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Learn by moving things

7 puzzles from a coordinator’s week, each checked as you go and each part of a lesson. Solving one counts towards your weekly goal.

6 to solve. In the order a project meets them.

Playground · information management
Take a model through the CDE
Work in progress
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Omar’s team starts modelling the level 2 services.

State
Status code
What has to happen first

Codes as in the UK National Annex, simplified in the Pedia entry. Your project’s information protocol has the final list.

The lesson behind it: CDE states

Playground · coordination
Triage the level 2 clash run

The weekly run on the clinic’s level 2 corridor returned these ten results. Decide what each one becomes before Thursday’s meeting. Tap again to change your mind.

  1. C01MEP vs Structure120 mm overlap
    Supply duct SD-201 (600 × 400) vs steel beam B2/4, grid C/4
  2. C02MEP vs Structure120 mm overlap
    Same duct SD-201 vs beam B2/5, grid C/5
  3. C03MEP vs Structure120 mm overlap
    Same duct SD-201 vs beam B2/6, grid C/6
  4. C04MEP vs Architecture12 mm
    Sprinkler head SH-2-14 vs ceiling tile, corridor 2.03
  5. C05MEP vs MEP (clearance 300 mm)140 mm below the pipe
    Cable tray CT-2-03 under chilled water pipe CHW-2-01
  6. C06Architecture vs Architecture100% overlap
    Wall W-2-118 vs wall W-2-118 (copy), same type
  7. C07MEP vs MEP60 mm overlap
    Foul drain FD-2-02 (150 mm, falling at 1:80) vs supply duct SD-202
  8. C08MEP vs Architecture46 clashes
    Ducts vs walls from architectural model revision P02 (current is P04)
  9. C09Structure vs Architecture (tolerance 0 mm)4 mm
    Column C-2-07 vs blockwork partition
  10. C10MEP vs Structure400 × 300 duct
    Exhaust duct EX-2-05 through lift core wall LC-2
0 of 10 sorted, 0 of 20 points. Change any answer until every card is right.
What the meeting gets
  • Issues to raise 0
  • Grouped by cause 0
  • Fix the test or model set 0
  • Left alone 0

The lesson behind it: Setting up clash tests

Playground · MEP coordination
Fit the services in the ceiling void

A section across the clinic’s level 2 corridor: 1,800 mm between the walls, 750 mm from the slab to the ceiling. Drag each service into place (or select it and use the arrow keys; it moves in 25 mm steps).

Slab soffit150 mm kept for lights and accessCeiling · corridor belowDrainSupply ductCHWSprCable tray750 mm
  • Foul drain 150 + fall · 150 mm pipe falling 300 mm over the 24 m corridor (1:80)
  • Supply duct · 550 × 300 duct with insulation
  • Chilled water pair · flow and return, insulated
  • Sprinkler main · drops go down to the heads
  • Cable tray · needs 300 mm above it to pull cables
4 of 6 rules broken. Place the drain first: it takes the most room and can’t move up or down along the run.
  • Every service in the void, keeping 150 mm above the ceiling for lights and accessFoul drain 150 + fall, Sprinkler main
  • At least 25 mm between services, for insulation and fixingSupply duct and Sprinkler main
  • The drain has room for its fall all the way along (its band fits)
  • No water service above the cable tray: a leak or condensation lands on the cables
  • 300 mm clear above the cable tray to lay and pull cables
  • Nothing under the sprinkler main: its drops go straight down to the heads

The lesson behind it: What MEP engineers need

Playground · structure
What the structure is doing
ABC
Load from
First floor slab
  1. 1.First floor slab
  2. 2.Beam, left bay
  3. 3.Beam, right bay
  4. 4.Column A, ground floor
  5. 5.Column B, ground floor
  6. 6.Column C, ground floor
  7. 7.Foundation A
  8. 8.Foundation B
  9. 9.Foundation C

Everything on the route carries this load to the ground. That is why a hole, a cut or a removed element anywhere on it goes to the engineer, and why a “small” change to column B on the ground floor affects both floors above.

An illustration of how forces flow, not a design check. Every opening, removed element or extra load is the structural engineer’s decision.

The lesson behind it: Structure for coordinators

Playground · sequencing
Build the clinic in 21 weeks

Drag each bar (or focus it and use the arrow keys) until every rule holds. One tower crane lifts the frame, the slabs and the envelope panels, one job at a time. The order you give it decides the finish.

135791113151719212325
Site set-up and hoarding
Piling
Ground slab
CRFrame, ground floor
CRFirst floor slab
CRFrame, first floor
CRRoof slab
CREnvelope panels
Roof waterproofing
MEP first fix
Fit-out
Commissioning
Handed over
Week 26: built parts solid, parts under way see-through and dashed.
6 rules broken, finish week 19.
  • Piling starts week 1, but the site must be fenced and set up first: earliest week 4.
  • Frame, ground floor starts week 4, but the ground slab cures a week before columns load it: earliest week 8.
  • Frame, first floor starts week 7, but the first floor slab cures a week before it is loaded: earliest week 12.
  • Roof waterproofing starts week 13, but the membrane goes on the roof slab: earliest week 16.
  • MEP first fix starts week 9, but services go in once the roof keeps the rain out: earliest week 14.
  • Commissioning starts week 14, but systems are tested in the finished building: earliest week 20.

The lesson behind it: Logistics and sequencing

Playground · site logistics
Lay out the clinic’s site

Drag the gate, the crane, the laydown area and the cabins (or select one and use the arrow keys; Shift moves further). Every rule on the right must turn green. The plan is made up for this exercise; the rules are the kind a logistics plan is checked against.

School playgroundHousesMain roadBus stopSide street (junction)Public sewerProtected tree, root zoneClinic (30 × 16 m)Laydown !Site cabins !Gate !Tower crane !10 m
5 of 12 rules broken. Start with the crane: everything else depends on its reach.
  • Gate: Gate at least 15 m from the junction, so queuing lorries don’t block it
  • Gate: Gate clear of the bus stop
  • Tower crane: Crane base outside the building, with 2 m to spare for the excavation
  • Tower crane: Crane reaches every corner of the building (45 m jib)
  • Tower crane: Jib never swings over the school playground
  • Tower crane: Crane base off the sewer and out of the tree’s root zone
  • Laydown: Laydown fully inside the crane’s reach, so loads go straight from the lorry to the crane
  • Laydown: Laydown within 25 m of the gate
  • Laydown: Laydown off the sewer, out of the root zone and clear of the building
  • Site cabins: Cabins outside the crane’s reach: no loads over people
  • Site cabins: Cabins within 30 m of the gate, so people walk in without crossing the works
  • Site cabins: Cabins clear of the building, the laydown and the tree

The lesson behind it: Logistics and sequencing

Playground · handover
Find what stops the COBie loading

The handover file for the clinic’s level 2 plant. The client’s CAFM imports it next week. Click every cell you think is wrong; the sheets are linked to each other.

NameTypeNameSpaceSerialNumberInstallationDate
0 of 6 found. Check that names are unique, that every link points to something that exists, and that nothing says TBC or is blank.

The lesson behind it: COBie that loads