The 2 Methods of MEP Coordination

 

What is MEP Coordination?

Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing systems are an indispensable component of a building. It is a general term that incorporates fire protection systems as well. The specific design of these components is important for the efficient operations of the overall building. Once the designs have been developed, they need to be verified and checked for any intervention within the MEP systems as well as with the structural and architectural disciplines. This is described as MEP Coordination.

MEP coordination is a time-taking and difficult process that can create obstacles in the execution of the project. Fragmented information and lack of communication between various stakeholders can greatly hamper the matters. The coordination process includes confirming the design and distinguishing interference between Structural, Architectural, and MEP elements of the building, and managing them to create compliant designs. Based on the method with which the coordination is carried out, it can be broadly divided into two categories:

• 3D MEP BIM Coordination

• 2D MEP Coordination

1. 2D MEP Coordination

As the name implied, the coordination is carried out with 2D drawings. Structural, Architectural, and MEP drawings are over-laid to review the collisions. Great care is taken while outlining the roof voids of the structure as the MEP Services will be set out in this space. 2D MEP coordination is a highly cumbersome process and the power of the drawings is mostly dependent on the skills, technical know-how, experience, and fabrication of the coordinator as there is no automatic or digital system to recognize the conflicts. 

The services are routed to the best of the designer’s experience while keeping in mind the architectural or structural components that may impact the service route.

2. 3D MEP BIM Coordination

BIM is a collaborative strategy that provides the visual ability to the designs and exactly represents the constructed building at the pre-construction stage. This process of coordination offers a host of benefits as collaboration begins at the modeling stage itself. Architectural BIM and Structural BIM models are performed before starting with MEP BIM Services and determine the basis of an MEP BIM model. 

As the architectural and structural components are apparent while creating the MEP model, it is simpler to route the MEP services without vital clashes. Any disputes that still rise are more comfortable to detect with software such as Navisworks and Revit. Navisworks creates an HTML report pinpointing the precise location and type of the clash. Once recognized, the design teams help to resolve them. 2D drawings are then extricated from the coordinated model. Therefore, it saves on time and effort as each section or plan does not have to be drawn separately. What is more, the sizes of the components are auto-calculated and labeled, unlike 2D where the tubes and pipes have to be manually sized.

Conclusion

MEP Coordination is vital in any construction project irrespective of the method of coordination used. Lack of collaboration at the design stage along with the requirement to fabricate and install building systems by industry standards provides coordination inevitable. 

For more details, connect with the team of experts at: www.promptconsult.com/mep_consulting/