BIM components of plumbing systems based on performance criteria

Plumbing systems have numerous components and, in order to make an appropriate choice, several pieces of information must be considered. This research study aims to identify performance-related information based on current technical standards and, using this data, to propose generic BIM components. Constructive research was conducted which included, for a sample of components: an examination of technical documents provided by manufacturers; a survey of the technical information necessary for a performance evaluation based on standards; validation of the technical information selected by a focus group formed by plumbing system designers; the proposition of a model considering this information and proposal and validation of generic BIM components. The main theoretical contributions of this study are the methodology applied to collect technical data for the performance evaluation, the generic model used to characterise the components; and suggestions to incorporate performance-related information into the Brazilian BIM standard. The development of models through the application of this methodology to other plumbing system components will make performance evaluation a decisive variable for selecting solutions and components, thus contributing to the improvement of the design quality of these systems.

Keywords:
Performance; Building systems; Constructive research; BIM