Although the pump sector has for some time recognised the need to fulfil its commitments to BIM, there have been many different interpretations as to how this might be achieved. Recognising the confusion that seemed to prevail across the sector, and in direct response to the concerns of its members, the BPMA convened a meeting to address the issue. But given the important work that the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) had already been conducting in this area, and acknowledging its advisory role to UK government, the BPMA solicited its help and guidance.
The initial UK meeting led to further meetings across Europe, with CIBSE and many prominent pump manufacturers in attendance. The result of these meetings was to develop a Product Data Template (PDT) which could then be populated by any pump company. By completing the PDT for their products, manufacturers can effectively produce an 'electronic catalogue', directly usable in Level 2 BIM.
The templates are written in Excel, so manufacturers will not need much BIM 'know how' to be involved. Another clear advantage is that the manufacturer will only have to describe and complete a product once to serve all BIM software systems and users.
It was agreed that the master template should be owned by CIBSE, so there could be no commercial interest in its curation. All completed Product Data Templates will then be owned by the respective Pump Manufacturers. Any changes to the template will need to be agreed and approved by the pump industry across Europe and dissemination of any revised version to members will be via National Associations such as BPMA.
The purpose of this template will be to standardise the data required for a product category. As such, it is believed that this PDT for pumps will meet the requirements of the Building Services and MEPH (Mechanical, Electrical & Public Health) sectors across the European Union.
For further information and a copy of the Product Data Template please visit http://europump.net/publications/guides-and-guidelines
