family Manager

PIK conducted an estimation of how Family Manager affects project cost reduction. 

They estimated how much time it takes to develop each component, and then multiplied this figure by the number of design engineers who used the component during a year. 

The greatest advantage of the service is that every team member can now work on the project together, using the correct data. They no longer need to spend time searching for, fixing or updating the components to meet new requirements.

By implementing Family Manager, the customer achieved a 10% reduction in labor expenses for a team of 2,500 specialists.

P.S. To find out more, read the comparison of Family Manager with similar services.