Cast iron drainage solutions manufacturer, Saint-Gobain PAM, aims to ease the burden on developers, specifiers and contractors in the early stages of construction by launching its BIM library and supporting elements.
The business first began working on its BIM journey five years ago and was one of the first drainage manufacturers to release BIM-compliant models to the industry.
The new library includes a full-data object library, a platform that provides supporting information and free individual BIM files of all products and systems.
From those initial libraries, the company worked with public health experts and engineering consultancies, such as Hoare Lea, to help develop the lean, lighter versions of models that are required at the early design stage.
The new libraries include a BS EN877 Generic Cast Iron content package for use in early design stages, with fittings parametrically modelled, in standard geometric settings.
The files are built to contain only the key information, reducing the time and effort required to create early stage plans.
These ‘data-lite’ designs can also be overwritten with the full data specification libraries without conversion issues, speeding up later stages of development that require more detailed plans. This ultimately streamlines the conversion from BIM designs to the actual built work flow.
The PAM BIM libraries are designed to aid the data transition between public health consultant’s and main contract MEP design engineers, creating a leaner process that reduces design time.
As the transitions usually require more-explicit data being added to models, Saint-Gobain PAM is also currently creating plugins to quickly add the full data, either automatically by system type, or through floor level and manual area selection.
Matt Hassall, Saint-Gobain PAM BIM manager, said: “We’re really excited to be able to launch our latest BIM libraries.
“By providing small file sizes for generic content, we’re making it easier for early stage specification in BIM and speeding up the whole planning process. This, in turn, creates measurable cost and time savings for our customers.”
