01
Design basis
Confirm the distribution strategy, single-line diagram and load schedule supplied by the electrical engineer.
Electrical BIM modelling 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 BIM & engineering
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. 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 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 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.
DeliverableElectrical Revit models
Lighting fixture layouts, general and emergency lighting, and small power and socket layouts modelled in Revit.
DeliverableConduit, cable tray and containment
Conduit, cable tray, trunking and ladder layouts, with cable routing and containment coordinated against other services.
DeliverablePanels, switch rooms and equipment rooms
Distribution board and panel placement, switchgear, panel-room, transformer and electrical equipment-room models.
DeliverableRisers, single-line diagrams and schedules
Electrical riser diagrams, single-line and schematic documentation, circuiting and panel schedules.
DeliverableEarthing and lightning protection
Earthing and bonding layouts and lightning protection system modelling.
DeliverableELV, fire alarm, data and security
ELV containment, fire alarm and detection layouts, and data, telecom and security device layouts — each as a separately defined scope.
DeliverableShop drawings and quantities
Electrical shop drawings and installation layouts, with quantities and BOQs. Load schedules and calculations: only where design responsibility is explicitly agreed and supported by qualified engineers.
Catalogue scope
Every scope item, with its typical output
The full list from the BIMRACE service catalogue. Each item can be included or excluded in a proposal; the code is the one used in our scope documents.
EL-01Electrical Revit modeling
Native Revit model and views.
EL-02Lighting fixture layouts
Lighting plans and fixture schedules.
EL-03General and emergency lighting layouts
Lighting layouts and schedules.
EL-04Small power and socket layouts
Power plans and layouts.
EL-05Electrical conduit and containment modeling
Conduit model and layouts.
EL-06Cable tray, trunking and ladder layouts
Containment model and schedules.
EL-07Cable routing and containment coordination
Coordinated layouts and model.
EL-08Distribution board and panel placement
Equipment layouts and schedules.
EL-09Switchgear and electrical panel-room modeling
Room model, sections and layouts.
EL-10Transformer and electrical equipment-room modeling
Equipment-room model.
EL-11Electrical riser diagrams
Riser drawings.
EL-12Single-line diagrams and schematic documentation
Single-line diagrams and schematics.
EL-13Circuiting and panel schedules
Panel schedules.
EL-14Lighting and power load schedules
Schedules and calculations where scoped. Engineering design scope — only where design responsibility is explicitly agreed and supported by qualified engineers.
EL-15Earthing and bonding layouts
Layouts and details.
EL-16Lightning protection system modeling
Model and layouts.
EL-17Electrical equipment and installation details
Details and schedules.
EL-18ELV/low-current containment modeling
Containment layouts; system-specific scope.
EL-19Fire alarm and detection layouts
Layouts and device schedules, separate scope.
EL-20Data, telecom and security modeling
Layouts and device/containment schedules, separate scope.
EL-21Electrical shop drawings and installation layouts
PDF/DWG drawing package.
EL-22Electrical quantities and BOQs
Excel takeoff and BOQ.
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 and pulling access tested as clearance rules.
06
Schedules and issue
Panel schedules, risers and shop drawings derived from model state, with the QA rule set run.
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.
- Electrical design drawings, schematics and single-line diagrams
- Architectural model with ceiling plans and riser locations
- Structural model — penetrations and beam depths govern tray routes
- Lighting and equipment data where available
- Segregation and containment standards the project runs to
AI & automation
Where AI and automation apply to this work
AI is used throughout our delivery workflow, and an engineer reviews every output. Every line carries its real status.
AIAI-assisted drawing reviewLive
Electrical layouts, SLDs and panel schedules read to extract circuits, equipment and missing data.
AIAI-assisted schedule checkingLive
Panel and equipment schedules compared against the model, with mismatches drafted as findings.
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.
- Specialist calculations — cable sizing, fault level, protection coordination, short circuit and arc flash — require explicit scope and suitably qualified engineering resources.
- Fire alarm, data, telecom and security are separate scope items, included only when defined.
- We do not issue electrical certificates, perform site testing or sign off compliance with a national wiring regulation.
Request a quote
Get a quote: Electrical BIM
Tell us the building, the stage and what you need. An engineer replies within two working days with approach, deliverables and a fee basis.
Quote request received
Thank you — an engineer will reply within two working days.
Have drawings ready? Use the full enquiry form to attach them.
What a useful quote needs. Building type and approximate area, the disciplines, the project stage, and which drawings or models exist. If you have them ready, the full enquiry form takes file uploads.
NDAs. We sign before drawings or models are shared, as a matter of course.
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 removes the most common source of drift between the electrical drawings and the electrical schedule.
Do you model ELV and fire alarm systems?
Yes, as separately defined scope items: ELV containment, fire alarm and detection layouts, and data, telecom and security device and containment layouts.
Can you produce single-line diagrams?
We prepare single-line and schematic documentation from the engineer's design. Electrical calculations and protection studies are provided only where explicitly scoped.
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.
Related
Where this connects
HVAC BIMThe discipline that sets the zone containment has to work around.
Fire protection BIMSuppression systems, kept separate from fire alarm scope.
BIM coordinationSeparation and access tested as rules, not read off sections.
Commercial and officesTenant variation and repeated coordination cycles.