So, one day you're walking down the street and someone jumps out and says to you,

"For a million dollars, tell me five great things about using Powder Coat Paint technology!"

 Before that day arrives --here are five sustainable and quality-based benefits for using Powder Coat Paint products; like Bradley Powder Coat Steel Partitions:

1. Powder coating emits zero or near zero volatile organic compounds (VOC’s).

2. Powder coating can produce much thicker coatings than conventional liquid coatings.

3. Powder coating over-spray can be recycled and allows nearly 100% use of the coating material.

4. Paint application is typically very even with no runs or sags.

5. Powder coating is thermally bonded to the metal substrate, which provides superior adhesion and prevents chipping.

Bradley (Mills) Powder-Coated Steel Toilet Partition Revit Models replaced the Bradley (Mills) Baked-Enamel toilet partition Revit models in August 2014. The Bradley Revit Material Library was also updated in August 2014.

Bradley BIM has more than 15 McGraw-Hill SmartMarket Reports (2007-2015) available for download; including 'Green BIM'.

The majority of these surveys demonstrate how BIM processes contribute as a core integration tool for sustainable design processes.

Download McGraw-Hill Report | Green BIM

BIM authoring software packages; like (Revit, AECOsim, ArchiCAD, Vectorworks) create the BIM facility project file. Third-party Add-On software applications provide niche design & analysis functionality; that is not typically included in the out-of-the box BIM software. 

So...how is this helpful?

The cost to design, build and maintain large, complex facilities is significant. Virtually simulating a building's energy performance; during the desing process is crucial to reducing its projected energy costs. Integrating BIM processes is reducing the construction time, product waste, labor & energy costs to buid it.

Download McGraw-Hill Report | Measuring BIM Impact On Complex Buildings

Architects, engineers, contractors and facility owners are adding design + engineering functionality to their BIM authoring software; via BIM Add-On applications. These apps provide BIM software with the ability to simulate the seasonal energy consumption of a facility over the building's lifecycle.

BIM Add-On software components integrate with the designers' whole building facility model. Thereby, helping them to evaluate, analyze, design and simulate specific facility performance factors --prior to construction and occupancy.

Examples of BIM \ BIM Add-On Apps Assisting w/Sustainable Design Process

1. Building Certification: BIM auto-collects & reports sustainable documentation

2. Green Product Selection: BIM Automated Specification Writing Systems

3. BIM MEP: Building Energy Performance Modeling Simulations

4. Visualization: Interior Daylighting and Shadow Studies

5. Green Material Volume Take-Off: New Construction, Demolition Construction Waste

6. BIM MEP: Water \ Waste Systems Consumption, Calculations & Flow Analysis

7. HVAC Load Analysis: Optimizing Heating and Cooling Loads & Zones

8. Lighting | Evaluate Electrical Consumption & Light Coverage Verification

9. Analyze & Simulate the Solar (Heat) Gain from a Building's Site Orientation

10. BIM for Prefabrication: Utilizes Lean & Green Construction (Manufacturing) Processes

11. Green BIM Site Design Studies calculate green space & drainage areas, parking lot design and inventory plantings for landscape maintenance.

Download McGraw-Hill BIM Report | Project Delivery Systems

#1 - Building Product Manufacturer (BPM) Website Hosts BIM Files

Typically, a Building Product Manufacturers' (BPM) Marketing Department creates BIM files to promote the specification of their products; within their clients’ BIM design projects.

While BIM files promote the manufacturer’s brand; successful pre-built BIM files provide real cost-savings to the BPM's design + contracting customers. BPM BIM files provide the manufacturers' distribution network with digital planning tools to assist designers + contractors' with their project product selection process.

Logically, a Marketing Department should choose the building product manufacturer's website as the first and best location for file-hosting of their BIM files.

1. Links to the BPM's digital design files (BIM, CAD, Specifications, Product Tech Data Sheets) should be prominently displayed on the front page of the corporate website

2. Indicate the BIM file-types of your products for your clients to download. (Revit, ArchiCAD, Vectorworks or Bentley BIM files)

3. Within the BIM Library, populate product images, contact links, product warranties, construction specifications and tech data sheets around your individual BIM files.

Fact: Designers expect to find and search for a BPM's BIM files on the BPM website, first. They assume the most current files are located on the BPM website with all supporting documentation.

Tip: Do not syndicate the BIM Files with BPM BIM File Library Websites or BIM File modeling service websites; until the BIM library is completely hosted on the BPM website.

For example, our corporate BIM Library website annually delivers more than 6 million Revit model downloads to our visitors. Collectively, four different BIM Libraries that host \ syndicate Bradley Revit models, achieve only 10% of our total annual website downloads. 

The Bradley BIM library was hosted on our corporate website for 18 months; prior to adding other BIM Library services. BPMs want the majority of ALL visitor traffic to come to the BPM website. Links to the BPM BIM library files, should NOT take their visitors to their BIM Library; that is NOT on the BPM website.

