In companies, digitisation has been aimed at increasing productivity, which is also the goal of BIM implementation in Spain. However, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the focus to resilience and maintaining productivity in the face of adverse situations, in short, maintaining the business. This objective is clearly reflected in the pillars of the BIM methodology, which focuses on digital information management –with the reduction of paper-based processes, common data sources and process automation– and collaboration, i.e., the use of collaborative tools, digital exchanges, synchronised access and the use of cloud storage. The new scenarios generated by this pandemic, such as the promotion of remote work (teleworking), the reduction of contact between workers through the establishment of shifts and social distancing, require the increased digitisation of processes in order to ‘work digitally’.

Ineco’s experience in this field has enabled it to ensure the continuity of work and to fulfil its commitments during this period, although it is necessary to continue developing this methodology for its generalisation as a working standard. As part of this process, a body of documentation is being created to contribute to the success of this endeavour through specific manuals, guides, process automation tools, etc. These actions are complemented by the creation of a digital community of practices that will serve as a meeting point for all those interested in the application of the methodology within the company, people from different fields and with different visions that contribute to establishing and prioritising needs.

BIM observatory.

BIM in infrastructure projects

Although BIM, as a methodology or set of processes, does not distinguish
between areas, over the last year Ineco has developed various linear infrastructure projects with BIM as the work methodology. These are very different types of projects, ranging from metro or high-speed lines to roads, and applied to various stages of the life cycle, in line with a methodology that aims to address that whole life cycle. Significant progress has been made during this period in areas where the application of BIM methodology faced the greatest challenges:

• Modelling tools: digital models are generated by these tools, which are beginning to incorporate exchange formats designed for linear infrastructure.
• Standards: the publication of the EN-19650 standard establishes the definitions and information flows in BIM processes and makes it possible to move beyond the stage in which its absence led to the use of rules obtained from international standards.
• Interoperability: the publication of the IFC 4.3 open standards (alignment, bridges, road and rail) is an important step forward in establishing the open exchange standard for infrastructure, eliminating the need to resort to formats developed for construction.

BIM public tendering.

BIM sector distribution.

AWARD GIVEN FOR BIM-GIS INTEGRATION ON A HIGHWAY PROJECT

Some of the more important areas of innovation related to broadening the horizons of the application of this methodology are those involving integration with GIS, which recently received the Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award given by Esri, a world leader in software for Geographic Information Systems. This work aims to integrate digital information from different sources and technologies into a common environment that encourages and maximises its use, is accessible to as many parties as possible and facilitates decision-making in project implementation.

The award acknowledges the company’s ground-breaking work in Spain in the development of GIS technology thanks to the integration of the BIM methodology into a GIS environment to develop a virtual 3D model of the future A-76 Ponferrada-Ourense Highway, on the Villamartín section of the Abadía-Requejo stretch for the General Directorate of Roads, part of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (MITMA).

BIM-GIS display of the A-76 highway.

The Special Achievement in GIS Awards are international awards given to organisations around the world that Esri Inc. uses to show its appreciation for the use of its technology in addressing some of the world’s most important challenges. Every year, different projects around the world in different fields are recognised for demonstrating their capacity for innovation and good use of GIS in solving new problems.

3 NOTABLE projects

A technical solution for a light metro. This is an international project designed as a technical solution for the building design of a light metro, just over 2 kilometres long, to be connected to an existing external line. The design comprises a 2 km tunnel with three access points, an evacuation tunnel and three underground stations, involving numerous infrastructure disciplines at the same time. The route has very demanding occupation requirements, which means that the coordination and implementation of the infrastructure is especially important.

Metro.

Six teams were involved in the design, generating models belonging to different companies and countries, which is why collaboration between them is also a key aspect, using two common data environments. The BIM uses that were applied included 3D coordination and generation of 2D documentation and quantity take-off.

Three-dimensional models for a highway in Costa Rica. Normally we think of the sequential development of the generation of BIM models in the design stage (project) and their use in subsequent construction and maintenance stages, but in certain cases and under certain circumstances, BIM can be applied in more advanced stages even if it has not been executed in initial stages. This involves digitising the project documentation and converting the drawings into three-dimensional models with all of the associated information. The objective is to use it to monitor the work, simulate construction, obtain quantities for certification and generate ‘as built’ information.

Roads.

