Streamline Your Loading Bay Projects with BIM Design Coordination

Construction projects involving loading bays come with many challenges.

Equipment such as dock levellers, dock doors, and dock shelters must not only be compatible with each other but with the wider building infrastructure.

Collaboration between key stakeholders is therefore crucial to ensuring a successful design and construction process.

Here’s what you need to know about BIM design coordination - and how it can streamline your next loading bay project:

BIM MODELS

Short for Building Information Modelling, BIM models provide a digital representation of a product’s physical and functional characteristics.

These three-dimensional (3D) views of products allow stakeholders to visualise equipment in a realistic way.

With exact dimensions and real-world data, design accuracy is enhanced, helping to reduce errors during construction.

But simply relying on standalone 3D models isn’t ideal.

It leaves room for incompatible equipment being grouped together or models of incorrect sizes being selected, potentially leading to plans and drawings needing to be redrawn and resubmitted - resulting in costly delays.

So what does this mean for your loading bay project?

Working with a pre-selected package of BIM models could simplify both the design process and help you avoid unexpected errors resulting from the wrong models being chosen.

BIM FAMILIES

Provide a cluster of parts for a complete loading bay in a single, coordinated package.

This ensures that all parts are designed to work together, eliminating the risk of choosing incompatible products or components.

This benefits architects, who no longer need to search for or verify individual components separately.

Instead, they can rely on a set of products that are already known to work well together, simplifying the selection process and saving time.

Additionally, this avoids having to start from scratch with each new project and allows quick modifications to entire BIM Families - saving time and enabling rapid iteration and exploration of design options.

The result?

Sourcing full BIM Families of loading bay equipment, rather than just individual 3D models, greatly enhances the overall design process.

This holistic approach not only streamlines the design and construction phases but can also result in a more reliable and successful project outcome.

BIM DESIGN COORDINATION

We’ve seen how a package of models can avoid costly selection errors with full BIM Families of compatible, pre-selected loading bay equipment.

But this doesn’t eliminate the risk of clashes with other building infrastructure:

For example, when a loading bay door's track system might conflict with HVAC ducts or structural beams.

So how does clash detection and resolution work?

BIM Families are integrated into the broader project model, with each family placed at specific coordinates that match the design layout of the building.

Each component's position is then checked against other systems in the building to ensure there are no conflicts or "clashes."

BIM software uses clash detection tools to identify any potential conflicts between different building systems.

If any clashes are found, they can be resolved in the design phase rather than on-site, which is much more cost-effective and less disruptive.

NEED SUPPORT FOR YOUR LOADING BAY PROJECT?

We’re known as a market leader in loading bay equipment and industrial doors.

But we’re also leaders in providing Full BIM Design Coordination for loading bay projects – whether they involve renovations or brand-new builds.

So if you’re looking to kick-start your next loading bay project, contact our team of project engineers by sending an email to info@stertil.co.uk or by visiting our contact page.

Contact Stertil on 08707 700471, or email info@stertil.co.uk.