G&H Group is a leading mechanical, electrical, and public health (MEP) provider. With a dedicated team of 180 experienced people, they handle every aspect of MEP schemes from design to delivery and maintenance.
The challenge
Before investing in Trimble’s Stabicad for Revit, G&H Group relied on several different solutions for their design work. All MEP systems designs and calculations were carried out using a basic, outdated software solution, meanwhile the building model and drawings were created using Revit. This required the MEP designs and data to be replicated in Revit, with details and values often entered manually.
Daniel Brook, Mechanical Design Engineer at G&H Group explained: “After looking at what was available, the advantages of Stabicad became clear. Our extensive use of Revit meant that Stabicad ticked a lot of boxes for us as it sits within the Revit platform, and the big selling point was the level of integration. Because Stabicad enables all calculations and analysis to be carried out directly within the live 3D environment in Revit, the MEP systems don’t need to be modelled twice.”
“This single design environment also means there is no need to switch between software packages to complete different elements of the design. Having everything in one place enables a more streamlined flow of data, providing productivity gains and eliminating errors when transferring data from one place to another. It also makes any design changes simple, as they can be made once in Revit, with no chance that updates will be missed.”
The solution
G&H Group invested in a total of seven Stabicad licences, with four being used by the electrical and mechanical designers and three by the Revit technicians. Due to the long-term nature of construction projects, G&H Group has progressively been increasing its use of Stabicad in the last 12 months as new projects have begun, with the Stabicad software now used for all work.
To help smooth the transition from the previous software to Stabicad, Trimble has delivered an extensive training and onboarding program and continue to provide assistance. Commenting on this, Daniel added: “The support from Trimble has been excellent throughout and, from our perspective, is one of the big advantages of choosing Stabicad. The team fully supported us through the setup and onboarding process and has been on hand every step of the way as we have used more and more of Stabicad’s features and capabilities.”
The results
Ian Judge, Electrical Design Engineer at G&H Group commented on the benefits they’ve seen since introducing Stabicad: “On the electrical side, features such as the autorouting of cables in the 3D model has simplified what is often a time-consuming task. This has been used extensively on a recent project and it saved us all a lot of time and effort.”
Daniel explained: “Stabicad’s tools and features have saved us a lot of time. As an example, the Openings for MEP tool means we can now create builders work openings about 70% quicker. Overall, it is helping us to speed up the completion of designs, and as we become more familiar with Stabicad this is increasing. We believe that soon Stabicad may help us to achieve as much as a 50% time saving, which will have a dramatic effect on us as a business and the level of work we can take on.”
Stabicad has also supported G&H Group in its on-going drive to ensure work is standardised. The Stabicad templates, which can be adapted to the needs of each business, have been integrated into G&H’ Group’s existing processes to make standardisation even simpler.
Additionally, Stabicad calculations for air, heating and cooling water, domestic water (BS EN 806 and BS 8558) and drainage systems are CIBSE SVA-verified, which is shown by the CIBSE logo on the calculation output. Daniel outlined why this is an important benefit for the business: “The CIBSE SVA approval not only allows us peace of mind that the design is compliant with the latest standards, but it also helps give our clients confidence in what we have produced.”