Model validation for BIM coordinators

As a BIM coordinator, Dalux allows you to create a set of pre-defined rules and provide them to your various design teams, so they can self-assess their models before submitting them. Doing so allows you to focus on the crucial aspects of the design coordination without having to delegate elementary issues to the design teams.

As a result, architects and engineers can use model validation to check their model, make changes immediately, and notify you and the design team of questions or change requests.

Enable self-assessment (model validation)

All members of your design team who have access to the model validation feature can use your set of checks to test their design for clashes, clearances, and the validity of metadata automatically.

The team can communicate with you and each other, and you can track open issues throughout the design phase.

As an example, the assessment of your MEP engineer could give back the result of clash and clearance checks for technical installations, like here:

The requirements reflect the rules set by the BEP (BIM Execution Plan) or DDP (Digital Delivery Plan) in your project. Common rules that are set for this feature are, for example:

• For architects:
  • Clashes: Services that might require breakthroughs and fire safety measures
  • Property check: Fire safety rating for doors, windows, and walls
  • Property check: Heat flow values for sustainability analysis
• For structural engineers:
  • Clashes: Check where services run through
  • Property check: Structural material properties for objects
• For MEP engineers:
  • Clashes: Services clashing with other structural objects
  • Property check: System classifications for ventilation and water
  • Clearances: Enough space for sprinklers
• For electrical engineers:
  • Clashes: Wiring with other services or structural objects
  • Property check: Voltage, Luminosity, etc.
  • Clearances: Between wiring and other services

Administration

Activate the feature and give access to all parties that should be able to perform checks on their models. Then, set up rules for each of the disciplines according to the aforementioned requirements in your project.

This article explains the process in detail: How to set up Model validation

Disciplines

Set up each discipline according to the design team, such as architects, structural engineers, MEP engineers, etc.

Create an object group for each relevant object class in the disciplines:

Refer to the technical article to see how you can set up disciplines and object groups in more detail: How to set up disciplines and object groups.

Clash and clearance setup

For each cell in the model validation matrix, set the rules about clashes and clearances, if it is relevant. If there are no rules for two object groups, leave the cell empty. If a rule is critical and design changes/coordination are crucial for resolving the issue, set the severity to 'Critical'.

Examples:

Cable trays often lead through walls, which should be accounted for with breakthroughs in the wall design. This can be implemented as a clash with minor severity.

Any breakthroughs in load-bearing walls could be implemented with critical severity, as potential changes to the design would have to be addressed early to avoid a major redesign in a later project stage.

Checks for the same object group, like doors with doors, are usually not necessary to implement as a rule.

The setup can look like this:

Property rule setup

When setting up your property rules, we recommend setting them up according to your BEP or DDP. Setting up the rules, like in this example, ensures that all requirements are checked methodologically and that you can make sure that the data quality is guaranteed across all project stages.

Often, you have a list of properties as part of your BEP/DDP, dependent on the LOD for which you should set up an existence check.

Many of these are required across multiple disciplines, such as type name, material, or dimensions. The resulting setup looks like this:

In some instances, you want to check for specific values, such as fire ratings or U-values. For these cases set up special rules according to your needs.

For both of these cases, set up property rules.

Property check setup

When setting up your property checks, we recommend setting up checks according to your design stages or required LOD/LOI.

Each property validation should check against all object groups and include the property rules that are relevant for that stage. In this example, the final result shows checks for LOD 200, 300, and 400 for object groups in the Architecture discipline.

For each object group and each property check, select all rules that need to be met by the delivered models at this design stage.

Read this article to see how the design team uses this setup: Model validation for architects and engineers