Cruise & Ferry Review - Autumn/Winter 2021

1 4 2 client to talk about their objectives and to find the solutions that best match their needs.” There are also significant operational benefits to this approach when it comes to picking up potential clashes between the various models. “One of the incredible things about the software is that it will actually search out and identify where there are collisions within a design, so you are not relying on human input to find errors,” explains the company’s BIM manager, Ben Nkyi. “The software is automated and does this for us, generating reports to find and identify collisions. It is extremely helpful when we start to work with shipyards, when introducing steel into the space. We can incorporate steel within our design and the software flags up all collisions with the steel and our design. This helps to eliminate risk before the project develops any further. It’s an instant way of addressing project issues before they become a real challenge, so we can resolve them ahead of time.” For the yards, this kind of software is very familiar, says Nkyi. “The shipyards have been working in 3D for a long period of time.” This means that for designers, it makes sense to be using and sharing similar technologies to improve knowledge sharing across many aspects of projects. SMC Design uses a platform called Revit, which is tailored to architects and, in 2018, the company brought BIM expert Ben Nkyi onboard as BIM manager to integrate the platform in its projects. “We recognised that this way of working is very much the way forward for all architects and designers,” says Brown. “It’s not just about efficiency but also enables us to design in a better way that we can bring to more of our projects as we develop.” The availability of virtual systems such as those used in BIM has clearly been useful in helping navigate the Covid-19 era of remote working and reduced access to sites. However, Brown points out: “Even before Covid-19, we were seeing benefits from working this way with virtual and augmented reality. We are working mainly with international clients, and it has helped to reduce the amount of travel for meetings, saving money for the client by not paying architects and consultants from various parts of the world to have a meeting. That has just continued, especially when the client is in one country and we are in another. We can have five different countries all meeting virtually.” While SMC Design has seized the opportunity to go all-in with BIM technology ahead of some of its competitors, Brown says this is not necessarily a strategy to differentiate the company. “I don’t think there’s going to be an element of competition through this technology, because most companies will adopt it. The last time there was such a change in the way people work was going from drafting tables to computers. This time it’s from 2D to 3D environments. It won’t create a divide in the markets – if anything, we welcome the participation of our competitors in the technology, because it will raise the standard of the way the industry works.” CFR Reviews can be done in virtual reality from the studio, in person and online – allowing access from anywhere in the world INTERV IEW “ This way of working is very much the way forward for all architects and designers”