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Architecture
Posted - March 6, 2014 - By Kuldeep Bwail (http://www.xscad.com/architecture/)

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MEP is an acronym used for Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing systems for building
projects.  With the increasing complexity and functionality of each system, MEP activities
Services
are not confined to the traditional mechanical, electrical and plumbing system but also
include fire protection, gas piping, process piping, pneumatic tubing, data systems etc.  
This article assumes that the design has been completed by ‘Design Consultants’ to a
certain stage and then handed to ‘Installation Sub-Contractors’ who will validate the
design and value engineer the design through the process of spatial coordination and
procurement of components to meet the requirements of the design.  The coordination of
MEP (M&E) systems amongst themselves and with other building systems including
architectural and structural disciplines is a critical, challenging and time consuming task, (http://www.xscad.com/our-
BIM Modelling
especially in complex building projects with intense MEP requirements.  The coordination services/bim-modeling/)
process of MEP systems involves defining the exact location of each building system
component throughout the building within the constraints of the envelope defined by the
architectural and structural systems to comply with diverse design and operations criteria
avoiding any interferences/clashes amongst building systems. Assuming that most
companies undertake the task of MEP Coordination, without which the site installation
from a ‘design only’ set of drawings would be too much of a risk, there are two ways by
which the following process takes place:

2D MEP Coordination: The process starts with the design from the design consultant.  The
subcontractor team will manually update the 2D CAD drawings or create their own set
from the start.  In creating these drawings a number of sections will be drawn and
frequent attention given to ceiling void spaces in which the systems and services are being
laid out.  In an ideal world 2D MEP Coordination can work as long as all services and
systems are assessed adequately and then drawn into a 2D drawing.  The sizes of the
systems would need to be manually added as would the heights and distances from
gridlines or walls.  The contractor will have teams of people for each system (HVAC,
plumbing, electrical, etc.) creating their drawings based on the architectural ceiling void. 
In this method, there is no automated system to identify the conflicts in the MEP system
and therefore there is a high degree of reliance on the intuition, imagination, technical
knowledge and experience of the team members to lay out the services without site teams
experiencing clashes.  Visualizing the potential clashes is made more difficult due to
changes in ceiling profiles, not to mention the challenge of having to understand the
impact of all systems as well as structural and architectural elements that may impede or
impact a system or service route.  What makes things worse is that a third party cannot
easily review the drawings for any errors, nor can the design be easily reviewed or
communicated with a project team.  Additionally, if there are changes to the design or
procurement-led changes then the process of undoing and re-doing 2D MEP Coordination
projects becomes very cumbersome.  The inherent weaknesses of 2D CAD software also
come into play; one can draw something of one size and label it as something completely
different.  As the systems and services drawings are not checked in some form of
automated method there is no guarantee that the 2D MEP coordination process will
generate a clash free drawing. During the time of complex projects, it requires multiple
section viewings which consume a lot of time.  These time commitments come with
additional costs to each contractor.

3D MEP Coordination: This process is more collaborative and allows the ability to
communicate the progress of the project quickly and easily, providing 3D visuals that
resemble the final system and service installation. It starts with a clear direction in terms
of spatial zoning which is then used as the basis to start modelling the HVAC, piping,
plumbing and electrical services. As the architectural and structural models form part of
the model, it is easier to insert services and systems without creating clashes. Once the
model is complete and all systems and services have been added, the ability to identify
problems becomes much easier compared to the 2D Coordination method. Firstly, one is
able to walk through the model using roaming software to review the model and, secondly
the use of clash detection software, such as Navisworks, highlights all clashes whether
these are systems against other systems or systems against structure or architecture. Once
highlighted, all clashes can then be corrected during the coordination stage of the
project. Only once the model is interference free are drawings created. This leads to
another set of benefits, unlike 2D coordination where each section must be drawn, the 3D
software allows creation of sections that are directly taken from the model. Additionally,
as the 3D software is so intelligent, the sizes of systems are directly taken from the 3D
model and therefore there is no chance of services or systems being modelled as one size
and then labelled as another. Beyond the coordination stage, there are several other
benefits from the 3D model, including use during facilities management, energy analysis
and so on.

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The Two Methods of MEP Coordination - Page 3 of 4

Irrespective of the MEP Coordination (http://www.xscad.com/our-services/mep-

coordination/) method used, the need for MEP Coordination arises due to the lack of
detailed coordination during the design stage. Additionally the need for fabrication and
installation of building systems in accordance with industry and Sub-Contractor best
practice requires MEP Coordination to be carried out by them. The 2D MEP Coordination
process provides a limited interference-checking capability and therefore can and will
result in more problems on site including additional re-work, change orders and inflating
budgets. All of this makes 3D MEP Coordination a more efficient and the increasingly
preferred method for the long term.

In case you are an MEP designer or a building services consultant working on projects in
the UK, the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, or Australia looking for reliable MEP
(M&E) spatial coordination services, please contact us. (http://www.xscad.com/contact-
us/)

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