Thanks to the introduction of BIM technologies on a national scale, it is possible to reduce the cost by a third and halve the construction time, as well as ensure the safety and reliability of design information throughout the entire life cycle of a building or structure.
In the Russian construction industry, modern digital technologies are not widely used; traditional 2D design and paper documentation are more often used. This approach creates serious difficulties, since it is now that fundamental changes are taking place in construction. Projects become more complex, the volume of interconnected data grows and this leads to a significant increase in the volume of paperwork - traditional approaches become ineffective when it comes to more or less large objects. Any construction organization needs to control the timing of work on a project, reduce construction costs and minimize risks. To solve these problems, information modeling technologies (from the English BIM - Building Information Modeling) are used.
Information Modeling or BIM (Building Information Modeling) is an approach to the design, construction, equipping, operation and repair of construction objects based on a single database. A building or structure is designed as a whole, this process involves the collection of architectural, technological, economic or other information about it with all interconnections and dependencies. Changing one parameter automatically changes its associated objects, and drawings and architectural visualization are secondary products.
Budgets, timelines and risks
Money is spent unevenly during the life cycle of a building or structure. World experience shows that the design phase accounts for about 3% of the costs, and the construction itself - only 17%. About 80% of all costs are maintenance costs (while 18% of the money is spent on launching the facility into operation). A considerable part of these funds can be public investments, and therefore the state should become a more effective customer, qualitatively improving the technical requirements for the design and maintenance of facilities, as well as changing the interaction processes of all participants in the construction.
Information modeling methods are used in many countries of the world and are often supported at the state level; the UK is considered the generally recognized leader in this area - here BIM technologies have been actively introduced since 2011. The government is striving to ensure that costs are reduced by a third, construction times are halved, and construction sites become more environmentally friendly. It turned out that BIM is the perfect concept to achieve these goals.
BIM maturity levels (UK experience)
If we take traditional 2D design as a ground level, then the first level of BIM is 3D models and 2D drawings, but the models are not transferred to other participants in the process. The second level, in addition to the presence of a 3D model, involves the exchange of information. Here we are already talking about interaction with the use of several information models of an object and files of different formats. The third level is an integrated information model of the object, in which one change passes through all participants. The last level is not implemented in any country in the world - for example, in the UK, BIM level 2 technologies are still being introduced.
The UK construction industry employs over three million people and a list of new projects for the next two years is published quarterly. The investment in the development of the industry will amount to approximately 30 billion pounds, of which 11 billion has already been allocated by the government for ongoing projects this year. By April 2016, the bulk of government spending fell on BIM level 2 construction projects. The final verification of BIM 2 projects is planned by October 2016.
BIM level 2 already today allows you to reduce budget costs, reduce the amount of harmful emissions and improve the quality of transmitted data. As practice shows, optimization at the design stage can save up to 20% of the project cost. In the future, BIM Level 3 will enable data linking over the Internet and make construction and operations even more efficient.
The development of BIM in the UK is underpinned by the development of eight core standards, which provide legal and technical requirements. They can be called the pillars on which the development of BIM rests. These standards define the rules of interaction for the government and all other participants in the process, as well as requirements for the rules for documenting, the quality of the documentation, the degree of development of models and future data.
The standards cover the main provisions of interaction between market participants. In short, all documentation must be submitted in PDF format, and all consultants must issue a 3D model in its original format. Finally, the data is packaged into a database that gives operations managers the ability to get any information about the elements installed in the building - this will make it much easier, faster and, as a result, more efficient to operate the facility.
Why OPEN BIM and IFC format?
Some developers of specialized software are guided by their own proprietary formats and standards. They are convenient for transferring data between products of the same vendor, but cross-platform formats are supported by almost any popular AIS application, which greatly simplifies interaction between project participants.
A closed format is always a monopoly of one company and should not be used as a state industry standard. Buildings and structures have been in operation for decades, today it is impossible to predict what will happen to a development company in 20-30 years - this is another reason not to get involved with a monopolist. The third reason is associated with global political instability - the supply and maintenance of design software may be prohibited by foreign sanctions.
Fortunately, there are open OPEN BIM standards and an IFC format that is independent of a single software developer. The whole world works with this format, it is quite flexible and is constantly evolving.
OPEN BIM Is a universal approach to collaborative design, construction and operation of buildings and structures using open workflows and standards. Companies such as GRAPHISOFT, Tekla, Nemetschek, Allplan, SCIA, Vectorworks, Trimble, and the Data Design System have joined the OPEN BIM initiative, and the OPEN BIM approach is based on the open data model of building SMART. Alliance members have initiated a global program to promote OPEN BIM in the AIS industry. Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) Is an open building information model format developed by building SMART to facilitate communication in the construction industry. Its development is not controlled by one company or group of companies.