This was the case for the San Gerardo-Barranca stretch of the Pan-American Highway in Costa Rica. The project was carried out in the ‘traditional’ way, obtaining the usual documents: design report, annexes, plans, specifications and the bill of quantities. Based on this documentation, Ineco generated the digital models that represent the entire section and all its disciplines: earthworks, pavement, structures, drainage, signs, etc. The digitisation of the project documentation allows the detection of inconsistencies between disciplines. The three-dimensional visualisation alone makes this detection possible. In addition, the linking of construction elements and budget quotes, a number of inconsistencies in quantities and the bill of quantities were detected. A filtering analysis by relevance was then carried out, determining the inconsistencies that were actually relevant for the work stage and which would need to be taken into account.

Currently, we are waiting for the beginning of the works in order to start the monitoring work to be connected with the actual construction plan.

A digital twin to manage a railway construction site. As in the previous case, a high-speed railway section at the access points to Extremadura has been modelled for use in the construction stage, in this case a track assembly site. The objectives are as follows:

• To study the application of the BIM methodology in track installation works.
• To contribute to the improvement of collaboration and communication between different parties.
• To generate a digital twin of the work in order to facilitate management of the work in later stages.
• To monitor the execution of the work in terms of costs and deadlines.

Railways.

The work includes the installation of 55.1 kilometres of double track on ballast, as well as some smaller sections of single track on ballast on a double track platform (around 400 metres) and slab track (around 3.7 kilometres). In this case, the complexity arises from the length of the section involved and the need to identify the basic objects to be introduced in the digital models. Before work began, the corresponding BIM Execution Plan was drawn up, which included the definition of the level of graphic information to be included in the models, taking into account the disciplines involved in a project of this nature (surface treatments, ballast, sleepers, rail, welding and track devices); specific tables were also included for the non-graphic information for each type of element. In the absence of a standardised classification system that includes these type of elements, an ad hoc system was created. The Execution Plan also defined the common data environment, which is essential for sharing information between the site office teams and the design office. Lastly, the quality control model was designed according to the arrangement shown bellow. In total, 38 route and track models were generated, taking into account the section divisions of the project.

Quality control model.

The construction sector is strategically important for European economies in terms of production and job creation, accounting for 9% of GDP and employing more than 18 million people. It is an important engine of economic growth and an activity in which three million companies are engaged, most of which are SMEs.

It is, however, a sector that lags behind other industries in terms of digitisation and productivity rates. Several European reports have identified that the root causes of this situation are an insufficient level of collaboration between agents involved in the process, a low level of investment in R&D, and improvable information management.

The digitisation of the construction sector represents a unique opportunity to confront the significant structural challenges that still need to be addressed by taking advantage of the widespread availability of best practices developed in other industrial sectors, new engineering tools, digital workflows and technological skills for achieving higher productivity and creating a more efficient construction sector.

The introduction of the BIM methodology in the construction sector represents a drive towards its digitisation. The wider use of technology, digital processes and automation undoubtedly helps to greatly improve our economic, social and environmental future.

This initiative, promoted by the European Commission, aims to encourage the construction sector to improve its productivity and embrace new technologies through digital transformation, an aspect in which this sector is lagging far behind: 95% of construction jobs in Europe are in small or medium-sized companies, and productivity has barely grown 1% in the last 20 years. EU BIM calculates that the implementation of this methodology will reduce the overall costs of the construction sector by between 10 and 20%, and also produce immeasurable social and environmental benefits.

The European Commission seeks to encourage the construction sector to improve its productivity and embrace new technologies through digital transformation

The EU BIM Task Group is made up of representatives from more than 20 European public authorities and brings together the collective experience of policy makers, managers of public assets and infrastructure operators in the field. It therefore has a significant base of knowledge about the legislation, practices and customs of many countries which, although different, have similar problems in common.

The Manual, with collaboration by Ineco engineers Jorge Torrico and Elena Puente, representing Spain’s Ministry of Public Works, includes case studies and examples of the evolution of BIM implementation in different European countries and aims to respond to the following questions:

• Why have other European governments adopted measures to support and encourage the adoption of the BIM methodology?
• What benefits can be expected?
• How can governments and clients belonging to the public sector offer leadership and work hand in hand with industry?
• Why is public leadership and harmonisation so important at European level?
• What defines the BIM methodology at European level?

The document is not intended as a guide for the management of the BIM methodology, but rather to offer a strategic and comprehensive overview of the steps to be taken to implement it by examining real experiences in recent years.

Aware of the role played by public authorities and European institutions in the implementation of this technological transformation aimed at improving the competitiveness of their industries, some governments are already taking the first steps to implement this methodology as a requirement in their tendering processes, a strategy that will result in significant improvement in services and cost savings in public works. This is the case in the United Kingdom since 2016 and France as of 2017, and it will be applied in Spain by 2019.

