maber are architects, lead designers and BIM managers for Etex’s new plasterboard manufacturing line in Bristol.

 
Location:
Bristol
Services:

Architecture

BIM Consultancy

Budget:
Undisclosed
Client:
Etex Group
Size:
53,000 m2 GIA
Sector:
Industrial & Manufacturing
BIM Consultancy
 

Doubling the existing Bristol facility’s production capacity, the new board line will enable Etex meet future market demand as housing and development are strengthened in the UK over the next decade.

 
 

Entered by a curtain walled lobby with feature staircase, office accommodation will span across the board line at first floor with glazed views internally of its length and outward to the entrance landscaping. Acoustic separation of the office fly-over from the board line below is paramount to the provision of a comfortable work environment whilst bringing office and facility staff and spaces closer together. Shared spaces such as the kitchen, changing, and outdoor recreational gardens will further create opportunity for human interaction.

 

At an early stage, Etex had realised that BIM could help them deliver on their organisation’s industry 4.0 strategy to digitise their construction projects.

Our BIM team were engaged in the project at an early stage to help the clients realise the benefits that BIM could provide them. Workshops were held to understand how complicated asset information could be delivered in a way that it could be utilised by the client’s back-end FM system. This on going process led to the development of an EIR to define a proportionate amount of asset information that would be required from consultants within their IFC models.

 

maber have been managing the project following the ISO19650 series of BIM standards. As ISO19650 is still quite early in its adoption, we have been holding training sessions with the client and delivery teams to help them understand how new terminology builds upon the existing BIM Level 2. Using the maber BIM Execution Plan (BEP) as a guiding document, the design team have been able to drive efficiency and cost savings through clash avoidance, consistent file naming and model validation procedures.

 

maber are providing Etex Building Performance with BIM Consultancy and BIM Management services on our latest plasterboard manufacturing line project. Using the framework of the ISO19650 BIM Standards, maber have been vital in defining the project BIM requirements to ensure alignment with Etex’s wider Industry 4.0 digitisation strategy. Their pragmatic approach to the ISO19650 BIM process through ‘plain english’ presentations and training has helped ensure that the project BIM deliverables are proportionate to our needs.

The complex nature of the project requires considered coordination between various consultants and suppliers. As part of their BIM Management role maber have created a suite of BIM documentation, including the BIM Execution Plan (BEP), which will help guide the design team in efficient delivery of the project through the use of 3D .IFC models. At project inception maber were also key in providing advice and procuring a CDE solution for the project which they continue to manage as Information Managers.

We look forward to continuing work with maber on the project as it progresses through construction, collaboratively validating the project BIM deliverables to ensure they meet with our requirements for handover

Peter Dowlen
Project Manager – Construction

Etex Building Performance Ltd