BY KEN GARCIA
For decades, the construction of buildings involved sketches on paper. It was a visual representation of what a building will look like through the construction process. It showed where plumbing and electrical will be located and, for example, where the meeting room
will be. It was up to the construction crew to build based on those drawings and instructions.
That same process continues to be followed to this day. But technology is undoubtedly making it much easier to visualize what the final building will look like once the final brick is laid. A popular method that continues to gain traction in the industry is utilizing Building Information Modeling (BIM).
BIM can best be described as developing digital representations of places’ physical and functional characteristics. In other words, it gives contractors a chance to see where everything will be, and it can be seen before work begins if there is a need to make adjustments. Most contractors would agree that it is much easier and cheaper to address the issue before it is built than to do it later.
BIM is primarily used for coordination/clash detection, visualization and project planning. It can also be used for prefabrication. Many companies, including St. Louis-based Murphy Company, an AGC of Colorado Building Chapter member, embrace BIM as part of their business practices for that prefabrication. Murphy is a mechanical contractor offering services, including HVAC and plumbing. Anthony Mecca leads the BIM group for the company’s activities in Colorado, a department he’s worked in for the last three years. He says Murphy uses BIM, which they call “virtual construction,” to assist with the mechanical components.
“Commonly, we’re going to build exactly what we model,” Mecca said. “It’s still typical in the architectural world and some other trade worlds that the models used have spatial representation for them. It’s not a truly buildable entity.”
Though Murphy has its own BIM team in Colorado, there are times when it may need more staff to handle all the projects. That is where companies will look to a third-party to step in and assist.
“We had identified a large process piping job for a battery manufacturing plant that made sense to subcontract,” Mecca said.
The company they chose to work with was ICON-BIM. Mecca said he became familiar with the company after being contacted and researching their services. He said their use of qualified union workers drew him to hire ICON-BIM.
“It makes such a huge difference to have somebody who understands how it gets installed,” Mecca said. “That means they will be the ones designing it because they’ll design it in an installable fashion,” Mecca said.
“Drew [Miller] was extremely proactive in this. He asked a lot of the right kinds of questions. He then set up a series of meetings with us in our shop and field operations team and ensured his team understood exactly what we expected.”
BIM-ICON’s Director of Sales Drew Miller says having staff with field knowledge is vital when working with their clients like Murphy. Miller is a fourth-generation plumber who started his construction career as a teenager working for his family business. He joined a union and worked in the field for about seven years before becoming a detailer in 2007.
He says his experience and background are why companies use ICON-BIM. He says the field experience of the staff working at ICON- BIM can help address any issues that may arise during construction.
“Six months later, they’ve drawn a whole bunch of systems, and things aren’t fitting during installation. They’re not taking into account certain parameters that someone else with experience might have done.”
ICON-BIM focuses on plumbing, pipefitting and the sheet metal trades. Miller says his company is called in when companies need their expertise due to a lack of a BIM department or to support an existing team.
“For a company to be able to expand and contract through us, they know that we have a proven reliable resource of field experienced detailers,” Miller said. “We have a proven track record for the model that works and produces high margins for mechanical and plumbing contractors.”
The outsourcing process is a relatively simple one. Miller says it starts with a request for proposal to understand better the needs of the contractor seeking to hire ICON-BIM. Miller says they want this process to be as detailed as possible to ensure they align with the company and their needs for the project.
Once the project is awarded, the teams from ICON-BIM will meet with the contractor’s team and work out the contract and what the deliverables and expectations are for the project. Next is what Miller says is the most critical aspect of the project — direct and constant communication.
“The biggest thing for us is to have direct lines of communication with the people detailing the project on our side with their field personnel,” Miller said. “What happens many times with BIM is there may be something happening in the field that may not necessarily be seen on the computer.”
Miller adds that having workers who know how to talk the same talk helps address these kinds of issues. In addition, these communications also bring the different trades together on a project to ensure their projects are not hitting one another during the building process. They will review that with the general foreman or superintendent, decide what should be built first and develop spool sheets. “For example, when looking at portions of the plumbing system, we’ll break it up into smaller elements and then create a spool sheet like an erector set,” Miller said.
The elements are created, labeled and shipped to the jobsite. Again, during this process, Miller emphasizes constant communication throughout the entire project to handle any problem-solving needs that may arise.
“I think one of the biggest benefits of ICON-BIM is the accuracy of our detailing and the ability to solve design problems during BIM coordination,” Miller said. “Ultimately, that leads to a high ROI for our clients.”
For Mecca, working with ICON-BIM has proven to be a positive experience and would recommend the company to other members seeking these kinds of services.
“The nice part with ICON-BIM is their office can very much understand your plan, your schedule and help you formulate that plan,” Mecca said. “They’re more than just a supply of warm bodies that many other third-party BIM folks will do.
“The high-quality resource assigned to our project joined in on our coordination meetings with the general contractor and project teams. He acted like a member of Murphy, helping to complete the project.”