The key to sustainable construction: Data management systems in BIM-based construction engineering
During the construction phase in the building industry, the implementation of the intended building project is carried out and takes place downstream of the construction planning phase. This includes a lot of collaboration between the stakeholders and many different work phases such as earthworks, foundation construction, wall building and work on the technical building equipment (TGA) such as electrical installation, sanitary installations, ventilation, etc. The construction phase also includes all the work required for the construction of the building. Within construction, all construction progress, documentation obligations, change and adjustment processes to the construction plans (or models) as well as issue and quality management must be observed and implemented. This usually means a high (document-based) coordination effort, especially for the construction execution, in order to be able to implement the project accordingly to budget and time. The usually prevailing multitude and heterogeneity of the stakeholders involved within the construction execution phase and the associated often redundant information situations (in the sense of data) that is not available synchronously across all stakeholders additionally increases the organisational and coordinational efforts (and thus the risk of a delay in the project schedule) here. The end of the construction phase is reached with the acceptance of the building by the client (or his representative, if applicable).
Perhaps here is how things currently look on the construction site and why PLM is such a good role model?
Data management systems have been used successfully for a long time in the context of product engineering in industry (so-called product lifecycle management (PLM)) and can also provide targeted and efficient support in the BIM-based [3] construction execution phases with the help of established PLM-core components (such as document and process management, change and release management, data exchange with stakeholders, material compliance, environmental footprint, etc.). Particularly in the interaction of PLM systems (e.g. CONTACT CIM Database), integrated project management (e.g. CONTACT Project Office) and open IIoT solutions (e.g. CONTACT Elements for IoT), end-to-end processes with end-to-end document management can be achieved from the earliest planning and development phases through production/construction to the final construction phase. In addition, they also support downstream “end of life” phases (e.g. for recycling through sustainability information, usage profiles, feedback in development phases, “rest of life”).
Within BIM-based construction, the PLM IT tools can be used, for example, to provide results-oriented support for planning and coordination in order to implement the coordination processes sustainably and efficiently. By consolidating all relevant data (documents) in a central location, redundancies and media discontinuities are avoided on the one hand, and on the other hand it facilitates access to information in the sense of making it available to all stakeholders involved. Standardised as well as freely adaptable processes (workflows) to the respective project-specific requirements within the CONTACT Elements platform enable consistent process and project management. Through the interaction of process and document, different roles and stakeholders, for example, are provided with the exact data and information required for the respective process steps and are always able to operate and reference on the current data status. Another central module in the context of CONTACT CIM Database are so-called checklists, which support and enable the object-based acceptance of various construction steps and activities on the basis of the checkpoints defined in the BIM-model or -process in the constucion planning phase.
The documentation, another central aspect within CONTACT CIM Database, supports the building documentation and the management of documents on the construction execution and beyond, as well as the integration between processes and documents. All documents are also under version control, which enables structured change and release management. In this way, plans, drawings, contracts and approvals, for example, can be transparently stored, edited and finally released and tracked in terms of documentation requirements.
By applying appropriate standards and regulations, compliance issues relevant to quality assurance can be ensured, especially with regard to the materials and equipment used, as well as their observance by all stakeholders. For example, errors and defects can be avoided or identified at an early stage and thus contained in a targeted manner. In the context of defect management, standardised processes (workflows) offer a high added value. With the help of defined (issue) coordination points, which contain, for example, responsibilities, defect descriptions (incl. document references (e.g. photos)), type or classification of the defect, information on remediation in the IT system, relevant data and information can be processed in a structured manner via the relevant stakeholders (e.g. via graphically prepared use case-specific dashboards for simple recording). In this way, CONTACT Project Office and CONTACT CIM Database can be used to implement transparent and solution-oriented defect management in a resource-efficient manner.
Another central point within construction is monitoring or progress monitoring. Through the interaction of targeted analyses of as-built and field data and subsequent optimisation processes, weak points in the context of construction can be identified and improvements can be planned and integrated into the project at an early stage. One instrument for monitoring the progress of construction projects in the construction phase is the so-called construction diary. The construction diary records (daily) current construction progress in a format that is as standardised as possible in order to provide evidence of the work carried out (traceability) on the construction site as well as to record (technical) resources used and make them available for management or downstream project cost calculation processes. In combination with reporting and communication capabilities in CONTACT CIM Database, for example, a simple transparent collection and storage of information and data relevant to the construction diary is realised. Role-specific dashboards can be used to collect data (e.g. in different languages) and the information collected in this way can be assigned to direct processes within (and outside) the construction progress analysis. If, for example, IIoT systems (e.g. CONTACT Elements for IoT) are also used to record operating parameters or other usage data in the context of construction, these can also be easily linked to the processes and documents within the CONTACT Elements platform. In this way, an end-to-end data management (in the sense of a Common Data Environment) is created with the help of the platform technology from CONTACT Software and enables companies to implement construction planning and execution sustainably and efficiently.
A current project example in the context of BIM and PLM at CONTACT Research is „FaBIM“. FaBIM stands for “Holistically plan, build, and operate factories with Building Information Modeling” and uses the example of a battery cell factory to show how the concrete application of a BIM-driven CDE with platform technology from CONTACT Software [4] can efficiently plan, coordinate and realize your projects!
References:
[1] Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis): Baufertigstellungen im Hochbau: Deutschland, Jahre, Bautätigkeiten, Gebäudeart/Bauherr, 2021
[2] Reinema, C.; Pompe, A.; Nyhuis, P.: Agiles Projektmanagement. In ZWF Zeitschrift für wirtschaftlichen Fabrikbetrieb, 2013, 108; S. 113–117
[3] VDI 2552 Blatt 11.1:September 2020, Building Information Modeling
[4] CONTACT Software GmbH, www.contact-software.com/en
[5] FaBIM is funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy.
