MEP sector urged to adopt BIM software

Ruggero Valsecchi

The broader application of BIM software could allow MEP engineers to effect major savings on overall project costs, speed up the total design process, and improve final build quality by reducing the possibility of mistakes.

This is the view of Ruggero Valsecchi, export sales manager for Progman Oy, the Finnish developer of building services software program MagiCAD. Valsecchi was in Dubai and Abu Dhabi recently to present a series of training seminars on the software, which is “the market leader and standard in all the Nordic countries, where the BIM way of thinking about projects is already well-established.”

Indeed, the Nordic countries and Singapore require certain BIM formats for regulatory approvals on building projects, revealed Valsecchi. Obviously the construction industry in the UAE is still a long way from such a level of technical proficiency. “Here there have been massive, incredible projects, and it is even more impressive to think that everything concerning MEP design has been done in 2D, manually.”

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This is where a solution like MagiCAD comes into its own, offering significant savings on project resources in terms of the bill of quantities and schedules. “Time, energy and cost savings are inherent because you already have all the information in your model, and do not need to recalibrate manually,” argued Valsecchi.

The risk of iterative errors is also reduced markedly. “The more people who are involved in the process, the greater the chance of introducing mistakes, which have cost implications, as you have to spend more time reproducing project information manually. Then work has to be redone, material is wasted, or material is missing at the last minute. Changes or modifications have to be effected on-site.”

The inherent advantage of MagiCAD is that, because it allows users to calibrate for any unforeseen contingencies that may be encountered on-site, “it solves co-ordination problems in the project phase and not on-site. This also reduces the total timeframe to completion because everything flows smoothly.”

Valsecchi added now is the ideal time for Progman Oy to consolidate its local presence, as companies were too preoccupied during the boom times to even consider changing their procedures. “Now the pace of new projects is tapering off and competition is getting tighter, which means companies are looking at boosting their productivity. So now is the ideal time for companies to look at alternatives. This is why we are here now.”