BIM Development for the Crossrail Farringdon Station

Bam Ferrovial Kier's (BFK) goal at Farringdon was to link programme, model and design information so that it could be accessed by stakeholders from a single source at any stage of the life cycle of the asset.

The joint ventyre selected BIMXtra software from Clearbox to achieve this goal, working with software developers to further adapt the BIMXtra platform for its complex requirements. Farringdon’s BIMXtra platform is now compatible with the majority of computer aided design (CAD) systems, enabling design schedules to be automatically populated with the geometric data from different CAD models.

BFK’s design team can also add non-geometric information directly onto the schedules during the design process. All information is automatically linked back to model components. One of BIMXtra’s major advantages is the streamlining of data gathering for asset management: Instead of being transposed by hand, a time consuming activity that is highly vulnerable to human error, data is generated through the linked design schedules. The delivery format can be set at any stage and the process is entirely automated. BFK predicts that the resulting CAD time savings for services subcontractors over the life cycle of the asset can be measured in man-years.

This project was the Merit Award Winner, Digital Innovation Award, in the CIOB International Innovation and Research Award 2014.

The Judge's said, “The applicants demonstrated an advanced implementation of BIM technologies on a complex infrastructure project. They not only showed the simultaneous interrogation of multiple models developed in different software packages, but also the collaborative working relationship which included the client and software consultant. The judging panel was impressed by their enthusiasm in applying a range of BIM technologies.”

--CIOB