Sellafield Ltd has setup a ‘BIM cave’ at its Sellafield Product and Residue Store Retreatment Plant (SRP) construction site office.
Sellafield Ltd is the legal entity responsible for safe clean-up of the Sellafield nuclear site, which is owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
The ‘cave’ provides an interactive touchscreen and immersive experience that has already been used to enhance work on the Sellafield site.
The construction team working on the SRP have direct access to the cave which helps them align the model to the schedule and check for potential errors.
Steve Harnwell, head of Sellafield Product and Residue Store Retreatment plant, Sellafield Ltd said: “The BIM cave allows 3D modelling and 4D planning to be executed ‘live’ on the site and enhances the project’s daily ‘line of sight’ planning by allowing people to visualise the plan and interfaces.
“This leading step is already resolving interface clashes and provides a better understanding for our workforce and supply chain. This is another advancement for deployment of BIM on Sellafield projects.”
Louis Twentyman, an engineering intern currently working on the SRP project, added: “The BIM cave allows us to interrogate the design and look for potential conflicts, safety issues and scope review.
“It’s also a great visualisation tool for the team on site, as we can now work with them to catch issues with the design and show it on a larger scale rather than a single computer screen.
“It’s early days for the room itself but the BIM model has allowed us to bring forward the construction of the services building by at least 10 months already.”
Main image: The ‘BIM Cave’ at the Sellafield office (Credit: Sellafield Ltd)
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