BIM at the heart of Knauf Insulation Technical Solutions’ Strategy – with our specification managers Romain Carayol and Laura Raggi

By Aljaz
July 06, 2020

Knauf Insulation Technical Solutions deals with everything related to the insulation of HVAC pipes and ducts.Thanks to its BIM solutions, they have managed to facilitate the integration of insulating products into projects.

In the recently published ABCD blog (https://www.abcdblog.fr/) the two specification managers of the Technical Solutions, Romain Carayol who manages the French market, as well as Laura Raggi, responsible for Italy, Iberia, UK and Latin America gave their view on BIM and its importance.

Here a short version of the interview, full version is available on ABCD blog.

Could you both introduce yourself, tell us about your background and explain your arrival and your respective roles at Knauf Insulation?

Laura: I have been working at Knauf Insulation TS for 3 years, after 15 years spent in HVAC and insulation companies. Now I am technical responsible and specification manager for Italy, Iberia, UK and Latin America. I implemented BIM in our business division.

Romain: When I came out of graduate engineering school, I first worked in the automative industry, then in Hilti for 19 years and I’m now in Knauf Insulation Technical Solutions since January this year. My job is to develop our relationship with specifiers in France and Belgium towards the industry and HVAC specialists.

When was the BIM department created and for what reasons?

We have started to integrate BIM in our segment one year ago, with the aim to help designers to enhance their projects with smart BIM solutions and high quality.

Was the first brick of BIM the creation of BIM objects for project managers? How many objects are we talking about and what types?

Yes, we started with our whole HVAC insulation and fire protection portfolio. We are able to create BIM objects also for other products on demand. All our solutions are available on our website here, but also on BIMObject.

Are they more architects, engineers or installers that use your BIM objects?

In most cases, HVAC engineers and architects in design phase and to a lesser extent, installer companies in execution.

Does BIM really help specifiers?

Clearly, yes, since our BIM objects include all necessary informations on the product, including geometry of course but also information about certifications and thermal and mechanical properties. Including our products very soon in the project can help to prevent future problems as clashes or late changes in the design.

Did very strict regulations encourage you to push the subject of BIM?

Our BIM solutions were implemented at global level. For sure the national regulations about BIM in the different countries were determinant for its development in our company.

What benefits does BIM bring?

In more and more projects, in both HVAC and industry, energy efficiency is a key. To reach the ambitious project targets, high performance insulation is needed in limited thickness. If the insulation is not integrated in the design phase in the model, the problem could be unsolvable in the execution phase.

BIM allows optimization in the earlier stages, hence better energy efficiency, which is good for the building energy performance and for the environment.

In order to support specifiers during the designing phase, do you have also developed Dynamo nodes?

Yes, we have developed Revit Dynamo nodes to apply in a faster and easier way our insulation materials to pipes and ducts.  Our nodes are available for free and open to be customized by expert Dynamo users. They are available on our official website www.ki-ts.com or on BIMobject.com here and the tutorial is there. In the next months a new generation of KI TS Dynamo nodes will be available!

Do you know how many users use your BIM solutions worldwide? And which countries are the most dynamic?

Our BIM solutions are used by thousands of specifiers in the world. South European and Central/Latin America countries are the most dynamic.

Is BIM at the center of the Knauf group’s strategy?

Absolutely!  It’s one of our key initiatives, both to bring better services for our customers and to develop our relationship with the specifiers. BIM will change the way the contruction industry players collaborate. As a leading supplier of building material and solutions, we have a role to play in this evolution.

What are your development projects for the future?

We are planning to develop a new generation of Dynamo nodes and BIM build-ups for our systems. We are in continuous investigation to stay innovative! Follow us and discover our news.

Is there a message you want to convey to our readers?

Think BIM as soon as possible in your projects, don’t neglect the accessories and especially technical insulation that is an essential part of your projects.

Laura, Romain, thank you very much for your time and for this interesting presentation about your solutions. We wish you great success for the future!

Interview was originally published on ABCD blog, leading French blog, focusing on BIM, architecture and construction. You can read the full version here.