MAPEI says it’s making the job easier for architects and specifiers by working with ARCAT to develop its wide array of products into Building Information Modeling (BIM) systems. With BIM software, architects can build libraries of information about products they wish to specify in their construction plans. Information such as technical data sheets, MSDS sheets, LEED data and specifications can be gathered into a single “system” which can then be “stored” in the BIM plans. By simply touching the system within the plans, the architect, or a contractor bidding on the project, can open up all the necessary information about a specific product.

“BIM is the next generation of computer-assisted design (CAD) with the capability of data storage that has the added advantage immediate recall,” said Mike Granatowski, MAPEI’s national manager for Architectural and Commercial Projects. “Don Miller, our senior Tile & Stone Installation Systems (TSIS) and Architectural Support consultant has worked diligently with the ARCAT team as they have built our TSIS products into BIM objects. Work on all the products in our Concrete Restoration Systems line will also be added to the ARCAT web site by the end of the first quarter 2010.”

In addition to creating accurate graphics, ARCAT and MAPEI have added appropriate product data, saving architects a significant amount of time doing data entry and product research. The BIM system graphics and content are uniform and modifiable for ease of use, and developed on the Revit 2009 platform.

Further, in addition to product information, ARCAT has embedded links in the system to MAPEI’s CSI 3-Part specs. “MAPEI’s systems offer a decided advantage because they are more than single objects; their systems include ancillary products as well,” said Rick Janott, president and ceo of ARCAT.