The EU BIM Task Group – a collaboration group of public sector organisations in EU states www.eubim.eu – has stated that the savings potential of Open BIM is huge for the entire European construction industry. Reports* predict that the deployment of BIM would bring 15–25% savings to the global infrastructure market by 2025. With a volume of EUR 1.3 trillion, saving just 10% through BIM deployment would mean savings of EUR 130 billion for the European construction market.** The Rasti project implemented in Finland estimates the annual information management loss of the Finnish construction industry at EUR 300 million and the productivity potential at 12-20% of the total construction volume over the next 10 years.*** These are large numbers, and they will only be realised through the systematic contribution of the entire construction industry. At this stage, investments are needed for standardisation work and for systems that enable open data transfer and data analytics.
When the first steps of BIM are taken, it usually starts with “Little or Closed” BIM. “Little and Closed” BIM means company-specific standards, implementation in one area, for example design, and one user group. The full benefits will only be reaped when striving for “Big and Open” BIM, which operates according to international standards, covers the whole life cycle process, and involves all parties. “Big and Open” BIM requires a vision, a lot of systematic commitment and work, as well as perseverance. The journey towards “Big and Open” BIM includes many steps and lasts several years (Figure 1). In the BIM cube, Finland has taken the first steps, and we are located in the middle of the cube.
Figure 1 From “Little” BIM towards “Big” BIM (Source: BuildingSMART International)
International standardisation, enabling “Big and Open” BIM, is currently progressing strongly. The BuildingSMART International Standards Summit (www.buildingsmart.org) was held during Week 13 in Dusseldorf, Germany, gathering 500 people interested in international information modelling standards. The international community has been actively working on the IFC infrastructure expansion components for several years, and as early as 2017, the first infrastructure extension, or alignment, to the IFC standard was published. The latest news from the ongoing infrastructure projects, Road, Rail, Common Schema, Ports & Waterways and Bridge, were heard in Dusseldorf. There is also a new project starting called Tunnel. If you missed Dusseldorf, mark the next Summit, from 29 October to 1 November 2019 in Beijing, in your calendar, and learn the most important phrase: “Huānyíng nín!” – Welcome in Chinese!
As international standardisation progresses, how should work in Finland continue? The systematic infrastructure standardisation work in Finland (Inframodel, YIV) has not gone unnoticed in the international arena. Finnish experts and organisations are closely involved in the operations of Infra Room and Rail Room (the Rooms are development units of BuildingSMART International that are open for everyone). Figures known from Finnish standardisation specifications can be seen, for example, in the IFC Road reports. We can be proud of our actions, but we cannot rest on our laurels. Our long-term national standardisation work is gaining new momentum as digitalisation has raised its head as a major driver of society, and international standardisation has led to a more widespread interest in the subject. As shown in Figure 2, the Bowling Alley is beginning to turn into a preliminary Tornado.
Figure 2 The status of Infrastructure BIM deployment in Finland (Source: BuildingSMART Finland)
What will the future bring? There is a strong belief in that the BIM Tornado will come. The benefits will be more easily found in new projects, as technology and knowledge inevitably evolve. We should now be vigilant in this development. If you or your organisation are interested in Finnish or international activities concerning BIM, then talk to us and get involved with BuildingSMART. International standards are here to stay, and they don’t even bite.
Authors
Ms. Tiina Perttula, Director InfraBIM, Ramboll Finland Oy – Chair of bSI Infra Room
Mr. Tarmo Savolainen, Leading Advisor InfraBIM, Member of Väylä – bSI Infra and Rail Room Project Steering Committees
Sources:
* BCG, Digital in Engineering and Construction, 2016; McKinsey, Construction Productivity, 2017
** FIEC, Annual Report, 2017
*** www.Rastiprojekti.com