State support for OPEN BIM
In Russia, there is a plan for the phased introduction of information modeling technologies in design: in March 2015, the expert council under the government completed the selection of pilot projects and by the end of the year conducted their expertise. The Ministry of Construction of Russia formulated the requirements for the application of BIM technologies, and a list of documents that need to be developed or changed was also prepared and sent for approval to the government. Now the committees of the sectoral ministry are discussing the use of OPEN BIM standards and the IFC open format, which will most likely be taken as a basis by the state structures of the Russian Federation.
The working group under the Ministry of Construction includes ANO "Asi", FAU "Glavgosexpertiza of Russia", the National Association of Surveyors and Designers, other large companies and organizations, as well as leading players of the AIS market, such as the Russian partner GRAPHISOFT-company "System software" … In addition, on June 11, 2016, the "List of instructions following the meeting of the State Council" was published, in which the President of Russia identified the nearest prospects for the development of the country's construction policy. This list includes the introduction of information modeling technologies in construction, a full transition to which is planned by 2025 …
In May 2016, at the ArchMoscow exhibition, solutions for information modeling were presented by GRAPHISOFT, one of the leading developers of software for architectural design supporting BIM, primarily ArchiCAD.
GRAPHISOFT notes that in order to start using BIM technologies, it is necessary to implement specialized applications, change work processes and conduct training for company employees, which can require serious one-time costs, which pay off through more efficient design and easier interaction with other participants in the construction and operation of the facility.
As a rule, a software vendor is involved in a software implementation project - a software developer who provides a product and provides technical support, a system integrator who implements software at the client, conducts training and consultations for users, and a project team from the client's side.
Examples of using BIM
Despite serious government support, the use of BIM technologies in the Russian design and construction markets has not yet become widespread. Currently, information models are being built only for a few large facilities, such as Moscow metro stations, transport interchanges in the capital, some towers of the Moscow City complex or the Sochi Olympics facilities.
In world practice, BIM technologies are used much more widely and not only at the design stage. John Gilbert Architects uses software to interact with customers BIMx, with the help of which you can conduct presentations of BIM projects in the format of hypermodels on mobile devices. The app allows customers to receive up-to-date data from the contractor via cloud storage and provides simultaneous navigation through 2D documentation and 3D models of the building.
The National Museum of Sweden designs exhibits using ArchiCAD and provides visitors to the site with extremely accurate BIMx exhibition models.
In the Bachelor of Engineering Faculty of Aarhus University, BIM technologies are part of the educational process focused on structural and engineering modeling and data exchange between various IFC-based applications.
Information modeling technologies are also used by large international organizations, such as BjarkeIngels Group, based in Copenhagen and New York. Engaged in conceptual architectural design the company is renowned worldwide for its award-winning 8 House, the Denmark Pavilion at the Shanghai World's Fair and West 57, a skyscraper project next to the Hudson River in Manhattan.
No less interesting is the example of international cooperation in the design of the World Trade Center in Nanjing (NWTC) by MIX - the path from concept to working documentation took only a few months. The workflow was built on collaboration with design organizations such as Gensler, SWA, SPD and Citterio. The building information model became the basis for the design, and not a single workshop held in New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai or Nanjing, as well as online, did not do without it. The clear organization of the model file allowed any team member to get all the necessary information about the project, and the use of reconstruction filters made it possible to track and control changes in the current building model.
There are other uses for BIM technologies, for example, to interact with building management applications (almost all of them work with the IFC format). The information model helps in the maintenance of engineering systems, as well as in the repair or reconstruction of an object. Of course, such interaction between the participants in the process is impossible without the use of cloud technologies. Design teams also need fully integrated BIM cloud-based workflow solutions - an example of which is GRAPHISOFT's BIMCloud.
Construction starts with the customer
The state is the main participant in the construction market, but being the initiator of changes, it can only be responsible for creating an information and legal base. BIM implementation in Russia should come from customers - they will form the requirements for new technologies. The Open BIM approach and the IFC format help to bring all professionals together using the best tools and not be limited to one closed platform. There are many architectural firms in Russia that create fantastic projects. To make them look even better, be more efficient, faster to implement and greener, BIM technology needs to be adopted more widely.
Vladimir Trifonov is an expert at System Soft.
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