#2 - Know Your Client Market & Design Tools

Where are you selling the majority of your products? USA? Europe? UK? Middle East? China? Australia?

What BIM software are your design and construction clients using in your major sales market(s)?

Similar to Henry Ford's revolutionary assembly line processes; BIM processes are reshaping the MEP design and construction (manufacturing) processes for facility projects.

Ford's automated automobile assembly-line process; reduced labor time & costs, while reducing material waste with modular, standardized parts.

Sheer production of the Model T dramatically increased. The production time for a single car dropped from over twelve hours to just 93 minutes due to the introduction of the assembly line.

Skanska Construction's BIM MEP Prefabrication construction processes are highlighted online via Tradeline with an insightful, visual article;

Building Blocks: Offsite Prefabrication Saves Time and Money -- Compressed Work Schedules, Worker Safety, and Access to Constrained Sites Top Benefits

Several maturing, project delivery processes are integrated to produce more efficient, 'manufacturing-oriented' design and construction processes.

The Bradley BIM Initiative has partnered with SysQue to provide "prefabrication-ready" Bradley product models in both;

• SysQue (Revit MEP format \ RFA) and

• Autodesk Fabrication (AutoCAD format \ DWG-ITM).

--- Skanska Revit-MEP Prefabrication | BIM Means Business ASPE Magazine ---

The initial SysQue Bradley Llibrary will feature these Bradley product models:

Greetings & Welcome to the Bradley BIM Revit Resource Portal

 Daniel Hughes | Bradley Corporate BIM Strategist 

The Bradley Revit-BIM Family Library has more than 1,000 Revit Family Models; representing 10′s of thousands of Bradley Corporation's Commercial Plumbing Fixtures and Washroom Accessories Products.

I encourage BIM and VDC Managers to visit the Bradley BIM FAQs Page.

It provides a technical overview of Bradley's Revit modeling standards and quality assurance procedures.

• For technical assistance with the Bradley Revit Library, please visit our Contact Us Page.

• Speaker or Article requests may be submitted through the Speaker-Author Page.

• Bradley BIM Academy Onsite \ Online Class requests via Education-Consulting Page.

My Sourcceable.net BIM article features a creative, business development strategy for any firm to transition from AutoCAD to Revit. More than 15% of my clients initiated and completed this lower-cost Revit implementation strategy; that spans one year.

This process minimizes the initial staff training costs and non-billable time. It positively engages the owner- executive team as we utilize existing software inventory --while limiting the new equipment investment.

--- Key to Lowering BIM Software and Implementation Costs ---

The process features a "Plan B" -- for if or when the initial Revit team is feeling overwhelmed by a tight schedule and can't complete the project in Revit.

 The Bradley BIM Resource Portal (www.bradleybim.com) is now integrated into the Bradley Corporation product website.

BradleyBIM launched in February 2011. The external blog began providing Revit-BIM support for the 1,000 Bradley product families in the Bradley Revit Library.

The BIM Portal serves over 60,000+ global visitors annually; providing Revit technical support, education, training, standards, news and trends for Revit & BIM processes.

Bradley BIM visitors download more than 6 million Bradley Product Revit models annually.

"The visitor traffic required us to scale up the BradleyBIM.com website capabilities. It needed to ntegrate with all of the web and product resources of the Bradley Corporation website." said Daniel Hughes, Bradley Corporate BIM Strategist. 

Enter BradleyBIM.com into your browser to conveniently access the Bradley BIM Resource Portal.

Bradley-Keltech Industrial Group is featuring the Keltech Commercial Electric Tankless Water Heater Models for Geo-Thermal, Solar Water Heating and several other commercial applications in Booth #3072 at the 2016 AHR Expo in Orlando, FL | January 25-27 2016.

Activate Map & Locate Bradley-Keltech AHR Booth #3072

The Keltech Revit Model Library is located in the Bradley Revit Library (1,000 models).

Bradley BIM for MEP Prefabrication

The Bradley BIM Initiative has partnered with SysQue to provide “prefabrication-ready” Bradley product BIM files for both both;

• SysQue (Revit MEP format \ RFA) and
• Autodesk Fabrication (AutoCAD format \ DWG-ITM).

This includes Bradley TMV, re-circulation mixing stations, dialysis boxes and shower valve models will are configured to serve both;

• SysQue (Revit) [AHR Booth #5187]and
• CADmep (AutoCAD) [AHR Booth #5325] for plumbing fabrication clients.

Related Articles

• BIM Means Business | Plumbing Engineer Magazine – ASPE
• Skanska Revit-MEP Prefabrication | Ford Assembly Line Flash Back?
• BIM Means Business | Plumbing Heating-Cooling Contractors – WI Association

Bradley BIM Library Articles

• Download Complete Bradley Revit Family Library (1000 Families) – Download All Options
• Download Bradley Revit Family Library From Autodesk Seek Building Product Manufacturer Revit Library

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Bradley Corporation and the Bradley BIM Team!