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.
- 5 minTake a model through the CDEState, status code and approval at seven moments in a model’s life.
- 8 minTriage a clash runTen clashes: raise, group, fix the test or leave alone.
- 8 minFit the services in a ceiling voidDrainage, duct, chilled water, sprinkler and tray in 750 mm.
- 4 minWhat the structure is doingLoad paths, and where a beam can take a hole.
- 8 minBuild the clinic in 21 weeksOrder twelve activities with one tower crane.
- 6 minLay out the siteGate, crane, laydown and cabins against twelve rules.
- 5 minFind what stops the COBie loadingSix errors hidden in a three-sheet handover file.
Omar’s team starts modelling the level 2 services.
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
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.
- C01MEP vs Structure120 mm overlapSupply duct SD-201 (600 × 400) vs steel beam B2/4, grid C/4
- C02MEP vs Structure120 mm overlapSame duct SD-201 vs beam B2/5, grid C/5
- C03MEP vs Structure120 mm overlapSame duct SD-201 vs beam B2/6, grid C/6
- C04MEP vs Architecture12 mmSprinkler head SH-2-14 vs ceiling tile, corridor 2.03
- C05MEP vs MEP (clearance 300 mm)140 mm below the pipeCable tray CT-2-03 under chilled water pipe CHW-2-01
- C06Architecture vs Architecture100% overlapWall W-2-118 vs wall W-2-118 (copy), same type
- C07MEP vs MEP60 mm overlapFoul drain FD-2-02 (150 mm, falling at 1:80) vs supply duct SD-202
- C08MEP vs Architecture46 clashesDucts vs walls from architectural model revision P02 (current is P04)
- C09Structure vs Architecture (tolerance 0 mm)4 mmColumn C-2-07 vs blockwork partition
- C10MEP vs Structure400 × 300 ductExhaust duct EX-2-05 through lift core wall LC-2
- 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
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).
- 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
- 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
- 1.First floor slab
- 2.Beam, left bay
- 3.Beam, right bay
- 4.Column A, ground floor
- 5.Column B, ground floor
- 6.Column C, ground floor
- 7.Foundation A
- 8.Foundation B
- 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
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.
- 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
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.
- 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
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.
| Name | TypeName | Space | SerialNumber | InstallationDate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The lesson behind it: COBie that loads