01
Load basis
Establish connected and maximum demand, diversity and the distribution strategy before routing.
Electrical design and containment BIM services
The discipline with the most flexible routes and the least respected space allocation — which is exactly why its coordination failures surface last and cost most.
Electrical
The engineering position
Containment is treated as infinitely flexible until it is not
Cable tray can go almost anywhere, so on most projects it goes wherever is left. That works until the cumulative result is a tray route with eleven changes of level, no maintained separation from the chilled water above it, and no clear access for cable pulling. Flexibility is a property of the early design and a liability in the late one. We allocate the containment zone at the same time as the mechanical zone, and test the separation requirement as a rule rather than as an instruction in a specification.
Circuit data belongs on the element
A cable tray drawn as a generic object is a rectangle. A cable tray carrying its fill percentage, its circuits and its segregation class is a thing the model can be asked about — including whether the route it was given still satisfies the segregation requirement after three rounds of coordination moved it. The difference is entirely in how it was authored.
Distribution boards are a spatial commitment
A board schedule that fits on a page can still fail when the board, its working space, its escape route clearance and the containment arriving at it are put in a riser cupboard dimensioned from an earlier revision. We model the working space as a clearance zone, because that is the only form in which a checking routine can test it.
Deliverables
What is actually produced and issued
Any of these can be appointed on their own or combined. Nothing here depends on buying the intelligence layer, which is not for sale in any case.
DeliverableLV distribution models
Boards, submains, busbar and final circuits modelled with circuit and rating data carried on the elements.
DeliverableContainment routing
Tray, ladder, basket, trunking and conduit routed against structure and other services, with segregation and fill accounted for.
DeliverableLighting and small power layouts
Luminaire and outlet layouts against the reflected ceiling plan, with switching and emergency provision.
DeliverableLoad and panel schedules
Derived from the model, so a circuit added in the model appears in the schedule rather than in a separate spreadsheet that drifts.
DeliverableEarthing and bonding layouts
Where in scope, modelled and scheduled against the distribution design.
DeliverableRiser and cupboard coordination
Board working space, containment entry and access clearance resolved as modelled zones.
How it runs
The sequence, and why it is in this order
Sequence is not a formality on this kind of work. Most of the expensive rework we are asked to fix was produced by doing step four before step two.
02
Zoning
Containment zone in the void and riser allocation, agreed alongside mechanical rather than after it.
03
Primary containment
Main tray and busbar routes set against structure and mechanical, with separation designed in.
04
Final circuits and outlets
Lighting, small power and specialist systems placed against the architectural layouts.
05
Working space and access
Board clearance, escape route and pulling access tested as clearance rules.
06
Schedules and issue
Panel and load schedules derived from model state, QA rule set run, engineer signs.
What we need to start
The inputs that decide whether a start is a real start
Missing any of these is survivable. Not knowing which of them are missing is not, so we establish it at enquiry stage rather than at forty per cent.
- Architectural model with ceiling plans and riser locations
- Structural model — penetrations and beam depths govern tray routes
- Incoming supply arrangement and load schedule, or the basis to calculate one
- Lighting design criteria, or the lux levels and standard to apply
- Segregation and containment standards the project runs to
Automation
Where automation applies to this work
Every line carries its real status. Three of the four states on this site mean "not yet", and we use them.
AutomationSegregation and separation checkingLive
Minimum separation between containment classes and between electrical and wet services tested geometrically across the federated model.
AutomationCircuit and parameter completenessLive
Every element tested for rating, circuit reference and classification before issue.
AutomationBoard working space rulesLive
Clearance in front of and around distribution equipment tested as a rule, including where an architectural change has since encroached on it.
AutomationSchedule reconciliationLive
Panel schedule against modelled circuits, so the two cannot silently disagree.
Scope boundary
What this appointment does not include
Published because a scope boundary discovered at month three is a dispute, and the same boundary stated at enquiry stage is just information.
- We do not carry out protective device discrimination or arc flash studies.
- We do not issue electrical certificates or perform site testing and inspection.
- We do not sign off compliance with a national wiring regulation; we design to the standard you name and your engineer of record certifies.
FAQ
Questions we are asked at enquiry stage
Do you produce panel schedules from the model?
Yes. Deriving them from model state rather than maintaining a parallel spreadsheet is the point — it removes the most common source of drift between the electrical drawings and the electrical schedule.
Can you route containment if the mechanical model is not finished?
We can start, but the sequence matters. Containment routed before the primary mechanical distribution is fixed will be re-routed, because ductwork has far less freedom. We will say so rather than produce work that has to be redone.
How is segregation between services checked?
As a geometric rule across the federated model, at the separation distance the project standard requires, rather than by visual inspection of sections. It re-runs on every federation, which is what makes it useful after a change rather than only at first issue.
Do you model to containment fabrication detail?
Bracket and support layouts and builders work drawings are construction support deliverables and can be appointed. State the level of information need at enquiry stage.
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