Steel, ductwork, pipework and precast are often built straight from a fabrication model. Know who models what, when the design must be frozen, and how shop models come back into coordination.
Much of a building is no longer made on site. Structural steel, ductwork, pipework, precast concrete and curtain walling are made in factories, often straight from a fabrication model (or shop model) built by the fabricator's detailers. The design model is their starting point. Your job as the BIM person is to make sure the two models meet: the fabricator starts from good information, and what comes back is checked before anything is cut.
A design model shows the size and position of elements. A fabrication model adds everything needed to make and install them: connections and bolts, plate thicknesses, hanger positions, joints, cut lengths and a part number for each piece. Machines in the factory can read it directly.
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