ICOM (Industrial and Commercial Energy Association) has created a new BIM Working Group and is working in collaboration with CIBSE (Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers) to develop a suitable information structure.

The new group will co-ordinate the production of Product Data Templates (PDTs) for the non-domestic heating industry, enabling ICOM members to make their product information available in a format that is usable on all Building Information Modelling platforms.

ICOM director Ross Anderson said: “BIM is now being adopted for many construction projects and it’s vital that manufacturers are able to provide product information in a format that is compatible with BIM. In working with CIBSE on this project, we are able to take advantage of the PDT concept and make it relatively easy and straightforward for members to meet this growing requirement.”

The first BIM Working Group meeting, held in April 2014, introduced members to the principles of PDTs and began the process of creating a list of templates that will be required to cover ICOM members’ products. This list will be monitored and updated through subsequent meetings to ensure that all relevant products are included.