BIM For Precast Industry

Precast concrete is a process associated with construction where concrete is cast in recyclable molds and cured in a controlled environment. The precast panels are then transferred to the construction site to be hoisted and fixed into the structure.

Using BIM provides some great benefits to an owner, architect, structural engineer, precast fabricator and erection crews who mutually work in a precast construction process.

BIM technology can be applied to improve the quality of precast engineering design; specifically regarding the exactness & consistency of the documents. Fabrication and erection are essentially error-free and the effort required for checking drawings has declined drastically.

By applying BIM the precast fabricator can shorten lead times for preparing his shop drawings.

BIM contains a huge database of information which can be utilized to improve the productivity of design documentation from project to project. A good tool of evidence-based design.

BIM reduces cost of rework caused by errors, develops precision in cost estimating, decreases engineering lead time to a great extent and provides support for automation in production.

BIM facilitates design and detail of precast elements with complex geometries in shorter time periods and removes the geometry or connection errors and time raised on checking and vetting drawings during fabrication or erection of the precast elements.

From a concrete BIM model all the information is circulated in both engineering and in production in preparing precast shop drawings to pre-build a precast project in the virtual world. All geometry, details, and connections within the model are properly placed and coordinated.

BIM is applied to evaluate prospective inconsistencies or project obstacles in the model, in order to determine and resolve these earlier to issuing drawings for construction. BIM technology minimizes the chances of misaligned connections, inaccurate architectural features and geometry conflicts, to make sure that shop drawings are generated without traditional in-depth checking or cross coordination connecting drawings.

Any changes in the precast concrete project (revising wall panel reinforcement from rebar to mesh, moving and adjusting the sizes of mechanical blockouts, revising some lift hooks, and minor changes to some connections to make erection simpler for site personnel) requested by the architect, the owner or the precast manufacturer can be put into the model and all the related drawings are updated automatically. This is made possible with the parametric features of the BIM model.

Within a BIM model, the documentation is generated quickly and inexpensively to facilitate the creation of various reports and drawings which can depict the precise information requirements of the various project team members.

Advantages of BIM for precast concrete :-

Models the overall geometry;
Quick design changes with a minimum of rework in organizing and reconciling different drawings;
Able to visualize any missing custom components (reinforcement details, connection details, embeds);
Can check for and evade design errors. This is useful for observing complex and congested arrangements of embeds, reinforcing and pre-stressed strands;
Production of schedules and shop drawings to improve productivity for precast structures in as automated feature in most structural BIM programs;
Presentable to demonstrate to the owner the spatial precast elements in three dimensional views;

useful link :
PCI BIM Committee Presents the Benefits of openBIM to the Precast Industry
Tracking Precast Pieces