The manual includes case studies and examples of how BIM implementation evolved in different European countries

However, differences in the definition and practical application of BIM in each country can create obstacles and make the work of construction and engineering firms that operate in multiple markets even more difficult. Before this happens, Europe is seeking to agree on a common framework consisting of best practices and international standards accepted by both public institutions and the private engineering and construction sector. This is why, since February 2016, EU BIM has been working on the standardisation of BIM in Europe. Its objective in these two years has been to convey the benefits of this methodology in order to achieve –along with the support of private industry– digital transformation in the European public construction sector.

EU BIM TASK GROUP. Consisting of representatives from more than 20 European public authorities.

Communication, key to the implementation of BIM

In order to achieve a common regulatory and operational framework, public authorities and private industry have initiated an ongoing dialogue that seeks to bring up to date, within a few years, a sector that is rooted in almost artisanal methods. The case studies from different countries examined in the EU BIM Manual are a preamble to the importance that information exchange, standardisation and digitisation will have over the coming years for the construction sector, which is unquestionably on the threshold of a profound and historic transformation. It is just a matter of time.

In Estonia, for example, the Ministry of the Economy’s leadership in the initiative since 2014 and its commitment to the medium and long term has generated confidence in the sector and provided a clear outlook. The level of communication and commitment of the Swedish government has also been crucial in generating this confidence in the sector: the country’s BIM Alliance Sweden was created in 2014 with 170 representatives from all public and private construction organisations, and in 2017,  launched a strategic innovation programme called Smart Built Environment (SBE).

In 2015, Germany began designing a roadmap for digitisation in construction, an effort in which professionals from different areas have been involved and which will be implemented as of 2020. The Manual highlights the difficulty of communicating a strategic plan to a sector that employs six million people in Germany and making them understand how important it is for them. All in all, the reaction has been very positive.

The government of the United Kingdom, one of the most proactive, as part of its BIM implementation strategy, provided its suppliers with a reasonable time for adaptation: five years to bring themselves up to date from 2011. The United Kingdom also established a new legal framework within which to operate, and keeps the sector continuously informed through the government’s official Internet pages. This is also the case in France, which has set up a complete website to provide in-depth information about its PTNB (Plan Transition Numérique dans le Bâtiment), promoting a common work system. Every six months, the website publishes a survey or barometer that indicates how BIM is perceived by the construction sector in France. In the most recent survey, published in April, 80% of respondents said that they did not have enough information about BIM; nonetheless, it was used by 11% of professionals, in particular those working in new building construction (75%) and renovation (45%).

CONSTRUCTION. The construction sector is an activity in which three million companies are engaged making it an important engine of economic growth.

In Spain, responsibility for the initiative falls to the Ministry of Public Works, which created the es.BIM Commission in 2015. Among its different actions, the Commission has created the www.esbim.es website, which offers the possibility for the private sector to share the work it has carried out using this methodology in order to generate interest and motivation. The website also features a blog available to external collaborators, which acts as a forum for the exchange of opinions, and it published the results of the first survey for professionals carried out in the last quarter of 2016. At the time of the writing this article, the second edition is open to verify the progress made, both in terms of knowledge and the use of the BIM methodology in Spain.

In addition, since September 2017, the es.BIM Observatory for public tenders has been active with the aim of monitoring the evolution of the penetration of BIM in public tendering on a quarterly basis, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Thus far, two reports have been published and have made it possible to draw very significant conclusions.

Technology evolves at high speed and we just need to use it and incorporate it into our processes. Nowadays, thanks to BIM, it is possible to generate and manage all of a project’s digital information through the formation of information models throughout the life cycle of a construction. It is, therefore, a method that provides total control of a building or civil works project from the design phase to final maintenance, facilitating real-time monitoring, decision-making and changes or corrections to plans before construction. It generates greater cost savings than current methods. What is needed to implement it? ‘Complex, useful for my profession and expensive’ is how the new technology was described in the last survey conducted in France. However, experts do maintain that the necessary training and technical means do not represent an insurmountable obstacle and that greater global adoption will be achieved through ongoing learning.

95% of construction jobs in Europe are in small or medium-sized companies, and productivity has barely grown 1% in the last 20 years

Ineco began using the BIM methodology in 2010 for its participation in several international projects, given its ease of use in collaborative working environments –with different teams separated by large distances– with a single centralised design. The company currently uses the BIM methodology in both airport and rail projects in Spain and abroad.

Its role in the EU BIM Task Group, representing the Ministry of Public Works, has been highly active and involves participation in its management committee together with Norway, Italy, the Netherlands, Estonia, Sweden, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. From the beginning, the need to look for common lines with Europe was perceived in order to ensure, as much as possible, a single methodology based on European standards.