Prefabricated E and W systems simplify on-site assembly

Commissioned by Bouwbedrijf Kooi, Aalbers of Nieuw-Buinen is realizing the E and W installations for this project, which was started in the fall of 2020.

"Sustainable, affordable solutions were sought. All apartments are equipped with underfloor heating in combination with a heat pump, which is linked to a thermal storage system in the ground. Indeed, this new construction project will be connected to Eteck's area thermal storage system. Compared to classic radiators, this underfloor heating will heat the homes more evenly and the energy consumption will also be significantly lower. Furthermore, demand-controlled ventilation, but without heat recovery, should ensure healthy indoor air. The bathrooms will be delivered turnkey with all sanitary facilities," explains project leader Bert Wekema. "In itself, this is not an exceptional project, because all the apartments are delivered casually with the same installations. The entire project is completely designed in BIM. This allows us to connect seamlessly and efficiently throughout the construction process. In addition to the design of the installations, we also extract our prefab installations 1 on 1 from the BIM model. The prefab functionality in BIM is a huge advance for us. Furthermore, we order our materials directly from the model. This ultimately ensures shorter lead times, transparency, clear communication and time savings. The biggest gain we see is in saving assembly hours on the construction site. All our projects are worked out completely in BIM and this has now become our new standard."

As with other projects, Aalbers Installatietechniek also tries to work mainly with prefabricated elements in Groningen. For example, the electrical installation is produced in the factory in ready-made elements, which are then assembled on site by the assembly teams. Water and sewage systems also work in a similar way. "Our fitters on the construction site obviously still have to be able to read the drawings, but the individual components have now been replaced by complete elements that they just have to connect together correctly," Wekema concludes. "The time we invest in proper preparation is recovered during assembly. Moreover, it is cost-saving."