Clash Detection and Resolution

Building information modeling (BIM) is an intelligent 3D model-based process that enables professionals working in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry to plan, design, construct and manage infrastructure and buildings using powerful software. Recognizing its outstanding value, NY Engineers has invested in the best BIM software that enables us to design highly complex building systems with absolute confidence.

We use Autodesk Revit and Autodesk Navisworks to meet our client’s core needs which include sustainable design, superior coordination for better outcomes, and efficient design management processes, all of which result in improved overall quality and substantially reduced risk. This superior software also enables us to reduce costs.

Automated BIM software solutions are key to a quick and efficient collaboration between the many different professionals involved in the various disciplines of building construction projects including architects, structural engineers, and those specializing in mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineering. They are also key to successful clash detection and clash resolution processes.

Because BIM is model-based, our services provide a coordinated approach to MEP modeling. As part of this approach, we coordinate the models produced by all the professionals involved with a specific project, to ensure there are no clashes or collisions.

So, ultimately, the coordinated 3D master models we produce are comprehensive and include the full spectrum of diagrams, layouts, and schedules and specifications for equipment and construction details. We cover the design of complex building systems including energy-efficient, mechanical heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. We use software that enables our structural and 3D BIM drafters to create pre-construction models of buildings that incorporate structural, architectural, and MEP elements.

If there are clashes, we pick them up very quickly.

In essence, our BIM services enable us to:

• Undertake cost estimations and logistics planning
• Engineer complex building systems with confidence
• Mitigate risk sustainably and efficiently, which includes using clash detection
• Improve quality and minimize waste
• Facilitate project coordination and collaboration, utilizing clash resolution if need be

One of the core services we offer is BIM clash detection, which identifies any interference in design and helps to eliminate human error. By facilitating effective identification, inspection, and reporting of typical interference clashes in 3D models, we can resolve problems at the document stage rather than during the construction phase. And it’s not only clash detection of components that we identify, but also efficiencies (and therefore inefficiencies) in materials, equipment lead time, construction sequencing, and compliance with original designs.

Although generally only used for some small residential projects, in a traditional design process, when inconsistencies are spotted, plans have to be redrawn to eliminate clashes. If construction has already begun, rectifying clashes can cause enormous problems and they often result in costly delays that impact negatively on budgets.  

Of course, clash detection and clash resolution go hand-in-hand, and it’s a no-brainer that if clashes aren’t detected, they cannot be resolved. When manual processes are used, human error is a very real problem, and clashes may only be identified when the construction process is at an advanced stage.

A key benefit of using BIM is the ability to identify any type of clashes early on in projects so that they can be rectified (or resolved) more easily, more quickly, and more cheaply than if work was already in progress.

But even with the availability of sophisticated software that automates the process of clash detection, it’s essential to know what clashes are, why they happen, and how they can be avoided.

• What is a clash? There are a myriad of components and building elements that are used to design a building and if any of these are not spatially coordinated they will conflict with one another. Additionally, there can be workflow clashes that result from a conflict in construction sequencing.
• Different types of clashes. For convenience, these are defined as:
  • Hard clashes that involve building components that have been positioned in the same space in two different designs. For example, the structural engineer may have positioned a steel beam in the same position used for pipework by the MEP engineer, or a duct system may intersect electrical conduits. Clash resolution will involve moving one or the other component.
  • Soft clashes that involve the breach of buffer zones. For instance, an air conditioning unit may need a specified clearance for access, safety, or maintenance, and if a building component of any kind is positioned within the buffer zone it will constitute a soft clash. Clash resolution will involve ensuring the buffer zone complies with the specifications.
  • Workflow clashes generally involve general timeline conflicts including the scheduling of contractors and delivery of materials and equipment.
• Why clashes occur. It is common to have structural, mechanical, electrical, and increasingly also environmental engineers using the architect’s model to produce their own design models. The data and content of these models can be immense, and since various specialists will usually be working independently, there is always going to be the possibility of unplanned conflict and inconsistencies.
• How clashes can be avoided. On a positive note, clashes are easily spotted in the BIM process during the design phase. But clash avoidance should be the aim of all those involved in the design process. With BIM, regular checking and assessment of design decisions and clashes by NY Engineers or design team managers will enable all involved to resolve any problems quickly and efficiently.