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It is difficult to get everyone around the table and on the same level of information. BIM offers an efficient methodology for both of these problems! BIM stands for Building Information Modelling. The BIM working method stands for the interacting planning, execution, and management of buildings. The goal is a collaborative way of working among the parties involved in a project. This is achieved through the central and joint management of various project data.
However, which industries and actors can benefit from the implementation of BIM? In short: – because the more stakeholders use the BIM way of working, the easier it is to keep track and work together. In 2015, the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) presented a step-by-step plan “Digital Planning and Construction”. The related goal is to use BIM in federal infrastructure projects. The step-by-step plan provides for the introduction of a standardized performance level for public infrastructure construction projects starting this year (2020). The Deutsche Bahn and Die Autobahn GmbH of the federal government, for example, are joining this plan.
Compared to the traditional ways (2D CAD), the BIM working method with 3D planning offers a new approach. Here, all important documents are generated from a single model. Detailed representations therefore no longer have to be compiled by separate documents, but can simply be refined and viewed on the 3D model. Thus, with BIM, central storage of all documents is possible. This has the advantage that important information can be obtained quickly both in planning and in operation. At the same time, unnecessary and time-consuming communication channels can be avoided. This information can also be used with other systems and technologies. Examples of this are the connection to PLM systems or the transfer to the digital twin as holistic information management.
Which Industries Benefit From the Collaborative BIM Working Method?
Good planning is needed to apply the BIM method in your company. But, it also requires the rapid implementation of individual goals or measures, such as the KISS principle. The digitalization of every company takes time and does not happen overnight. Every industry and every company is subject to constant change and the growing digitalization that comes with it. With our complete support, you are well-prepared to make your company BIMready. Therefore, we first explain which industries work together and benefit from the BIM working method?
Construction and Real Estate Industry With the BIM Working Method
In the construction and real estate industry, BIM is one of the most important topics when it comes to digitalizing the industry. With the help of BIM, construction planning and execution can be carried out faster and more efficiently. BIM can also be used to structure the time from the design to the management of the building. In a survey, 78% of respondents said that BIM will drive the construction industry. So the conviction that BIM will become even more relevant in the future is already there. But it is also already there today and is already being used in the planning of new buildings as well as in the surveying of existing properties.
Architecture and Engineering With the BIM Working Method
The BIM working method is also becoming very common in architecture and engineering. In addition to the three parameters of time, quality, and costs, another aspect in the form of individuality offers a great advantage to establish independent and above all unique selling points in the market in the future. Every company has its specifics and is individual in terms of the environment, the customers, the technology, and, above all, the employees. Digitization requires a high degree of individuality, as every building, project or company has its character and carries out the work, and all approaches differently. With the help of BIM, the four parameters are influenced in such a way that each company can develop its USP to stand out from other participants in the long term. The individualization of your “own” BIM working method will result in more effort in the early phases of a project, but retrospectively saves a lot of costs associated with changes.
Earlier planning decisions reduce costs, as change costs become more expensive as the planning phase progresses and are most expensive in the management phase. In a survey, 61 % of the respondents who do not work with the BIM method said that the (still) conventional planning method was not sufficient. With more information content than traditional planning methods, BIM offers the opportunity to make faster, secure decisions for the later course of the project.
Everyone knows one or the other major project in Germany in which both the planning and the costs have gotten out of hand. However, not only large but also small projects are often planned inefficiently and thus cause increased costs. With BIM, it is possible to plan in more detail and with more foresight to avoid such cost explosions.
Building Services and Facility Management With the BIM Working Method
Those involved in a construction phase usually also include the companies responsible for building services. They also need access to the collected data that the BIM working method offers. Their technical planning can then be integrated into the coordination model and collaboratively integrated with the other planning. In the process, the planning becomes internally consistent and remains collision-free. The operating phase in particular is extremely costly, which encourages the client to design these phases more efficiently.
For this, the execution and operator knowledge must be integrated into the planning process at an early stage and the BIM data expanded accordingly. Strategic decisions regarding facility management must therefore already be made during the planning phase to construct the long-term costs in the operation of the building more efficiently. Through more precise planning with the help of the 3D representation of the BIM working method, important areas such as costs, economic efficiency, or energy efficiency can be considered in more detail. In facility management, building maintenance is essential and therefore requires constant updating of the condition of the property. Product information, maintenance, and operating documents, various contracts as well as warranties, and other documents can be added as information on the building components and can also be viewed after construction.
Civil Engineering With the BIM Working Method
Statt einer vagen Aussage des Bauherrn mitsamt ungenauer 2D-CAD Abbildungen, bietet die BIM Arbeitsweise ein detailgetreues 3D-Modell. Dies hat auch im Tiefbau samt seiner Fachbereiche (Straßen-/ Wasser- & Eisenbahnbau) seine Vorteile. Teure Planungsfehler können dank BIM vermieden werden und vorher genaustens simuliert als auch korrigiert werden. Dadurch bewirkt sie, dass die BIM-Methode die Planungs- und Durchführungsphase für alle Beteiligten langfristig günstiger macht. Durch BIM können sämtliche Informationen von Aufmaß bis zu Kalkulationen oder Abrechnungen während aller Projektphasen hinzugefügt werden und von allen Beteiligten eingesehen und eventuell ergänzt werden.
Urban Planning With the BIM Working Method
Regardless of whether it is a building or an entire city – with the BIM method, areas of any size can be digitally recorded, and the data used for urban planning. Due to the rural exodus and the resulting urban growth, efficient and well-thought-out urban planning is becoming an increasingly important topic to have all aspects in the picture. This also saves important resources in the long term. Together with the construction, real estate industry, architecture as well as civil engineering, it is possible to visualize cities together in the overall model.
Data on drinking water, wastewater, and rainwater, energy, electricity, telecommunications, and roads are displayed alongside the buildings in the 3D model and generated with the help of augmented reality. In Moscow, a district that is to provide living space for around 65,000 people was planned using the BIM method and can thus obtain detailed information from all areas.
The Necessity of BIM and the Digital Twin
The necessity of the BIM way of working becomes clear through the minimization of planning errors, thanks to collaborative working and detailed simulations. Planning errors in the construction and operation phases also have an impact on overall costs, due to their reduction. Deadlines can be met faithfully and planned realistically.
The interaction of the BIM method and supporting CAFM software as well as sensors and IoT in the building form the digital twin, which creates a virtual image of a building. The Digital Twin provides an up-to-date and identical representation of the building through sensors installed in the building. Therefore, it is possible to see what your building feels like in its actual state. Likewise, data collected during the operational phase, such as maintenance work, can be created and updated in the model. This minimizes actual inspections that it takes to solve a problem. Predictive forecasts about the condition of the building can be given and tradespeople can be automatically notified with precise error messages as soon as there are faults in the building.
BIM offers you process optimization in your projects and more transparency, cost security and can create advantages in a wide range of sectors and facilitate collaborative working. With DiConneX, you get holistic and individual support from the consultation to the digital twin to manage your building.
Would you like to learn more about the possibilities and opportunities of BIM?
We offer a wide range of training opportunities. The BIM Beginner Webinar gives you a complete introduction to the topic of BIM and provides you with all the important information you need to make progress with BIM implementation!