Build Magazine 49 Software & Technology ELIXR provide bespoke BIM content creation to manufacturers and fabricators in the UK construction industry seeking BIM Level 2 compliance. Their approach is geared specifically with the end user in mind. Each BIM object they design empathises with the designer or specifier, focusing on the context of its employment initially during design and project delivery, but also beyond in its use in a facilities management (FM) capacity. ach project that ELIXR undertake is different to the next, as company Director Liam Jones describes. “Before design commences, we analyse the companies’ specific niche industry, the products that they provide, and how they are to be utilised by their clients. To learn as much as we possibly can about the company and its products, we engage with the client through a Q&A process. From the findings, we analyse how the fully parametric, data-rich BIM object best serves their needs. After the product has been designed and presented to the client, we offer continuous support, making any necessary changes based on client user feedback.” This process, employed universally across ELIXR, is designed to enable them to design each product to be as important as its usability. Specifically, they place special emphasis on these products being easy to use and intuitive to the conditions of which they are being employed. “We believe in building up working relationships with our clients,” Liam says. “All of our BIM products come with a tailor-made aftercare service, which allows the BIM object to be tweaked and improved following its release so that the end user gets the best possible experience.” This is an important stance for ELIXR, as they seek to provide a service that goes above and beyond what they see current industry leaders as providing, only at a much more competitive cost. Their service is made even more hands-on and personal by electing, where necessary, to work with a client over the whole period of a project, providing tailor-made BIM objects specifically for that project. Using the standard BIM object as a starting point, adding specific data that will remain with the product throughout its lifecycle, ELIXR is constantly seeking to push the envelope for innovative solutions, predominantly by endeavouring to stay abreast of industry trends. “We recognise that each niche industry is different from the next,” Liam says. “The needs of the end user are entirely different. A company seeking Acoustic BIM Objects to be commissioned will require a product that is entirely different to that of sanitary plumbing or office furniture. “Our strength is that we have a wealth of experience throughout the Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction industries. Recently, we carried out a large Enablers of BIM Construction Strategies E contract with a company at the forefront of Modern Methods of Construction. Their design process is primarily carried out using Autodesk Inventor; however, for their latest project, they required a REVIT solution to work in collaboration with the clients and project teams, as per the BIM Execution Plan (BEP). Working closely together, we provided parametric BIM models of their specific project families, which they used directly in Revit interfacing with Inventor to produce Manufacturing / CNC drawings. In addition, we currently have an ELIXR App in development that acts as an integrated cloud based library allowing BIM Objects to be inserted directly into projects which we are very excited about.” To date, ELIXR have carried out various projects within the AEC industry such as window, door and roof-light systems, facades, SIPS, roofs and acoustic installations. One of their most successful projects was to develop a range of wall facades for a prestigious curtain walling manufacturer; this company had instructed one of major players in BIM content creation to produce one of their facade products. Whilst achieving the basic remit, they found the end product to be too generic for their clients to maximise its functionality. They approached ELIXR to apply a more flexible approach to their clients’ needs, and to Liam, this meant completely redesigning the system and providing a more comprehensive BIM family, which allowed more technically savvy designers to delve into its formulae making necessary alterations to maximise its use. “We learnt that the needs of the client may not be entirely transparent at the initial stage, but working collaboratively, we can always find the best solution,” Liam observes. “We pride ourselves on being as flexible as possible both client and industry needs.” With the Government’s new BIM mandate coming into effect last April, the uptake for BIM has been outstanding, with a lot of potential for more independent manufacturers taking the plunge to become BIM Level Two-compliant. With improvements to collaboration and availability of technical information, the benefits of becoming compliant are clear to see to those having already converted to BIM. For those that have not, Liam sees, quite simply, being BIM ready is a fast track to the top of the pile when being considered by specifiers for new projects. BIM compliant products can be found much more easily, their suitability can be evaluated early on but most importantly and quite simply having a range of BIM product available affirms to a forward looking outlook by the company, one which pre-qualify its products in the eyes of key decision makers. This is good news for Liam, who wishes for ELIXR to become the first name in BIM content creation, to work with all players within the construction industry ranging from larger manufactures to bespoke independent companies whilst maintaining their personal approach. “We seek to have an integrated approach to applying BIM content over various platforms at BIM Level 3 and beyond,” he says. Through clear understanding of what the industry requires of BIM, ELIXR will strive to ensure that their products deliver in all aspects of this construction revolution. Furthermore, to illustrate the belief in the quality of the work they do, new clients to ELIXR find their first BIM object comes free. ELIXR will provide a fully-functioning, data-rich BIM object at no cost to any company that requires it. More can be learnt here: www.elixr- bim.co.uk/free-bim Company: ELIXR-BIM Name: Liam Jones Email:
[email protected] Web Address: www.elixr-bim.co.uk